I can feel a rant coming on. So forgive me, but it's not directed at you personally. Historically, Mon thru Wed are the slowest days for our industry (more specifically Mon & Tues). However, this just means that these dayparts are more of a challenge for the operator to be creative in finding ways to put butts in seats. Notwithstanding my bottomless well of idealism already of note on this forum, I KNOW there's a model that will let you be successful in the venue of your choice - I have built several (corporate and independent) and there exists several thousand in every city in this country.
There is no easy answer, if there were, everyone would own a restaurant that wanted one and would be raking it in. The reality is that you must analyze your market and build a better mousetrap. If you do that, they will come. I guarantee it. But people simply don't want to do the homework/due diligence it takes to plan for success. Instead they think that just because they have money to open one, it will be the next greatest thing since sliced bread. The usual platitudes are that they have "mom's" recipe for this or that or that they intend to set a new high in guest service -then fail miserably and blame it on the economy, dumb customers, mom's recipe, stupid teenager employees, Pol Pot, the Black Plague, locusts, what have you...
There are now over 1 million FSO's (Food Service Operations) in the US today. The ultimate question is why would anyone want to come to yours? The secret to success is building a great plan for it. Then executing it every guest, every table, every day, with NO exceptions. The question is how to define great. This is where your understanding of this business and dedication to digging into the information available to you in your market to discern those niches that need to be scratched, exists. Is there a need for a weekend only place? I doubt it. Can you build a financially successful business model that is open on only a few days of the week? The answer is not if that number is only 3 - and certainly not with only 50 seats that have to be filled 4-6 times over with an avg check of $675pp!
You need "A" level players in all positions. BOH, FOH and TOH. You can't get them with only 15 hours a week. People need to eat, shower, raise children, go to school, etc...So you break even or even lose a couple of dollars by staying open on Mon-Wed. and working like hell to achieve large enough volumes on the rest of the week to make your greenbacks. Not a problem to be a dinner only restaurant either- plenty of very successful examples of that model. Or you try to open up multiple streams of income like on-site or off-site catering, party or banquet rooms, delivery, wine and cooking classes, retail of private label products, etc...Now are there exceptions to every rule? Of course. But only short-term. You only read about them in the courthouse report's listing of newly filed bankruptcies.
Have Fun Today!
Jeffrey Summers, Head Coach
GameOn! Restaurant Coaching Solutions
jeffrey@getgame.biz
www.getgame.biz
http://getgameblog.blogspot.com/
"My job is to make your competition suffer!"
About Me
- Jeffrey Summers
- I am the expert you call when you need to learn how to increase top line sales, lower your operating costs, increase your profit margin, hire and train better managers and staff, evolve your operation into more and better ways of doing business, buy or sell a restaurant, improve your service, engineer (or re-engineer!) your menu, market your business better and less expensively, keep yourself from going nuts because you have no life anymore, open more and better restaurants, don't want to have to give up your first born child to pay a consultant and have more fun! My mission is to enhance the quality of life for my clients by providing the best products and services to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. I take great pride in my clients, my company, my commitment to service and the products I sell. I am a recognized expert in the hospitality industry with over 24 years of success at planning and executing strategies for delivering dramatic results, a former "GM of the Year" for 2 major, full-service, franchises, an Award winning Multi-Unit Executive with 2 of the largest restaurant chains in the U.S., published author, husband and father of two.