THE RESTAURANT PULSE

CHILI AND CORN BREAD RECIPE

2008-10-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

What is better then a hot crock of home made chili on a cool autumn day?

Well, it's on my stove now and follow the recipe below and in 2 hours you can be eating the same thing... yum!

Chili Ingredients

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2 onions (one quartered / one diced

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

2 large bell peppers (diced)

2 chili peppers diced

3 table spoons brown sugar

2 table spoons vegetable oil

4 table spoons chili powder

4 table spoons ketchup

16 ounces of tomato sauce

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground turkey

1 tables spoon salt

1 tables spoon black pepper

dash ground cloves

16 ounce canned kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

8 ounces corn (drained)

Directions:

Brown the garlic, onion and peppers in a large pot. Add ground turkey and beef. Completely brown while continuously stirring. Add remaining ingredie

nts (except corn and kidney beans). Simmer while stirring occasionally for one hour. Add small portions of water if needed. Add kidney beans and corn before serving.

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Corn Bread ingredients:

1 cup corn meal (yellow)

2 Cup flour

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

3 eggs

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 cup br

own sugar

1 stick butter (softened)

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Whip the eggs and butter loosely. Add sugar, salt and brown sugar. Whip in the baking soda and corn starch until smooth. Slowly beat in the flour until all ingredients are smooth. Thicker then cake batter but looser then cookie dough. Pour into a greased pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees.

Enjoy!

INCREASED GIFT CERTIFICATE SALES!

2008-10-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

Recently I visited a reputable restaurant for a Saturday night out. It was nice to see a full dining room with multiple table turns.

After a terrific meal with friends, I hung around to have a drink with the owner. We spoke about "the biz" and some of my recent posts (she is a frequent visitor to The Restaurant Pulse). After recapping her successful night's business it led me to inquire about gift certificate redemptions. She said that her business had more gift certificate redemptions then usual, a sign that people are cashing in gift certificates instead of parting with their cash.

On my way home that night our conversation prompted me to think that gift certificates are of greater value to the consumer now.

Entering into a very uncertain holiday season this can be good news. It is likely that many companies will be cutting out their holiday party budget leaving many private dining rooms empty this year. The holiday season may be down considerably. That's bad news.

I do believe, however, that the increasing value of gift certificates will prompt many holiday gift givers to purchase gift certificates for their friends, employees and family members. This may drive up gift certificate purchases this holiday season. This is just a hunch but let's hope it to be true!

Now is the time to gift certificate as holiday gifts into the brains of your client base. Start sending out e-blast to your mailing lists reminding customers that you sell gift cards. A gift card incentive program may be a great idea.

Morton's Steak House is now running an amazing incentive program based upon the amount of gift cards purchased. You can mimic this program in your business.

Just remember to escrow all the cash taken in during the holidays for gift cards. You are going to need that cash when the cards are being redeemed (many at one time) in January, February and March!

I am preparing a blog regarding escrowing gift certificate revenues and it should be posted early this week.

RESTAURANT CONSUMERS ARE STILL CRAVING YOUR BRAND!

2008-10-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

It would be an absolute sin to me to see many of my favorite dining spots lose their "chic-ness" because of the current economic climate. One of the fantastic transformations that occurred in smaller cities since 2002 has been the increase in fusion style dining emphasized by chic and swanky dining environments.

Long gone were the days of rusty Italian restaurants where the only menu changes in the past twenty years are stickers with price increases pasted over the old prices. Long gone were the musty smelling dining dungeons ran by a guy smoking cigarettes, sipping a whiskey and water and playing the mega-touch at the end of the bar while his customer eyed up the dining room looking for their server.

Well in 2008 these restaurants still existed but in much less demand. It is an absolute fact that diners are more educated in food and wine while demanding a higher quality of service then ever before. Consumers that are dining out today still want to feel good about where they are socializing. They still crave dining adventures. They still would prefer a glass of Riesling over the White Zin they gave up back in the 199o's.

My point being, the average consumer did not get a sudden bout of "dining amnesia" when the credit crunch occurred. They didn't stop liking your establishment's amazing food and service in the swanky atmosphere you provide. Then why are your revenues sinking instead of growing? Why have your average covers sank from $40 to $32 dollars? Why do you have empty seats for the first time since you are open? Why are your customers no longer ordering bottles of wine?

The answer is: consumers are either afraid to spend, not willing to spend or unable to spend!

Do these facts mean you need to close the doors, remodel and transform your menus back to the days of Chicken Parmesan and Spaghetti and Meatballs? HELL NO!

Lets face it, your loyal customers were great to you over the years. Now it is time to show them that you can accommodate them during the current hard times the economy has put upon them. Wow, thats a great marketing thought!

So, we know consumers still want what they were so accustomed to receiving from your establishment over the years. Show them that you can still provide it at an affordable cost.

Add a large bar menu, remove the NY Strip from your menu and add a hanger steak at half the cost. Even Flat Iron Steaks have now been introduced to upscale dining. Add a 20 under $20 wine list, that would be 20 bottles of wine for under $20 (I will soon be posting a blog of my favorite quality wines that YOU can buy for under $10). Add a high quality Burger to your menu for $9. Add some chicken dishes that are very creative and within your concept but sold for under $20.

The above changes to your menu does not change your concept at all. Your culinary team must still put their stamp on each item. The only changes are that your customers are not afraid to buy them, in most cases they will not require the same amount of chefs to prepare them (lowering your labor cost) and, most importantly, they are HIGHER PROFIT ITEMS!

Just because your gross dollars have reduced and your average cover may be down $10 DOES NOT MEAN that you are not turning profits! As I said in my previous post "Tips for Surviving in the Inconsistent Restaurant Business", Make your numbers work within your gross volume.

TIPS FOR SURVIVING IN THE INCONSISTENT RESTAURANT BUSINESS

2008-10-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

During this difficult economic climate, restauranteurs seem to be panicked and often second guessing every day decision making. From something as "simple" as staffing to actually debating overall concept change.

Operators! I agree, these are tough times. Business is inconsistent, staffing nearly impossible and meeting payroll has become a challenge.

Lets put things into perspective. The market is on a roller coaster ride gone bad, the media is only adding to the state of panic and daily cover counts seem to be rising and dropping as fast (and drastically) as the Dow Jones.

It seems like nightly, as I am trying to doze, Suze Orman's voice wakes me with her ranting to the American people about how the world is about to burn up in flames of monopoly money. No wonder why I cant sleep at night. Obviously, some of her statements make sense but Does CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, etc have to put this woman on every night as I am trying to fade into what should be a peaceful place. Hell, I can't even doze to tivo'd episodes of Oprah anymore. Suze has even invaded what used to be daytime (or night time for me) TV's "feel good" zone!

Okay, I have fallen off track a bit. Back to cover counts, staffing and protecting concepts. Truth be told, if your concept was profitable four weeks ago it is most likely (with proper financial planning) going to be profitable again. For now you just need to focus on riding out the storm.

Now I am not implying that you do not tweak your concepts. Adding light fare bar menus, dinner specials (without cheapening your establishment's image), adding tappas, plates for two and adding incentives to frequent diners are a must.

More importantly, you MUST tweak your operations during these tough times. However difficult, it is NOT impossible to maintain a break even bottom line during a business trend that has revenues down. I can remember a time when an operator told me that calculating food and bar costs is a waste of time. I thought "my god, it is the life line of your business". This could not be more true then during times when you have seen your revenues drop by 10 or 20%.

When you would normally do inventories once a month you must now do once a week. Food, labor and bar costs must be calculated weekly and adjusted weekly to keep yourself out of the red.

Then, of course, there is the dreaded word... "SACRIFICE"! I know, as operators you have already sacrificed your holidays, weekends, nights, birthdays and in many cases overall quality of life. Well, I'm sorry but it may be time to put down the glass of wine your sharing with your customers and start pouring them again. Cut your staff, lay people off. Bartend, cook, clean, wash dishes, do whatever it takes to cut costs.

I was an operator once too. It is not easy to layoff a quality line cook or cut a popular bartender midway thru a shift. Make it positive though, their is no better way to put your stamp back on every aspect of your business while showing every employee that you can perform their job as well, if not better than they can.

Remember, make your numbers work within your gross volume. Buckle up "the restaurant roller coaster" has just started out on another ride that you will never figure out. Make it work! I know you Can!

As always, feel free to email me with any questions or leave a comment.