As you know, restaurant management is more than a full time job. It means long hours and lots of hard work. Here at The Back Burner we understand that restaurant managers and owners are always on the go and that every day is a challenge to meet revenue goals, keep …
Read More »Restaurant Management: Why Nick’s Isn’t Just Another Pizza Joint
Inc. Magazine did an article recently about pizza and pub owner Nick Sarillo, a restaurateur with blue collar roots based in the Chicago area. Sarillo has built his business based upon a corporate culture that emphasizes customer service and employee development. Sarillo’s Nick’s Pizza & Pub is another example of …
Read More »80/20 vs. 4: Restaurant Marketing By The Numbers
The Pareto Principle has long been hailed as the Holy Grail of marketing, the one rule by which all marketing efforts succeed or fail. The principle itself is pretty simple: 20% of your customers drive 80% of your sales. There’s always a core group of loyal customers who not only …
Read More »Restaurant Equipment: 4 Factors For Calculating Total Cost Of Ownership
There’s always a significant amount of cost involved whenever you buy a new piece of restaurant equipment. Those costs only continue as that equipment ages in your restaurant – from energy use to repairs, the consequences of new equipment will be around for a long time after you’ve written the …
Read More »Increasing Restaurant Profits
1. Reduce Food Costs With A Descending Dollar Report A Descending Dollar Report is a fancy way of saying “Find the 10 food items you spend the most money on every month.” Once you know what those 10 items are, start looking for ways to cut your costs on each one. …
Read More »Table Turnover: The Tradeoff Between Experience And Business
Every server hates “campers” – those diners who stay firmly parked in your section for hours on end, taking up a table that could have been given to another party ready to order (and tip) all over again. For restaurant owners, table turnover can be a tricky balance. On the …
Read More »Klick Kitchen: Can Your Restaurant Save By Ordering Online?
Last summer I wrote about Klick Kitchen, an internet-based replenishment service for food service businesses. At the time it struck me as odd that despite all the press Klick Kitchen had been getting, there didn’t seem to be any feedback from real chefs/managers/owners in the field who could substantiate Klick …
Read More »POS Systems: Love Them, Learn Them, and Please Don’t Ignore Them
I didn’t learn to program my first Point of Sale (POS) system until I actually become a head Chef at a restaurant and the POS system impacted my food cost. I taught myself how to use it, as there was no operating manual and none of the waitstaff or the …
Read More »HACCP Principle 4 – Establish Monitoring Procedures
Now that you’ve established your Critical Control Points and Critical Limits for every preparation process and every menu item in your restaurant, it’s time to monitor. Limits and CCPs don’t do any good if there’s no enforcement. The first thing to establish is someone who will accept responsibility for monitoring. …
Read More »Beg, Borrow, Or Blow Your Food Cost
In a restaurant, especially a newly started or taken over one, it is highly recommended you get to know the other area food facilities and develop good relationships with them. While this may seem quaint, sort of like moving into a new neighborhood and making nice with the neighbors, there …
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