Managing food costs yet offering quality fare in your restaurant may seem like a difficult task, but there are ways to do it. Use these 10 tips to get your business moving and improving.
1) Choose Prime Vendors
Continually shopping around for best prices may seem sensible, but if often takes up too much of your valuable time. By all means, check prices offered by suppliers and try to obtain good deals from your existing providers; primary suppliers may be open to working on a smaller profit margin if you give them more business.
2) Prevent Waste
Avoiding food waste depends on a variety of factors:
* Ordering appropriate quantities from suppliers
* Keeping portions consistently the same size
* Training staff to take orders from customers correctly the first time
3) Work with your Menu
If the cost of a certain item has sky-rocketed due to seasonal availability or is a consistently low seller, take if off the menu. You also have the option to raise prices, but customer resistance to price increases must be carefully ascertained. Balance your menu so you offer correct percentages of low-cost fare, based, for example, on rice or pasta, and more expensive protein-heavy items.
4) Cost the Menu
This may be a tedious task, but keeping tabs on how much each menu item costs to make, including hidden ingredients, is important. Once you have a system in place, it's easy to continue with it.
