by Heather T. | May 15, 2025 | Books, Business, Marketing, Observations, Operations, restaurants

Larger Version at the Bottom
Times are tough, that’s nothing new for the restaurant business. I hear that quite a bit from business owners. I don’t want to discount; I don’t want to give away incentives. Margins are thin….etc.
For some businesses I would agree, if it’s what I call a “one and done”. An example might be a hardware store gives away a coupon. The recipient of the coupon waits until they need something to go to the hardware store, they may buy a few things or maybe only one thing that they use the coupon on, and “maybe” have an impulse buy. The hardware store isn’t really getting “more” out of them, other than the customer went to their hardware store, instead of the competitors and they had to lose a little of their profit margin to get them in the door.
Trying to upsell in a hardware store is doable, of course, but all I can think of is a hardware store employee, “Sir, I know you are buying this cordless drill only so you can fix your deck railing, but have you considered this beautiful set of 150 drill bits and perhaps an extra battery as well?”
Restaurants and most other eateries can use discounts and incentives to leverage MORE sales.
If you offer someone a free or deeply discounted appetizer or dessert for example, statistically most diners don’t like to dine alone, there are exceptions of course, but even for single diners, most people won’t go to a place “just” for an appetizer or “just” for the dessert.
If a couple comes in and takes advantage of the free appetizer, it’s not a lot of food (for them) even if they split it, and you still have them in the door to order at least a couple of entrees, possibly another appetizer, maybe some desserts and drinks. Once you have gotten them in the door, that’s also the time to have your staff and management trained to step in and upsell for some additional revenue.
Example: Succulent Smoked Shrimp & Grilled Corn Fritters with Spicy Remoulade.
The manager who is assisting with waiting tables, “Oh, you are ordering the shrimp and corn fritters, I LOVE those, I get those with my girlfriend when we come in on my day off. She swears the Kung Fu Girl Riesling is the BEST with it. I was skeptical because I’m not really a sweeter white fan but the remoulade is a little zippy and it helps balance the spice. She orders it every time we come in and now I’m a big fan!”
Double whammy here for marketing. Yes this example is a little over the top and a little wordy if vocalized, but an example of the upsell, in that the manager says A. he loves the food (he’s a fan) and B. he loves the place so much he will come back on his day off (employee loyalty).
Currently, Kung Fu Girl Riesling runs about $12 retail and less wholesale. Even based on the retail price, if you serve one 5 oz. glass of wine at $5.00 (cheap right?) and the wine is $2.40 your cost per glass, plus tack on a percentage for labor and overhead, you are still making at least a 50% profit margin. And that’s based again on retail pricing.
Even if you upped this to a 6 oz of wine, with wholesale costs, you are still making a hefty profit on this. That’s if you sell it by the glass which is the way to really make money on wine. I worked with an extremely good waiter named Karl many years ago who would use this type of upsell to increase the check average (and his tips). Personal buy-in plus personal endorsement equals sales.
This has always been my personal pet peeve with restaurants, and it’s also a pet peeve of many diners, who refuse to pay for a bottle of wine or by the glass that’s more than double retail prices, and up to four times retail in some places.
Give generous pours at affordable prices and people will order more. Having a great (but inexpensive and unknown) house wine is another way to increase profits, years ago when I was the Chef at a resort in Vermont, I did the wine ordering too, because I liked to do pairings and our front of house manager didn’t know much about wine. The “house” cabernet which was from a small vineyard on the Western Cape of South Africa cost me wholesale $3.50 a bottle. There was no brand name recognition for the wine, so no preconceived thoughts about price, but I had a nice writeup about it on the wine menu so people could get some insight into what kind of wine it was and what it paired well with. We got four pours from the bottle at $4.50 a glass. One dollar profit on one glass ordered (and paid for itself) and 3 additional glasses pure profit minus a small percentage for labor and overhead tacked on, still a hefty money maker.
If you want to make money on full bottles, drop the price to something realistic. Believe me, you will sell a LOT more wine, having done this for years in restaurants. Higher price points mean lower margins when it boils down to it. If you sell 3 bottles a month marked up triple your costs, you will sell less wine.
One of the methods I have used prior is to add on approximately 6 dollars to the average retail price, especially on the name brand recognized affordable wines, to keep the menu price point under $20. You are still making a profit on the $6, including the wholesale discounted price and the labor is the bartender taking 1 minute to open the cork and pour, and a small percentage for general overhead.
You can also add a few dollar corkage fee if you want to bring the “illusion” of costs down even more. $12 of drinkable but inexpensive wine (retail), it’s $16 for the bottle on your menu, plus a $2 corkage fee.
If you train your staff on wine and other beverage pairings and make them able to give suggestions, it not only increases your margins but increases staff knowledge. Pairing wine and beer on the menu itself is also a proven way to increase revenue.
If you or your staff is not well up on wine knowledge, at the moment, ChatGPT can come up with a great list of wines and beers to pair with your menu. I would spot check all of those as in testing as it came up with a couple of “fictional” wines when doing a bunch of testing, but knowing quite a bit about wine and food pairings myself, I’d say it does a more than better-than-average job. Put your menu into ChatGPT or other AI of choice and some specifics, Pair with wines under X dollars and the menu item and any other parameters you want to put in, i.e. Spanish wines only.
Having pairing suggestions on your menu, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, makes it easy for people to decide and also for those that are afraid or just don’t feel comfortable asking for recommendations.
Tying these into a discount or promotion is carrying it one step further.
Get our fan favorite: Smoked Shrimp & Grilled Corn Fritters and get two dollars off our Iced Lemongrass-Mint Green Tea. Tea is a high profit margin item that costs less than $.50 even with some extra ingredients, selling it at $4.00, even with a dollar off is still a very good “extra” profit item. Most other beverage items, even with a discount, are still money makers.
A few examples, and giving some examples of different ways to describe the menu item as well as the beverage descriptions.
Vegetarian Small Plates + Pairings
Crispy Oven Roasted Artichoke Hearts with Zesty Lime and Rosemary Vegetarian Aioli
For one person: $7.50 For two: $14.50
Pairing Suggestions:
White: Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (NZ)
Aromatic tropical fruits and bright citrus notes, with a refreshingly zesty finish. Recently awarded 90 points by James Suckling.
6 oz. Glass: $5.50 Bottle: $16.50 (Retail average is $10, wholesale would be less).
Red: Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages
Light-bodied, bright cherry and raspberry fruit, hints of violet and earth. Crisp acidity and low tannins make it food-friendly.
6 oz. Glass: $6.50 Bottle: $19.50
Beer: Bell’s Light Hearted Ale
Light Hearted is aromatic, balanced, and incredibly easy-drinking. This Lo-Cal IPA has only 110 calories, yet all the Heart. Centennial and Galaxy hops result in citrus and pine aromas, while a variety of specialty malts help give Light Hearted its body and flavor.
$4.50
Traditional Cocktails
Gin Gimlet with a Rosemary Twist
Lemon-Basil Vodka Fizz
Non-Alcoholic
House Made Cucumber-Lime Sparkling Water with a Rosemary Sprig
House Made & Herb Shrub
Iced Green Tea with Lemon
Grilled Aji Amarillo Pepper** and Sweet Basil Marinated Halloumi Skewers with Grilled Figs and a Drizzle of Honey Balsamic. **Aji Amarillo Peppers are a spicy South American chili pepper with vibrant orange-yellow skin and fruity flavor. On a scale of spicy peppers from 1-4, Amarillos are about a 3, the Halloumi cheese balances the spiciness of the peppers and brings it down a notch.
Pairing Suggestions:
White: Santo Wines Assyrtiko
Assyrtiko, a Greek white wine, is known for its high acidity and mineral notes. These characteristics complement the salty halloumi and cut through the richness, while the wine’s citrus undertones harmonize with the sweet basil and balance the Aji Amarillo’s heat.
Red: Domaine du Pélican Arbois Poulsard
A light-bodied, naturally bright red from the Jura region of France. It shows delicate red berries, subtle earthiness, and a whisper of spice. Tannins are soft, and the wine finishes with refreshing acidity and a touch of minerality. Earthy undertones match the grilled figs and basil, while the light body complements the dish’s delicate balance of sweet, smoky, and herbal notes.
Beer: Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
This German wheat beer offers a smooth, creamy texture with notes of banana and clove. Its subtle sweetness and effervescence provide a refreshing counterpoint to the spicy Aji Amarillo and the savory halloumi, while the beer’s body stands up to the dish’s bold flavors.
Traditional Cocktails
Whiskey Sour
Classic Mojito
Not So Traditional Cocktails
Basil Whiskey Smash
Housemade Honey Balsamic Old Fashioned (balsamic reduction in place of simple syrup with a dash of honey and orange bitter)
Non-Alcoholic
Iced Hibiscus Tea with Orange Peel
Pomegranate Spritzer
Housemade Ginger-Turmeric Tonic (unsweetened)
Smoked Shrimp & Grilled Corn Fritters with Fresh Mint and Ginger Remoulade
Succulent house smoked shrimp and fresh grilled corn fritters, with a side of our famous mint and ginger remoulade. Our fritters are light and airy yet delight your tastebuds with the earthy smokiness of locally caught shrimp and local Shell Island Farm organic corn.
Pairing Suggestions:
White: Dr. Loosen Blue Slate Riesling Kabinett
This Riesling offers bright acidity and subtle sweetness, which balance the smokiness of the shrimp and the heat from the ginger. Its citrus and mineral notes complement the corn fritters and mint in the remoulade.
Red: Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Sorbara
Light, fizzy, and dry with red berry flavors (think raspberry and cherry), floral notes, and mouth-cleansing acidity. The slight fizzyness of this red helps balance the richness of the fritters and mild acidity compliments the ginger.
Beer: Saison Dupont
Saison Dupont is a Belgian farmhouse ale known for its effervescence and peppery, citrusy flavors. These flavors cut through the richness of the fritters and enhance the herbal notes of the mint-ginger remoulade.
Traditional Cocktails
Moscow Mule
Daiquiri (Traditional, not frozen)
Not So Traditional Cocktails
Ginger-Lemongrass Rickey
Charred Corn Old Fashioned
Non-Alcoholic
Iced Lemongrass-Mint Green Tea
Shrub Spritz (Ginger-Mint Shrub + Sparkling Wine or Soda)
Savory Tomato-Ginger Tonic
Crispy Polenta with Roasted Beet Bites with Smoked Tomato and Lavender Jam
Pairing Suggestions:
Red: Gnarly Head Pinot Noir
This California Pinot Noir is bold for the varietal, with ripe cherry and raspberry flavors at the forefront. Underneath is a thread of vanilla and toasted oak. Medium-bodied with a silky texture and soft tannins, it finishes with a touch of sweet spice. The wine’s ripe red fruit plays well with the smoked tomato-lavender jam, echoing the jam’s sweetness and contrasting the smoke with bright acidity.
White: Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc
A vibrant, zesty white with high-toned aromatics: lime, gooseberry, and freshly cut grass. It’s lean and dry with a bright acidity and a mineral edge, finishing with crisp green apple and citrus zest notes. The wine’s lime and green apple notes offer a clean, tart contrast to the sweetness of the roasted beets and the smoky tomato-lavender jam,
Goose Island Sofie (Saison/Farmhouse Ale)
A Belgian-style saison aged in wine barrels with orange peel. It pours golden with a creamy head. Aromas include white pepper, orange zest, and a hint of vanilla. The taste is tart, citrusy, and subtly spicy, with a champagne-like effervescence and a dry finish. Sofie’s flavors of orange peel and white pepper brighten the earthy sweetness of the roasted beets and contrast nicely with the smoked tomato jam.
Traditional Cocktails
Negroni
Americano
Not So Traditional Cocktails
Lavender-Basil Gimlet
Smoked Tomato Bloody Mary (w/ Lavender Salt Rim)
Non-Alcoholic
Lavender-Lime Soda
Chilled Spiced Carrot Juice
Sparkling Apple-Celery Tonic
A marketing piece like this can be used for mailers, in house promotions (put it on a tent card or menu holder) encourages guests to buy prior to ordering while dining, and as social media posts. “Mention this ad and get…..”

This is a sample chapter for my upcoming book on Guerilla Marketing, releasing mid-summer 2025. The book will be focusing on over 100 Guerilla Marketing ideas with examples, as well as a few chapters like the above. I have a favor to ask, if you catch a typo please send me a wave and let me know, snarky comments are appreciated if they are well meant and funny, even running text through two very good grammar editors doesn’t always catch things and my book editor has not yet had a crack at this. 🙂
by Heather T. | Jan 1, 2025 | Bed and Breakfasts, Business, Food, Lodging, Marketing, Observations, Operations, restaurants
With the new year and possibly some additional challenges to the hospitality industry coming ahead, restaurants and lodging may want to think about some additional alterative ways to generate income.
I look at it this way: Plan for the Best but be Prepared for the Worst. If you are a Monty Python fan, you might recognize “No one plans for the Spanish Inquisition”. If you are not, do a little search on YouTube for the full sketch.
Many businesses don’t expect hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes or other disasters both natural and man-made, no one could have predicted the impact Covid had, no matter what side of the fence you sit on, it had a significant impact on the economy.
Something along those lines or other (aliens could take over the world, we really don’t know what’s out there in the universe, or there could be a solar flare, sadly even more realistic) could happen but the reality is, businesses should prepare, just in case. Again, Plan for the Best but be Prepared for the Worst (as a backup plan).
I advise businesses it doesn’t matter how well your business is doing. Never stop marketing and always be prepared. When you have a power outage for a couple of days, better to have a couple of gallons of water on hand than not. Think of this as having some extra water kicking around (just as a backup) and extra money in your pocket is never a bad thing to have.
For Lodging:
Staycations have been “in” for a while, but how many lodging establishments have actually created packages for them or created a marketing plan for them?
For Rooms: (If you have 6 rooms or more (or even less) but bookings are low:
- If you have extra rooms not regularly booked, consider offering them for monthly, quarterly, or longer-term rentals. Dedicated income is never a bad thing. Medical professionals, visiting doctors and nurses are having an ongoing time finding housing and they are great short term and longer term tenants.
- Office space or Co-working space. Massage therapists always seem to be looking for space rental (also something you can use in your advertising: massage therapist on site). I saw two “asks” in local Facebook forums just in the last couple of days.
- Inventory storage space for another local business and/or climate controlled storage space for rent.
- Studio space for artists (you could tie packages into an artist in residence).
- Counselors or therapist’s rental space.
- Nonprofit office space.
For Your Dining Room/Living Room/Other Space
- Rent out space as needed to photographers/videographers who may need space for photo/video shoots.
- Offer the space for local meetings or events. If the layout and setup is conducive to having a screen and projector setup available for meetings, consider buying a projector and screen. For under $300 you can purchase both for the needs of a smaller room, and if you rent them out to meetings even for $50 or less, you can quickly make your money back. Renting out a projector from a party planning business typically costs twice that. I’d recommend if you go this route and start doing a lot of meetings adding a backup projector to the mix. You can get refurbished older projectors affordably from Ebay and Amazon. Upsell it by offering coffee, tea and other refreshments or box lunches.
- Pop up shops for local crafters or indoor farmers’ market
- Consider the old style boarding house model, room and board for monthly or longer-term renters. Finding housing is at an all time need around the country and there are probably professionals who don’t have the time or desire to cook meals for themselves, plus in need of housing. Check your local zoning laws and state laws, but if your property is already a commercial business, this may just be getting another license for an additional type of food permit. In New Hampshire, a Bed and Breakfast license is $175 per year, a restaurant license for 25-99 seats is $350 a year. You may need some additional inspections or requirements but it might be worth looking into. If you have six rooms and rent two long-term or monthly at $50 a night, that generates about $1500 a month per room, or $36,000 a year for two. Is it worth it to you to cook an extra couple of meals per day and do some extra cleaning? Even with food and some extra time for laundry, something to chew on. Just like renting to a longer term renter, you would want to be selective of who you take in, but probably less trouble than some short-term rental guests who come from an online platform.
- During the day when the space is not being used, rent it out for yoga or mediation classes (again this could be a good advertising addon for your own business)
For Both Lodging and Restaurants:
- Rent out the kitchen for commissary kitchen space (when you are not using it). There are a lot of small food producers who are looking for commercial kitchen space to use. Connect with your local SCORE chapter, SBDC, or CWE offices and let them know, so they can let clients know you have space available. In New Hampshire for example, there are less than 5 commissary kitchen spaces for use by food producers, food trucks, small chef and catering companies and other food base companies like people who make dog biscuits, but have too much volume for a home kitchen. Cottage food laws may allow a dog biscuit business to bake at home in New Hampshire, but a personal chef making meal kits must use a commercially inspected commissary kitchen or other state inspected facility. In every state, there seems to be a lot less commissary kitchen space available than what the needs of small food businesses are looking for. I run into this frequently when working with food trucks and other small food independent food providers.
- Consider co-op buying with other local food type businesses. Many decades ago, when I was a chef on Cape Cod, we did this with some other local restaurants during the slow time of year. On Cape Cod in the busy seasons, we would do several hundred covers (dinners) per night on a weekend night, during the winter sometimes we would be lucky to do a dozen covers. The choice between shopping at a grocery store to keep the restaurant going was not an option because prices are higher than wholesale, so we banded together so we could make a broadliner’s (for those new or starting in the industry, a broadliner is a larger wholesale foodservice vendor) minimum order requirements which could be $400 per minimum order. B&Bs, hotels, bakeries, restaurants, cafes and caterers, as well as smaller food service businesses (like those mentioned above) could all take advantage of co-op buying to buy in bulk and keep costs down.
For restaurants:
For restaurants I wish I had a magic wand above and beyond renting out kitchen space for additional income to deal with high food costs and the ongoing employee shortage, but here are some ideas that you could try to bring in some extra revenue and try some things that are a little different to incentivize customers to patronize your establishment.
- This differs from just renting out kitchen space, more along the lines of renting out the full restaurant during any days you are not normally open. Consider the Restaurant-as-a-Service (RaaS) for other small businesses. Rent out your full facility out to chefs or starting entrepreneurs (suggested they have business insurance and ServSafe at a minimum) to test out limited time menus or food concepts. There is no lack of people who want to start a food truck and want to test out their menus in advance, or private chefs who may want to advertise their services more. You could use this as an additional marketing tool to create buzz for your business, and tie into additional cross promotions with any small business you might partner with.
- Offer Tasting Tuesdays (or any day of the week). Beer or Wine Tastings (on your closed days) with snacks or small plate meals. Coordinate with your beverage reps to help with promotions and products.
- Beer and wine flights have been a “thing” for awhile, but what about tea or coffee flights paired with desserts or other complimentary foods, like a tea flight paired with tea smoked fish and tea smoked vegetables and/or cheeses.
- Partner with food banks or pantries to donate excess or close to code food, reinforcing your community involvement. Helping your local community and being realistic here, it’s a good advertising hook, and if donating to a 501c3, a potential tax write off. You have 2 days left on 4 gallons of milk and business is slow and you will never use it all up in time…..
- Host cultural learning dining nights, a theme might be the food of India and have some education around the menu and the ingredients, history of the dishes, and more. A server can give an overview when guests are seated, and you can provide printed handouts or QR codes on menus or tabletop stands linking to more information about each dish, its ingredients, and preparation.
A few additional things I’ve seen getting traction in bigger urban areas and a few additional ideas as well.
Incentives for bring your own takeout containers to reduce your takeout container costs (plus it’s more eco friendly and good advertising hook.
Organize some interactive dining experiences, Dining in the Dark, for instance. Many years ago, my husband and I attended a benefit dinner where you ate a 4-course meal while blindfolded. The dinner benefited a New England Guide Dog organization; the organization covered all staff and food costs, and the restaurant kept income from drinks ordered before, during, and after the dinner. Prior to the dinner there was a cash bar and light hors d’oeuvres. The event was packed with a waiting list and I have to be honest, as an attendee, it was one of the most fun dinners I’ve ever had.
A few more:
Murder Mystery Dinners, Interactive Dessert Stations (if you have never seen anyone make ice cream with liquid nitrogen, it’s a blast to watch), escape room dining (diners have to solve puzzles to get access to drinks or courses), team building dinners, roll your own California/Nori rolls (with a demonstration and people to assist if needed). Themed dinners like time travel night (food from another era) or international cuisine night. Go whole hog and do a Star Trek themed night with foods that mimic foods found in Star Trek episodes (Gagh for example is made of serpent worms (in the show), it wouldn’t be hard to make pasta with a soy-based sauce that mimics the look (but not flavor 😊) of this traditional Klingon delicacy.) If you do a little search in Google or ChatGPT for food and drinks inspired by tv shows and movies, you came up with some fun ideas you could build whole themed nights around things like Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (Hitchhiker’s Guide) – Gin, lemonade, and a touch of absinthe or licorice liqueur, Twin Peaks Cherry Pie – A classic diner-style cherry pie with a flaky crust and Red Rum Cake (The Shining) – A rich red velvet cake with dark chocolate icing and many more.
In the coming months, I’ll try to suggest some additional revenue streams and ideas for restaurants to experiment with as well.
Happy New Year!
A Toast to the Hospitality World filled with dedicated, hardworking people who love food and the industry. May the coming year be filled with happy customers and guests, good reviews, and fresh opportunities to make a profit.
by Heather T. | Feb 12, 2024 | Business, Food, Marketing, Observations, Operations, restaurants
Recently there was an article on Eater. “Why not bring takeout containers to restaurants?” and I thought, wow this is such a great idea (not rocket science obviously) but I should start doing this. What a great way to save the environment and, by the way, save our favorite restaurants a few bucks in the bargain.
Which, of course, led to the inevitable 2 AM neurodivergent thought, OH!, how can a restaurant leverage this? There must be restaurants doing this already, and of course, there were and there are. Restaurants give discounts to diners who bring their own dishes (2019) and many more. One thing that I noticed though about the restaurants and other food service operations that offered this is there didn’t seem to be a ton of thought into “targeted” getting people back in the door. Some offered discounts off of a future meal, some off of a current meal, some free refills (for beverages) but not much real upselling.
From a customer funnel point of view, if you want to think about getting repeat customers back in the door, what’s the incentive to get them back in PLUS the incentive to spend more money?
I’d love to see a restaurant out there (and maybe there is, let me know!) who would offer the incentive “BYOC (Bring Your Own Container)” and get a voucher/coupon for a free coffee or tea and our signature dessert.
Why that? Coffee or tea doesn’t cost most to provide and if you created the incentive wisely a signature dessert could cost a few dollars or less to make. Tiramisu is cheap to make, so is a scoop of homemade (or a good prepared) mousse with some flavored whipped cream to zip it up. Dessert has a much higher profit margin on it typically than an entrée or appetizer.
If you just give them a discount or small incentive, it doesn’t do much for repeats, it can help, but what’s the upsell part of it?
If you get them to come in and get drinks, maybe an appetizer and a couple of entrees (make the must order an entrée as part of the small print on the coupon), it’s an incentive to get people in the door and spent money first.
Even if it’s a couple who come in regularly and they bring two takeout containers, give them two vouchers. If you look at it from the perspective of how is any different from giving them a $10 off coupon their next meal, it is different because your incentive is to give them something for free but they have to spend money first. Even without a couple ordering appetizers, if a couple’s tab is a couple of entrees (mid-priced restaurant average) 17.99 X 2, plus a couple of soft drinks (up the take if it’s beer or wine) 2.50 X 2, and the regular check average is $50.00 and you just “gave away” $3.50 in product, when it boils down to it that’s pretty inexpensive marketing. If your price points for your menu items are higher, the ratios are even better.
You actually get three birds with this: promoting eco-friendly practices, saving money on your own to go containers and getting people in the door for repeat dining. Even if you encourage regulars to give them to others, that’s not a bad thing, it increases brand awareness and you get the same result; you get more people in the door and they order the big-ticket items like entrees (and if your waitstaff is good at the in-person upsell, high profitably drinks).
If you are going to try any incentives like this, make sure they contribute to your bottom line.
I’ve seen too many restaurant coupons that just give a discount with no stipulations on use or no incentive to get people to buy more.
So if you create an initiative to bring in customers, track through what you get out of it. Is it a onetime sale, something that will get people to come in many times or something that will make people spend more money because of the incentive itself?
There were a couple of good articles I came across in searching for restaurants that did have to go container incentives that I think would be worth a read.
How can restaurants take advantage of sustainable packaging?
What Are Reusable Food Container Programs?

By the way, my first book just got released on Amazon this weekend in Paperback and on Kindle! Check it out! Finding a Location for your Restaurant: How to Scout the Perfect Location for your Dream of Opening a Restaurant or other Hospitality Business.
by Heather T. | Feb 7, 2024 | Business, Observations, restaurants
There are three main types of people who want to open a restaurant.
Those who have been in the industry, usually chefs and cooks (but not always, sometimes it’s front of the house people), those who grew up in a restaurant environment, (i.e. parents or other family members owned or ran a restaurant), and the folks who have fallen in love with the “idea” of owning their own restaurant.
All of them have, and can run and own a successful restaurant, but I have found in 40 years of working in and with the hospitality restaurant that’s it the first two types that have better success and better success long term with running a restaurant.
I’ll be blunt and I am really not trying to talk people out of owning a restaurant, but to be realistic about what someone is getting into if they have never worked in a commercial food service establishment before.
For fans of, “The Bear” TV series while it has many realistic parts to it for at least the back of the house, apart from some glaring errors, (pretty much everyone in the industry knows what ServSafe is, whether or not your state requires it). IMO It’s still not a great representation of actually “owning” a restaurant and ALL that it entails. I think it hits the marks pretty high on the stress, the dynamics and many other things that happen in real life in a kitchen though and it’s worth a watch if you want to open a restaurant and not had ANY prior experience. But it still doesn’t cover many of the realities of the actual operations of a real restaurant, front of the house, back of the house, the day-to-day operations, the financials and the struggles with financials on a constant basis, checking in orders, employee theft, doing inventory on a frequent basis, dealing with difficult customers both online and off literally every day, dealing with vendors, scheduling staff, dealing with seasonal or economic slowdowns, the marketing online and offline, etc. etc. etc……………
While there have been some terrific food movies out there, mainly from the kitchen perspective, I have yet to see a restaurant movie that really truly reflects REAL life running a restaurant and I suspect it’s because no one “really” wants to see what’s behind the scenes on a real day-to-day basis.
It’s scary how much work, how much stress, and how much slog an owner has to get through daily, especially if they are a hands-on owner. Many chefs who become chef owners spend more time managing and dealing with day-to-day problems than cooking and I had several jobs before I got out of the business where I spent more time pushing paper than behind the line. Not fun, take my word for it. My passion is food and while I love excel spreadsheets, I got into the food business because I loved to cook, not because I wanted to become an accountant.
My first book is coming out shortly (Finding a Location for Your Restaurant) and with that I created a series of real life or lets call them, “lets get a reality check”, quizzes, so that people thinking about owning and operating a restaurant (regardless of whether they have experience in a restaurant industry or not) can get an idea of what they know, they need to know and what they WILL run into as an owner or lessee of a restaurant property.
I want to thank several hundred of my friends (both from the industry and from many other walks of life in other industries) for being guinea pigs to test these and get a baseline for the scoring.
Again, these quizzes are not meant to discourage people from wanting to run their own restaurant, but rather to provide some insight into the reality of it and many of the things that you, as an owner, WILL encounter.
I mention this in my book, but it bears mentioning here. Back in the mid 1990’s I considered buying and running a restaurant and in hindsight, I am so very, very, VERY glad I did not. It would have failed in under a year. With all that I know now, I look back at that person, who had a lot of cooking experience and some management experience and I can snark at myself honestly and say, “oh you foolish, foolish child”. because I had no clue at all about what running and owning a restaurant and doing it successfully really entailed.
Interested in trying the quizzes out?
by Heather T. | Jan 9, 2024 | Food, Observations, Operations, restaurants
I had a meeting with a client recently, and a big part of our conversation was about hiring for a restaurant.
I had to dig out my notes to send them but realized I don’t think I’ve ever put these questions out on the blog that I have used in the past as part of working in restaurants in management and for the last twenty years in consulting, where I’ve helped interview candidates for positions.
While none of these questions are rocket science, and there are multiple websites out there offering lists of 10-20 questions, there are some questions on here that I’ve never seen listed by some hiring sites that have “suggested questions.”
It seems that many of the sites had people writing these questions more from a HR perspective, and not from an actual restaurant management perspective, or experience dealing with some of the realities that working in restaurants engenders.
So, if you find a few you have yet to come across, I hope it’s helpful.
The one additional thing I’ve found in calling references is to call suggested references but also call any past positions not given but listed on the job seeker’s resume (and to Google their name in quotes as well for any positions worked that they may not have listed, so (“John Doe” Chef, Kingston, NH) for example.
The one question I always ask of references and non-references is, “Would you hire them back?” if the reply is “Probably not, or no,” that can be a red flag. And in a lot of cases, that’s all you need to know.
I always recommend checking your state’s labor laws to find out what questions you can also legally ask past employers.
Doing a tag team interview (two interviewers) can also help: one person takes notes, and the other asks the questions. People’s body language and facial expressions can be enlightening when answering questions, but if it’s just you asking, you might miss those if your head is bent writing notes.
If you are interviewing multiple candidates, ask to record the interview with their permission because then you can go back and review exactly what was said. I’ve interviewed dozens of people for the same position, and sometimes, interviews get blurred together, and it’s challenging to make a final decision based on memory alone.
Two questions I ask both potential working chefs and GMs (that might be kitchen managers or GMs that are in charge of the whole restaurant or food service facility) is:
What can you tell me about this business? If they didn’t do their homework first regardless of the position hiring for) make it a short interview unless they strike you as a really good candidate. Anyone worth their salt though will at least look at the website, the really good ones will dig around online.
Is there anything that you see that you think could be changed or adjusted? (related to the first question).
Interview questions for working chefs and general managers:
What can you tell me about this business? (if they didn’t do their homework first regardless of the position hiring for) make it a short interview unless they strike you as a really good candidate. Anyone worth their salt though will at least look at the website, the really good ones will dig around online)
Is there anything that you see that you think could be changed or adjusted? (related to the first question).
Some of the questions are somewhat duplicated but asked in different ways. I always liked to throw some repeat questions in that are reworded as sometimes people change their answers. If a chef position is also a head chef or executive chef position, many of the questions asked of a General Manager would also apply.
Working Chef Questions:
- What are your salary expectations and benefits you’re seeking?
- Do you have any questions about the position or our restaurant?
- What specific skills and experience do you bring to our restaurant’s concept and clientele, and how do you align with our values and customer base?
- What inspired you to become a chef? Or cook?
- Describe your culinary journey, including your experience with specific cuisines, cooking styles, or restaurant types?
- How do you handle and adapt to changing food trends and dietary preferences, such as plant-based, gluten-free, or keto diets?
- How do you ensure food quality and consistency in a high-volume environment?
- Can you provide examples of conflicts or challenges you’ve faced in the kitchen and how you resolved them?
- Can you provide examples of conflicts or challenges you’ve faced managing menus, special events, and high-pressure situations?
- What is your approach to sustainability, locally sourced ingredients, and menu creation?
- What is your approach to balancing creativity with customer preferences and cost-effectiveness?
- How do you approach training and developing kitchen staff?
- What are your long-term career goals in the culinary industry?
- Can you share an example of a dish or menu item you created that was particularly well-received?
- Have you done food and wine pairings or food and other types of pairings? Please describe?
- Describe your leadership style and how you foster a positive and collaborative work environment.
- What are your expectations for staff in terms of performance and conduct?
- What are your proudest accomplishments as a chef?
- What drives your passion for cooking?
- What is your vision for the future of your culinary career?
- Who are your biggest culinary influences or role model?
- Are there any specific cuisines or dishes that have impacted your cooking style?
- What challenges have you faced as a chef?
- What are your future goals or aspirations?
- How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends?
- How do you balance your personal and professional life?
- What is your experience in managing a kitchen?
- What is your experience in maintaining food safety standards?
- How do you motivate and lead your kitchen staff?
- How do you handle equipment maintenance and unexpected changes in the kitchen that might impact service and quality?
- How do you encourage ongoing skill development among your kitchen team?
- What are your career goals?
- How do you balance the demands of the job with your personal life?
- How do you handle conflicts between staff?
- How do you effectively train new staff on kitchen procedures?
- What methods do you use to maintain organization in inventory and kitchen operations?
- What methods do you use to create staff schedules?
- What methods do you use to ensure safety and cleanliness in the kitchen and with your staff?
- What is your culinary philosophy or approach to cooking, and how do you stay on top of current food trends?
- What experience do you have with menu development and pricing dishes profitably?
- How do you cost out a menu?
- How do you cost out a recipe?
- How do you mentor any staff that doesn’t have as much experience as you do?
- How do you identify and source high-quality ingredients?
- How do you balance purchasing high-quality ingredients with cost effective purchasing?
- Tell me about your experience accommodating special diets, such as vegan and gluten-free ones,
- Tell me about your experience keeping your team motivated during both busy and slow shifts.
- It’s a slow day, what do you and your staff do?
- Are you currently ServSafe® certified? Which certification?
- Are you familiar with food costing software? If so, which one or ones?
- What Point of Sale software are you experienced with?
- Have you ever had a customer return a dish, and how did you handle this situation?
- How do you balance preparing perfect dishes with sending food out on time?
- Have you ever done inventories prior? Please describe the method and how often you were involved in doing them.
- Have you ever purchased from broadline and specialty vendors? Who and what did you purchase?
- Do you think it makes sense to purchase everything from one vendor? Or to price compare products?
- How many vendors have you dealt with prior at a time?
- Have you ever negotiated prices with vendors?
- Have you ever had to deal with a vendor that tossed product (meaning they would charge for a flat of produce and had taken out some product, turned the flat over gently and then again to make it look full) or a vendor that didn’t properly deduct tare weight from product deliveries?
- If you dealt with the above, how do you deal with the vendor?
- Have you ever run into a situation(s) where you couldn’t afford to make the minimum order for a food delivery and you desperately needed goods? What did you do?
- Have you ever run into a situation(s) where the restaurant couldn’t afford to pay vendor invoices and bills and your vendors cut you off from deliveries until past due invoices were settled? What did you do?
- How long have you been managing others?
- How many staff have you been in charge of prior and what positions?
- How long have you been managing others?
- What was your favorite place to work prior and why?
- Are you prepared to be on call if a line cook or dishwasher doesn’t show up for a shift?
Interview Questions for General Managers:
- What are your salary expectations and benefits you’re seeking? Do you have any questions about the position or our restaurant?
- As a general manager in charge of the entire restaurant, how do you reduce operational costs?
- As a general manager in charge of the entire restaurant handle disciplinary actions with staff?
- Have you ever had to discipline staff members? For what and tell us about a couple of situations.
- Have you ever had to fire someone? If so, how many people, tell me about the experience?
- Have you ever had to hire people? If so, for what positions, tell me about how you approach hiring?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving both front and back of house staff?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving a staff member and customer?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving yourself and a customer?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving yourself and a staff member?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving yourself and an owner or manager above you?
- What Point of Sale software are you experienced with?
- Are you familiar with food costing? If so, please detail.
- Are you familiar with food inventories? If so, please detail.
- Are you familiar with setting menu pricing? If so, please detail.
- Have you taken a ServSafe® course, and are you currently certified? Which certification(s)?
- Have you ever taken TIPS® training and are you currently certified? (Important if you have a bar or alcohol service)
- Have you ever taken ServSafe Alcohol® and are you currently certified? (Important if you have a bar or alcohol service)
- Are you prepared to be on call and fill in if someone from the back of the house or the front of the house calls in sick or pulls a noshow?
- How do you give feedback to employees?
- Do you become “friends” with employees or do you keep a distance personally?
- What is your skill level with MS Office? If so, please detail what programs within MS office. .
- How do you ensure seamless coordination between the front and back of the house to deliver a high-quality dining experience?
- Give me some strategies for maintaining food quality and presentation?
- Give me some strategies for adapting to changing food trends?
- What measures do you take to adhere to health and safety regulations in both the kitchen and dining areas?
- Can you describe your experience with creating and managing budgets?
- Can you describe your experience with maximizing profitability for both the front and back of the house?
- Have you ever had to deal with employee theft?
- If you have had to deal with employee theft, what did you do?
- Have you ever had to deal with an issue of sexual harassment in the workplace with your employees?
- If you have had to deal with of sexual harassment in the workplace, what did you do?
- Have you done employee scheduling prior? For what daypart (breakfast, lunch, dinner, other) and for how many staff?
- Describe the most difficult scheduling problem you have faced as a manager?
- How do you approach training, developing, and managing staff to maintain high standards of service?
- How do you approach training, developing, and managing staff to maintain high standards for food preparation?
- What steps do you take to address customer complaints involving both food quality and service issues? Give some examples of how you would deal with complaints.
- How do you manage your time effectively to oversee all aspects of restaurant operations?
- What are your long-term goals for improving the restaurant’s performance and success?
- What do you think, in your own words, are your key responsibilities as a GM, including balancing time between overseeing the dining room and the kitchen, and what operational systems would you use to facilitate this?
- How do you plan on onboarding and training new hires?
- How do you plan to manage inventory, and use that data for operational decisions?
- Can you share strategies for effective staff communication, delegation, and handling issues like understaffing or team conflicts?
- Describe your leadership style and philosophy?
- How do you cultivate a strong service culture and manage the demands of the job while maintaining work-life balance?
- Are you familiar with the legal aspects of running a restaurant, such as liquor licenses (if applicable) and labor laws?
- Can you share your experience with restaurant marketing, promotions, and responding to online reviews and public feedback?
- How involved have you been in menu planning and development?
- Describe a strategy you’ve implemented for boosting staff morale and reducing turnover. (and after they give an example) ask them to explain how well it worked and what happened.
- Describe a strategy you’ve implemented to ensure high standards of customer service. (And after they give an example.) Ask them to explain how well it worked and what happened.
- Can you give an example of how you’ve successfully managed a diverse team and describe your journey in the restaurant industry leading up to a general management role?
- How do you balance the needs and priorities of both front-of-house and back-of-house staff?
- What are your strategies for attracting and retaining customers?
- What do you think is most important when dealing with customers?
- What motivates you and what do you find most rewarding about running a restaurant?
- What are your strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations in the restaurant industry?
- Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your experience that might be relevant to this position?
- What is your strongest qualification for this job?
- Tell me of at least two reasons this job is a good match for your skills, strengths, experience and background?
- Give me an example that best describes your organizational skills.
- If offered the position how long do you plan to stay at the establishment?
- What new skills have you learned or developed recently?
- What kind of personality do you work best with and why? And what kind have you had any problems with working with in the past?
- What irritates you about other people?
- What do you think you like and dislike about the job we are discussing?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What attracted you to this position?
by Heather T. | Nov 30, 2023 | Business, Observations, Operations, restaurants
I’m pretty excited. I’ve been working on a how-to book series, and my first book will be released at the end of December!
Future ones will all be restaurant-oriented and will cover: writing a business plan, writing a marketing plan, how to do competition research, dining and kitchen flow, writing an operations plan, menu development, dealing with difficult customers both online and offline, reputation management, the art of the upsell, managing and dealing with employee theft and managing and keeping your employees.
My first book, Finding a Location for Your Restaurant will cover:
- Community Assessments
- Who Is Your Market?
- Competition
- Parking including Limited Parking, Shared Parking, Street Parking, Motorcycle and ADA Parking, Parking Fees, Employee Parking and Delivery and Pickup Parking
- Lot and Road Conditions
- Flooding and Flood Zones and Other Natural Disasters
- Foot Traffic
- Traffic Counts
- Vendor Access and Who Delivers?
- Noise Considerations
- Crime and Safety
- Catering In-House or Off-site Considerations
- Landscaping
- Zoning
- Outdoor Dining
- Signage
- Taxes and Tax Assessment History
- Business Turnover
- Employee Housing
- In-person Research
Most of the how-to books I’ve come across on opening a restaurant don’t go into depth about everything you should be really looking at when you assess a restaurant location.
I’m also almost finished with a quiz with scoring that I think will help guide people who want to open a restaurant. Inspired by Steve Strauss’ Entrepreneurship Readiness Quiz, which we use in SCORE (with Steve’s permission), I am working on a “Do you REALLY think you are ready to own your own restaurant?” Instead of 20 questions, it is going on about 100 questions+ so that someone, whether they have had restaurant experience or not, can drill down on not just whether they are ready or not but if they do want to start the business; this is where they will find the holes and knowledge that they either lacking and need to learn about or make sure they hire key people with those skill sets.