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[BlueIguana]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on here. I opened a restaurant 3 months ago with my dad as a way to get out of my previous job (construction) and he wanted something better for me as well. He has 10+ years experience serving and cooking in restaurants, and I have none. We decided on a mexican theme restaraunt in a sort of niche tourist town in Alberta. In the summer the population goes from 10,000 people to 50,000 all summer with young people and old coming from all over alberta to be near the lake (which I'm convienently placed directly in the busiest part of) We have the location, we have a basic concept..but the finer details are eluding us big time. Dad's afraid to take a serious look at the books, but I think we're losing money big time, and he's in a sort of denile about everything. So it's up to me to make this thing work. This is basically our shot or we're screwed so... Should I hire a professional restaurant expert to come down and help us? I really don't have much of an idea how to run a restaurant but I'm basically doing most of the running and I need help. Where should I start? We have to make some money back next summer or we're going to have to close the doors. I realize one of the biggest mistakes we made was not applying for our liquor liscense sooner (we're just getting it now) and the summer is over. That lost us alot of revenue this summer. Any tips? Good books??

Thanx all

Blue Iguana

[mojito]

Hi Blue Iguana,
I feel your pain. Luckily you say you have the right "location" which is very important for a successful restaurant, however you really picked a fine time to start up??? This down turn for basically ALL businesses is the worst possible time. (the economy)
I think the first thing you need to do is manage your costs, train to the utmost in quality & care your servers & staff, & most importantly be "the mayor" of your restaurant. Which means every single person that walks in-Greet them with a smile, bend over backward to service them, they love being acknowledged by the owner...Create "New Ideas" for marketing...example: I just did a e-mail newsblast to my over 2000 guest subscribers via e-mail on Saturday Nite . It stated: Listen up Redskin Fans; If the Redskins WIN over the Eagles on 10/5/08 come in on Monday nite (which we are usually a little slow) and receive a FREE entree Meal with the Purchase of one meal at regular or of lesser value...It was a HIT!!! we were packed. I can go on & on about all the different "INCENTIVES" I throw out there almost daily because of the economy. I too must boost sales & get people in. I think the whole country is in panic mode.
Good luck!

[RejuvenateYourRestaurant]

Blue Iguana,

Good news. You are not alone. So many have started where you are and overcame the hurdles to be very successful.

So many more questions come to mind but we will first touch on a couple.

If it can be said every business includes aspects of People, Purpose and Profit:
1. What is your vision / purpose?
2. What is your breakeven?
3. How do you evaluate your success each day/week/month?
1. Vision / Purpose
i.e. A Mexican theme restaurant with the focus on improviing the quality of life for families?
Your vision/purpose drives all of your decisions and is your identity.

i.e. Promote sports activities

You can't be everything to everyone and for the locals, being more than just an eating place is important.

2. Breakeven?
If you need a breakeven spreadsheet, go here:
Rejuvenate Your Restaurant - Restaurant Forms. It is free for now... You can change the costs and watch how it changes your sales automatically.

This becomes a good tool to create marketing plans as well.

3. Evaluate Success
If you need an evaluation tool, go here:
Rejuvenate Your Restaurant - Restaurant Forms. Click on weekly snapshot. It is free for now... It is designed for a pizza restaurant with delivery but applies to any operation.

Evaluate your with measures of success. Have a target then keep score.

For books, hire a local part time book keeper.

As to your own knowledge / skill base, you can easily fix this. There are many links about a variety of topics on my website (right panel). Rejuvenate Your Restaurant - Restaurant Guerrilla Marketing I use Delicious as my method to keep resources handy. This allows me to access even if on others computers.

In the end you will:
Know your vision, know your breakeven, create a plan (week/month/year), communicate the plan to your team, execute for 100% smiles, control your costs to plan, measure results (day/week/month/year), celebrate your successes.

Hire a pro?
Digital photos, menu, video are all good things to have handy. You can send these to a pro and get you started with phone, email and there are other online tools where you can connect via the internet.

A pro will ask you a series of questions...
and if you have the breakeven completed along with a "snapshot", you will save time and money for both of you. So much can be done from afar now... You would be surprised what can be done from 1,000 miles away.

Hope this helps.

To your success.
Mike

[Jack]

Michael,

What you are experiencing is not new or unheard of; in fact it is quite common.

There are some questions that you need to ask yourself.

Who is my competition?

How are my prices?

How is my guest service?

How is my plate presentation?

These are some questions that you need to ask yourself for your guest's enjoyment.

Now some questions that need to be asked, for your business.

Do you have established controls to monitor your operation?

Are purchasing guidelines are in place?

How is my staffing?

These are some of the many questions that you need to ask yourself. If you have answered "no" to any of these questions, and you don't know how to fix them, then you need to talk to a consultant.

Hope this helps. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Jacknewerafoodbeverage@gmail.com