his edition of Modern Restaurant Management’s “Ask the Expert” features advice from EZ-Chow Inc. Chief Sales Officer Sallie Clark. Click here to read the full article.
Everywhere we turn right now it seems restaurant brands are continuing to face operational challenges and hurdles. With outdoor dining occupying the foreground, and bars and indoor dining taking a back seat to consumer preferences, it begs the question: what happens when it gets cold?
Outdoor dining works great during the warmer weather, and for facilitating additional curbside/delivery. However, for many states and cities in climates that experience a full four seasons of weather, cooler weather is fast approaching and with it, another chance to make operational changes.
So, what are some additional ways restaurant operators can swing with the seasons and make additional revenue? Here’s a look at four.
1. Meal Kits – A variety of restaurants are turning to meal kits as a way to make supplemental income during shutdowns and limited capacity. Most are doing this by picking their top three best/most popular meals that are easy to assemble for home cooks. This requires some packaging adjustments so ingredients can be easily navigated and mixed together once they arrive at their destination.
2. Menu Features – We’ve seen many of our restaurant partners implement menu features with great success. And by this, we mean offering proteins/center-of-the-plate and sous vides menu items designed to feed an entire family. For example, offering a complete brunch package for Mother’s Day (pre-ordered ahead and picked-up ready-to-serve), Pre-ordered and fully-cooked turkeys for Thanksgiving or other holidays, steaks for two for a date night at home, the list is endless. By having pre-ordered, ready-to-serve menu items that go beyond the traditional meal for pickup/curbside, restaurant operators have a chance to capture additional ROI, even during the downturn.
