Is it time to change your menu? Some establishments choose to change the menu seasonally, others monthly, and others irregularly. In many instances, change consists of incorporating new limited-time offers. Here are some important menu factors to keep your restaurant competitive and increase your profit margin:

Does your menu lack variety when compared to your competitors? Consider adding any specific items that competitors successfully offer that are not part of your menu. If you can develop dishes that compare to competitors signatures, you may be able to draw in some of their customers.

Is there a menu item that we should have but don’t that is key to our concept? Explore the menus of other establishments that serve your cuisine. Are they offering ethnic dishes that would fit well with the theme of your menu? With the new emphasis on health in dining, maybe it’s time to expand your offerings of lighter fare.

Once you’ve decided what menu changes are necessary, it’s important to take into account operational considerations that can make the change easier and more profitable.

-Will your kitchen equipment be appropriate for the new items?

-Does the new menu item follow a similar prep process to items you already prepare?

-Does execution require special steps that will slow down your kitchen?

-Will the new item require any special ingredients not currently purchased?

When it comes time to put the changes in print, Serv-U offers menu jackets and high quality menu paper in a variety of designs. If you are testing out special, limited-time offers, menu clips are a great option to debut the selection to your customers. Menu development is an important process—positive changes will impress your customers and generate growth to your bottom line. 

As temperatures climb and hours of daylight begin to stretch later and later, the heat is on for outdoor dining season. Our last outdoor dining blog emphasized the importance of furnishing your outdoor space. Another key to the success of your patio space is a stock of seasonal restaurant supplies and tabletop items.

When doing business outside, keep in mind that sidewalks and patios will be much harder on your glassware than indoor dining areas. Consider investing in durable melamine dinnerware to help prevent breakage. Serv-U carries the Durus line which showcases sunny yellow, coral and ocean blue pieces to give your outdoor dining space a warm vibe.

If you are expanding your serving area, make sure you have a dishroom is equipped to handle clean-up. More customers ordering drinks on your deck means more demand for your dishwasher. Disposables are a great solution to this dilemma! Serv-U offers disposable shot glasses and drinkware to meet your needs. 

To get the most bang for your buck in outdoor dining areas, create a twist on your indoor environment that can appeal to a broader base of customers. The beer drinkers that frequent your restaurant to watch sports in the winter may come back in the summer to enjoy a bucket of beer on the patio. Those customers that order from your extensive wine list while dining inside may be attracted to special pitchers of house sangria in the sunshine.

Seasonal restaurant supplies and special summertime offers are a great way to entice customers to your outdoor dining space. Use your patio to add liveliness and action to an otherwise sedate storefront and reap the rewards of an expanded customer base!

You are probably aware that stainless steel restaurant equipment is high quality, but do you know why?

Stainless steel is an iron-carbon alloy with at least 10.5% chromium content. Stainless steel does not stain, corrode or rust as easily as ordinary steel because of its chromium content. Oxygen reacts with the chromium to form a tough, invisible layer of film on the steel surface that gives the metal durability. If you care for your stainless steel restaurant equipment properly, it can last for many years, making it a great investment for operators.

Another key to the value of stainless steel is the ease of sanitizing this metal. Cleanliness is essential to every foodservice operation so investing in metal that does not have pores or cracks that can hold bacteria, grime and dirt makes sense. Serv-U sells special stainless steel wipes for optimum polish and protection.

Now you are clear on the benefits, but do you know what the terms 18/10 and 18/8 mean?

Understanding is key to buying the right grade of stainless! These grades specify the amount of chrome and nickel in a stainless steel alloy. Chrome is an important ingredient for resistance to corrosion, while nickel gives stainless the soft, silver-like luster for which it is known. 18/10 means the metal is 18% chrome and 10% nickel. 18/8 has approximately 18% chrome and 8% nickel. Weight is judged by the gauge or thickness of the metal. For example, 18/10 and 18/8 stainless are the highest quality premium flatware lines.

With this knowledge you can shop with confidence for kitchen appliances, cooking equipment and table top items, knowing that stainless steel is a high quality investment.

Name your product--pizza, pretzels, pastries, bagels and more. When you can deliver these items to your customers at the perfect temperature and texture, you earn big sales for your deli, café, or concession stand. Heated display merchandisers are designed to deliver the profits. Serv-U offers a range of merchandisers to suit each product’s unique holding needs.

Pizza is a favorite product at sporting events, fairs and concerts for its alluring visual presentation and familiar taste. Appeal to all the customer’s senses by keeping your pies hot and delicious in a 1 or 2-door pizza merchandiser. For superior taste and texture, it’s important to invest in a humidified merchandiser. Slices stay soft and fresh for a longer shelf life because of the consistent heat. You can give your customers a piece of quality pizza, beyond the confines of the parlor.

Pretzels, pastries and other bread products are also best served by humidified display cabinets. Humidified warmers are designed for a more rapid rate of turnover, guaranteeing a fresh, soft pretzel always available for your customers to purchase. They allow you to control the temperature and humidity and are often illuminated for optimum display. The maximum capacity 3-tiered warmer can hold up to 72 pretzels, but if space in an issue compact models can save you money by not requiring too much additional room. Hanging racks can be replaced with flat ones to hold bagels, donuts, scones or sandwiches, depending upon your needs.

A state-of-the-art display case can set you apart from your competition. Tempered glass, digital thermostats, and bright lights are all available within Serv-U’s selection of merchandisers. Such features will assure your customers of professionalism and dedication to high standards.

A new wave of healthy habits inspired by holiday overindulgence and New Year’s resolutions sweeps the nation each January. Diet season is in full swing, something that many in the foodservice industry see as a customer deterrent. The key to drawing the crowds to your door during this time of year is catering to their calorie counting. Here are some tips on restaurant equipment to rev up your post-holiday profits.

Salads are an obvious menu selection for those with a health-conscious New Year’s resolution. Take advantage of this by incorporating a salad bar into the flow of your restaurant and advertising the healthy selection available. Mobile food and salad bars are an eye-catching addition to attract customers. If a stand-alone food bar seems like a design challenge, Serv-U also offers a variety of tabletop food bars. Portable buffet bars allow for easy loading and unloading.

Stock your salad bar with insulated drop-in ice pans to keep the produce crisp and appetizing. These pans can be frozen overnight for ease of service. The technique keeps pre-chilled product at or below 40 degrees for 8 hours. Toppings and dressings can be stocked in round food storage crocks on the salad bar. The crocks are both freezer and dishwasher safe.

For another profit-boost during the diet season, have your chef create an in-house dressing that can be marketed as a special low-calorie option. Placing a cold crock of the homemade dressing at the end of the salad bar decreases your food costs so you can profit from post-holiday health consciousness.

Salads prepared with kitchen equipment behind the scenes and served as entrees can be profitable in a fine dining environment. While a self-serve bar is the ultimate labor-saving route, a chef-prepared salad takes fewer ingredients and energy than many other menu items, thus increasing your profit margin.

By stocking up on salad bowls, tongs and serving accessories, you can turn salad season into a profitable period for your restaurant.

So now that you’ve got your new dinnerware sitting on the table it is time to move on and bring the flatware in line with the rest of the décor revamp that we’ve been talking about. As with most of the topics we’ve covered in this series, we could talk for weeks about flatware and still not even scratched the surface of what goes into flatware, so let’s talk about the key points regarding flatware that you’ll need to know when choosing a set to go along with your dinnerware.

The first step in understanding flatware is to understand the nickel finish, how it is noted, and what means for you as a restaurant. Stainless Steel flatware is listed as being 18/0, 18/8, or 18/10. The eighteen denotes the metal content while the second number denotes the amount of nickel in each piece; the higher the amount of nickel the brighter the finish is going to be. So an 18/10 piece is going to have a better luster on the finish than an 18/8, and that 18/8 in turn will have a better shine than an 18/0. So more nickel is better right? The answer is, “maybe”. First, if your restaurant is currently using a flatware retrieval system the 18/10 and 18/8 flatware will fly right by the magnet since nickel is non-magnetic. In this application a heavier, high-end 18/0 will be the better solution. Second, nickel is much more expensive than iron so the high nickel content 18/10 and 18/8 is more expensive.

Just as we discussed previously with dinnerware, the object of choosing flatware is to find a set that complements the rest of your décor and lands in that sweet spot between not being over bearing or being so mismatched to the rest of the set that it breaks the flow of your décor. A good set of flatware will also be sized appropriately to the dinnerware that it will be used with. What this means is if you have wide rimmed plates that are fairly large, you want to pick a flatware that looks like it matches in size. The opposite is also true, if you have smaller plates, you will want to have flatware that doesn’t look oversized when sitting next to the dinnerware.

Another item that will factor into your choice will be the weight of the flatware and the style of restaurant you are trying to portray. A fast casual restaurant can use a medium weight fork or knife and the customer will accept that since the meal cost $10. If you have a steakhouse or finer dining, the customer will need a heavier fork and maybe some specialty pieces or a steak knife. Imagine cutting into a 1 ½” ribeye medium temperature with a dull knife and flimsy fork. The customer will perceive the steak as tough rather than the tools are inappropriate. A sharp knife and substantial fork will improve the customer’s perception of the steak.

We’ve covered size and weight, now we’re going to touch on style. When you look at different styles of flatware you are going to want to look for something that complements the dinnerware that you’ve already picked out. A general rule of thumb is to use more ornate flatware with simple dinnerware designs and use cleaner lines with more ornate dinnerware so they don’t compete. A piece of flatware with a nice architectural band on the handle will blend in well with many of the dinnerware suggestions we made in our previous installments, as it has nice clean lines, doesn’t overpower the setting, and generally appears contemporary in terms of design style. Another contemporary example would be something with a flowing form and a sleek appearance like this piece from Onedia. Browse around the flatware sections here at Serv-U and you’ll be sure to find a flatware style that fits into the over all décor plan of your restaurant.

If you have addition questions, feel free to contact us via phone at 800-797-3788 or click the picture of the customer service representative at the top left corner of each page of the site to launch a live chat.

In part five of our eight part series we’ll cover linens.

How much money is your bar leaving on the table? For the bar owner, over pouring of liquor with a free flow pour can result in a huge loss in revenue. Today we are going to discuss one low cost change that you can make which has the potential to increase consistency and profit; that change is adding measured pours. Let’s quickly review the numbers pouring from a measured 1 oz shot out of a one liter bottle:

When you reduce over pouring with a measured spout you can increase the number of drinks the bartender can serve by an additional two to four drinks per bottle. Considering the average number of liquor bottles in a bar, the impact using a measured pour spout will have on long term profitability is easy to see.

In addition to the revenue increase, you are increasing the quality of your customer service by ensuring that each customer is treated equally and consistently on every drink. The drinks won’t be too weak one night and too strong the next. This will hold true on busy nights when the staff can’t pay as close of attention as they normally do or on the first night of a new bartender.

You can find measured pours here at Serv-U in the bar supplies section and are available in a wide range of measurement sizes, colors, and collared & uncollared. If you have addition questions, feel free to contact us via phone at 800-797-3788 or click the picture of the customer service representative at the top left corner of each page of the site to launch a live chat.

Who knew that a menu could control your thoughts?  It turns out that it can, in a way.  It can be used to suggest items, and often, the suggestive power of a carefully crafted menu actually works.  A blog on the Baltimore Sun’s site examines the power of menus to lead customers to exactly the items the chef hopes they’ll order.  One of the sources for the post is an in-depth look at menu design by Restaurants USA from 2000, no less relevant today.  Both are an interesting read, and in the end, you can see how this kind of “mind manipulation” is actually a win for both parties.  The chef highlights the signature dish or the dishes with the highest profit margin, and the customer gets a menu that is attractive, easy-to-read, and acts as a guide in the decision-making process.

According to Restaurants USA, the average increase in revenue from a menu redesign is between 2 and 10 percent.  That in itself might just be reason enough to give your menus a second look.  Feeling inspired?  Take a look at all the menu-making options available at Serv-U, and if you’re thinking of adding food photography to your new menus, make sure to dress up each dish with attractive plating, from melamine dinnerware to fine china plates.  Questions?  Just call us at 800-797-3788 or click the picture of the customer service representative at the top left corner of each page of the site.

    Besides food waste, an issue that is top-of-mind for many restaurateurs is their labor expense.  Warewashing is one area where many foodservice operators can reduce labor costs with fairly minimal investment.  Adding a glass washer to your bar sink saves labor in several ways.  First, the glasses don’t need to be racked and moved to a dishwasher; eliminating this step also reduces breakage.  Then there’s the benefit of cleaner glasses and fewer returned drinks with dried-on lipstick or food pulp.  That’s because the bar sink glass washer’s brushes scrub off food and lipstick residue more effectively than undercounter glass washers—and at a fraction of the cost of a large warewasher.  Besides saving on labor, glass washers are easy to install, fitting into most bar sinks and requiring no special plumbing or electrical hook-ups.

    In some cases, of course, you need to use a larger upright or undercounter warewasher.  In those instances, you can realize savings simply by upgrading your glass racks.  Carlisle’s Opticlean Newave TM glass racks have all the durability of standard glass racks, but they hold 20% more glassware.  That means fewer loads are necessary, and that saves you money on the labor, detergent, and water/electrical costs of running the dish washer.  The curved design of the Newave TM glass racks also holds the most popular sizes more securely than standard racks, reducing breakage.  To find out if a Newave TM glass rack will fit your glassware, give your Serv-U sales associate a call at 1-800-797-3788.  For standard glass racks, just locate your glassware here on www.servu-online.com by using the search function in the top left corner of the screen.  The matching glass rack will be listed as an accessory at the bottom of your glassware’s product page.  Getting the best glass rack for your drinkware is important to reducing mechanical shock and breakage, so don’t hesitate to call with questions.

    For a relatively small investment in a quality food prep machine, your kitchen can prep food at 3 to 5 times the rate of hand cutting fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and meats.  You’re also assured consistent, professional-looking cuts every time without all the wear and tear on your hands.  While automatic machines are available, manual food prep machines work very well at a fraction of the cost.  Many machines even perform multiple tasks.  A great example of this is the King Kutter TM (REDK-6003 and REDK-6004); for just $113, you get a manual food prep machine that can shred, string, julienne, grate, slice, and chop fruits, vegetables, and cheeses.  And there’s a machine for just about any task.  A quality wedger can be had for under $200, and can be used to wedge potatoes, lemons, limes, oranges, apples, and more.  There are some automatic food prep machines that require a larger up-front investment, but carry significant advantages, such as a potato/vegetable peeler (the UVXK-1000, $1340).  It has a 20-lb capacity, and peels vegetables faster than by hand and with little waste, great for high-volume peeling.  Similarly, for some applications, only a high quality food processor will do.  Though they run between $900-$1500, plus blades, food processors work extremely quickly and effectively on all manner of food product.

    Most diners never see the back-of-the house, but that’s where you can make strategic investments to achieve more consistent plates and better labor efficiency.  Investments in glass washers, glass racks, and food prep machines can all bolster your restaurant’s bottom line.  For more information about the benefits of these items, see our additional links below.

Additional Links:

Bar Maid: Why Glass Washers?

(Also be sure to read Part 1 in our "Improve Your Bottom Line" series: Reduce Waste.)

    Reducing your use of paper and plastic disposables is not only environmentally friendly, but cost effective.  I have three suggestions to reduce your weekly purchase of disposable products.  Replace paper towels with hand dryers, replace paper or plastic disposable cups with reusable plastic cups and replace paper baskets with plastic baskets. 

    Replacing paper towels with hand dryers is cost effective, sanitary, and environmentally friendly.  Hand dryers’ initial cost is relatively low at $160 - $300, and they recoup their cost in less than a year.  Most hand dryers are available in either 115V or 208/230V so they are easy to install.  Touchless hand dryers are more sanitary than paper towels and can be used in both the bathrooms and at hand washing stations.  In the “Additional Links” section below is a report on the benefits of hand dryers, including environmental and economic impacts.

    Many restaurants rely heavily on disposable products because of convenience.  Disposables can be a life saver during peak times, but they are very expensive compared to reusable products. Replacing disposable plastic cups and trays with reusable plastics has a relatively low up-front cost and requires little additional labor expense.

Restaurants that use plastic, paper, or foam cups can replace those expensive products with reusable plastics.  Quality disposable cups can cost in excess of $50 per case compared to about $10- $20 per dozen for reusable plastic drinkware.  Since most plastic drinkware is dishwasher safe, the additional labor expense is minimal.  Customers will appreciate the increase in quality and improved environmental impact.

    Replace your paper food baskets with polypropylene baskets and add profit back to your bottom line.  Quality microwave-, heat lamp-, and dishwasher-safe baskets cost about $10 per dozen.  You will still want to use a basket liner, but they are a fraction of the $30 per case paper basket price.  Customers also like the plastic basket’s more rigid structure over a flimsy paper basket.  Most baskets are available in several color options to improve the presentation of the food.

Finding ways to reduce one time use products and replacing them with reusable products not only saves you money, but improves the quality of the product, reduces storage space requirements, and improves the environment.  If you have any tips or if you have tried any of the above ideas successfully, email your stories to us at servusales@servu-online.com and we will add them to this blog.  Thank you for your patronage.

Sincerely,

Chad Hemming

Vice President of Marketing

Additional Links:

World Dryer: Hand Dryers vs Paper Towels