FSR February 2023

YourTake BY BRUCE REINSTEIN & TIMHAND

Recession-Proof YourRestaurant Seven strategies to thrive in a new restaurant era— no matter the economy.

MOST FULLSERVICE OPERATORS have come to realize that running a res taurant will never be the same. Fortu nately, they have made significant piv ots to their businesses to address this new post-pandemic world. Where business used to revolve around in-house dining, there is now a greater balance with off-premises busi ness. Where labor was once plentiful, it is now difficult to find and equally diffi cult to keep. Where expanding the menu and adding SKUs was easy, it is now almost taboo. And where cost increases were predictable and manageable, it is now a challenge to make money at all. With change comes understanding and perspective. is can be incredibly useful as we move forward, especially given that the business environment is still in flux and a possible recession looms on the horizon. Let’s now look to the following seven strategies, which can help operators lead a successful restaurant evolution. 1. Be open-minded and flexible Step one is to take emotion out of deci sion-making. Great leaders listen to their teams, customers, and partners and make decisions based on fact, per spective, and experience. e road ahead is clearer than it has been the last few years but will still require flexibility. It shouldn’t require a pandemic to make change. Operators must be willing to let

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY HELPS OPERATORS STAY ADAPTABLE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES.

go, to try a new way that allows for sales growth, cost reduction, and most impor tantly, greater profitability. 2. Keep the menu simple and the LTOs tight Historically, many full-service restau rants operated with a “more is better” mentality and tried to be everything to everybody. is mindset changed over the last three years due to labor and sup ply shortages. “More,” as it turned out, was not better—it was inefficient and costly. Operators learned that consumers did not need all thosemenu items; in fact, they appreciated restaurants that were focused on doing fewer things really well. In 2023, we seemenus becomingmore condensed, easier to execute, and more profitable, yet still every bit as satisfying

for the consumer. We also see the pace of LTOs increasing but requiring fewer new SKUs. In general, SKU reduction will con tinue, and new SKUs will be challenged to carry their weight, either through use on multiple recipes or by being truly dif ferentiated and value-added. 3. Become a hybrid e history of most full-service restau rants involves large dining areas with even larger menus. Takeout business was an afterthought, packaging was cheap, and the quality of the experience was average at best. During Covid, being bet ter at takeout was required to survive. Post-pandemic, we’ve seen the share of off-premises settle in significantly higher than it was. Big dining rooms are not as important. A restaurant’s digital

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FEBRUARY 2023