Cost Saving Tips For Small Restaurants

Statistics show that after the global recession, many Americans have been opting to eat out at restaurants significantly less and instead prefer to eat at home. This decrease in restaurant expenditure has undoubtedly affected the restaurant business. In order to adapt to this change, many small restaurants have begun to adopt cost saving tips. Small cuts in various areas will add up, and the resulting impact on profit makes these cost saving measures very worthwhile. Below are some cost saving tips that small restaurants can employ to ensure that profit is maximized to the best of its ability:

Adjust Staff to Customer Ratio
Having too many idle staff on hand is just a big waste of money. Observe and analyze the fluctuations in the number of customers based on time of the day to find out when are peak service hours. If lunch and dinner hours attract a huge customer base and only a smaller proportion during breakfast hours, adjust the number of working staff accordingly. Manage staff shifts so that a lot of your staff is working during busy hours, and just a few during off-peak times.

Go Green: Adopt Conservation Strategies
Many businesses, including small restaurants have begun to “go green.” Simple steps to conserve energy use can go a long way, so make sure you have plan to direct your business towards the path of sustainability. Lighting is a huge factor in utility costs, so one way to minimize such costs is to turn off lights when not in use. It sounds simple enough, but you would be surprised about how much energy is wasted by not doing so. Dim restaurant lights based on availability of sunlight, or use daylight sensors for automatic regulation. Replace incandescent light bulbs with efficient compact fluorescent or LED light bulbs. Though these may seem costly initially, they last for a much longer period of time than the common light bulbs.

Replace Old Culinary Equipment
Restaurant equipment can create a heavy burden on utility bills. Replacing old kitchen equipment with energy efficient appliances can lead to 15-30% more cooking efficiency and can also help to save costs!  Induction cooktops are also a great way to reduce expenditure, as they transfer about 40% more energy directly to the cooking pan than ordinary cooktops. Less ambient heat is created and you can also save on cooling costs. Limiting the number of appliances on at the same time is another way to conserve energy. Plan carefully so that as many items can be put into the kitchen appliances at the same time. Also remember to keep equipment clean, as grease and carbon build-up can make it harder for culinary equipment to work, thus leading higher energy costs

  Map Out Your Menu
The placement of food items on the menu is more important thing. A great way to save costs and generate higher profit is to heavily promote menu items that require relatively lower costs to make. Parts of the menu that attract the attention of the eye most are the center and the top right corner, so arrange menu items according to which items you want to sell most! Fluctuating prices of ingredients can affect how much it costs to make certain food items, so try to monitor those prices frequently. Adjust your menu periodically to reflect changes in items you want to promote, remembering to spotlight those with the lowest costs!

Take Charge of Your Business
For small restaurants, the scope of the business is not too large to be unmanageable by an individual, or a few. Be your own accountant, manager, publicist, secretary and webmaster! Take charge of your restaurant and cut down on manpower by assuming multiple roles. Not only will it help you be more informed about your business and stay more in tune with the needs of your customers and staff, it can significantly save costs!

Such tips are just a few amongst many that can be used to save costs. You’ll be surprised how much you can save by just snipping costs here and there!

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