“Do restaurants make all their money from alcohol and desserts?”
Years ago, that’s what one leader in a workshop filled with top consultants from around the world asked me.
I thought “no,” but I said “yes” to avoid a long discussion about how you can slice and dice the numbers any way you like to support the genesis of profit. What’s much more interesting to me is explaining the myriad ways to increase overall results.
Now, though, alcohol and desserts are besieged in your restaurants and need your attention.
From 10,000 BC to Now
From the “I never thought I would say this” department: We’re at the beginning of the end of the golden age of alcohol consumption. It started in the Neolithic period. Been a great run.
Mintel has data that says one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds don’t drink – and those that do are drinking 20% less than the millennials who preceded them.
That does not mean your LBW revenue will vanish any time soon, but it does mean it won’t be going up, either.
It’s like owning a cigarette store in 1965.
What must you do now? Upgrade your zero-proof beverage programs to compensate for eroding alcohol sales, because your guests still really want depth of flavor profiles and combinations and quality ingredients. Servers and bartenders must learn how to sell those drinks, too.
And Desserts?
Technomic data shows guests increasingly are economizing by enjoying appetizers and entrées at your restaurant but then heading home for a packaged dessert they bought at the grocery store or online.
As soon as I said that in this month’s meeting of my Restaurant Owners Success Club, one of my group coaching clients immediately raised their hand on our Zoom call and said, “Yes, my husband and I do that.”
What must you do now? Enhance your dessert offerings to be irresistible as they float through the dining room on a plate with four forks. And hold your people accountable on the steps of service that support dessert sales.
Core Menu Items Need Attention, Too
And in a parallel, those core menu items – the ones that launched your brand – revisit them, too. Update their presentation, even their formulation, and let your guests know you will never stop making the experience better at your restaurants.
People get scared when I talk to them about the benefits of big menu moves. They worry about taking things from their guests. But the times call for more big moves rather than small moves.
And when I work with clients on how to provide the menu items their guests (and lapsed users and non-guests) want now, that can be as impactful as marketing, management development, cost management, training, and all the other contents of the restaurant owner’s typical bag of tricks. It raises revenue, profit, PPA,, brand loyalty, and awareness.
