- 1. Revamp Your Restaurant Menu
Take a closer look at your restaurant menu. Are there certain menu items that aren’t moving? Is your food cost correct? It may be time to trim down your menu and remove pricier items, like shellfish or prime cuts of beef and offer less expensive items that will appeal to customers on a budget.
2. Don’t Cut Advertising
Advertising can quickly eat up extra cash from any restaurant budget. However, a recession is not the time to cut out advertising. While you don’t need to do a full scale media assault, with radio ads, TV commercials and a print campaign, you should budget out enough for newspaper ads and keep your website updated. Also look at ways to advertise on a shoestring budget, such as social marketing on sites like Facebook, Twitter or MySpace.
3. Watch Your Payroll
Look for ways to trim your payroll. If Mondays nights are typically slow, do you need as many servers? Or a host? If you employ a general manager, they can fill in for a bartender or host, since they are on salary anyway. However, be wary of cutting back too much staff at the risk of sacrificing customer service.
4. Offer Restaurant Promotions
Two-for-one specials, coupons, early bird dinners are all great ways to lure in customers during a recession. Offer them the most bang for their buck. Restaurant promotions can range for a nightly happy hour to an annual customer appreciation day, with drink and dinner specials.
5. Take Small Steps to Save Money
Your mom had the best advice when it comes to saving money. Don’t waste electricity, water or food. There are many small ways that restaurants can save money, from installing low-flow faucets to purchasing energy efficient appliances.
