What Are You Doing To Increase Customers?

[Old Timer]

This is directed to those of us in the trade.

The bad economy is affecting everyone and smaller markets like mine that rely on seasonal trade feel it worse than most. Some days we see 15 covers and on the average, maybe 40.

What I have done to increase business is create "ethnic specials" that change monthly.

February specials are Italian.

Muffelatta Sandwich

Veggie Lasagna

Chicken Caesar Wrap.

Next Month I plan on doing Irish

Irish Stew

Shepherds Pie

Reuben Sandwich

It seems to be working so far, with the Muffelatta drawing pretty good attention.

So what are you doing in these tough times to keep them coming in?

[gfron1]

I have three things that are working - and apparently I'm the only restaurant in town that's staying steady. My food suppliers say that everyone else is way down.

1. Ethnic specials are part of my regular menu - I rotate weekly between Cajun (I also do the muff as well as chicken maque choux), Korean (bibimbop), Thai (a basic curry over rice and tom ka gai), and Greek (gyros and moussaka). This regular change up at an affordable price keeps them coming in for variety.

2. Meals to go - now some 40% of my business since I added it. I started with bison meatloaf, bison lasagne, salads, sushi and quiche (my best, best seller). In the past week I've added a rotating ethnic meal to go that is a complete meal (includes salad and sweet). Last week was lamb tagine, this week is bento box, Spanish lamb stew then gumbo for mardi gras week.

3. Classes - again, I was doing this before, but its become even more important as people focus on home cooking. I offer a class every other Sunday (my cafè closed day) and they have sold out ever since I started them.

We have a restaurant that is competition for us and they've been advertising reduced prices and a new sushi day. I haven't seen an impact. My reaction was, "sure, reduced prices means reduced sizes." Not sure if its true, but its my reaction.

[Old Timer]

I have three things that are working - and apparently I'm the only restaurant in town that's staying steady.  My food suppliers say that everyone else is way down.

1.  Ethnic specials are part of my regular menu - I rotate weekly between Cajun (I also do the muff as well as chicken maque choux), Korean (bibimbop), Thai (a basic curry over rice and tom ka gai), and Greek (gyros and moussaka).  This regular change up at an affordable price keeps them coming in for variety.

2. Meals to go - now some 40% of my business since I added it.  I started with bison meatloaf, bison lasagne, salads, sushi and quiche (my best, best seller).  In the past week I've added a rotating ethnic meal to go that is a complete meal (includes salad and sweet).  Last week was lamb tagine, this week is bento box, Spanish lamb stew then gumbo for mardi gras week.

3. Classes - again, I was doing this before, but its become even more important as people focus on home cooking.  I offer a class every other Sunday (my cafè closed day) and they have sold out ever since I started them.

We have a restaurant that is competition for us and they've been advertising reduced prices and a new sushi day.  I haven't seen an impact.  My reaction was, "sure, reduced prices means reduced sizes."  Not sure if its true, but its my reaction.

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I had the same thoughts about meals to go as well as teaching.

With the meals to go my concern is food quality. To justify this idea I would have to create entrees that would need to be frozen and reheated at the customers home. I have not tested this yet but it would seem that most potato sides would suffer from freezing, so that would limit the options on sides.

As far as classes, I could comfortably fit 6 in my kitchen around a centrally located prep table. What do you charge and teach?

We have an upscale gift/gourmet shop in front so I was also thinking of doing demonstrations in the store, although I don't see this as a profitable venture.

[Jaymes]

I think classes are a very good idea. I know that a lot of baby boomers are just now retiring, and looking for new hobbies and things to do. Many were not really that interested in cooking as a hobby, having busy lives and just trying to get food on the table. But now that they've got time on their hands, they're attending all kinds of classes. I don't think you can go wrong.

[gfron1]

I can only fit 8 for classes, and I charge $35 for 90 min classes which is low IMO but its the most I've been able to get people to pay consistently. All in all I make around $250 per class if I am the instructor.

[pastrygirl]

I can only fit 8 for classes, and I charge $35 for 90 min classes which is low IMO but its the most I've been able to get people to pay consistently.  All in all I make around $250 per class if I am the instructor.

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Have you tried longer classes that include lunch and a glass of wine? 90 minutes might be all the time you have, and I'm sure people already are eating what they are cooking in class, and maybe people who are learning to cook because they can't afford to go out anymore don't want to spend that much, but say you had a 3 hour class with some extras, could you charge $75? Even if you don't use that much more product, the sitting down to eat and chatting with the chef (you) might make it seem like a lot more. I used to work for a chef that did these cooking classes that the housewives just loved, they'd make a few signature dishes from the restaurant and drink a little - but those were different times and bored housewives have other concerns these days I am sure.

Here, things are pretty bad, no matter how isolated from the rest of the world we are. Somehow not a lot of people are wanting to spend $10k a week to visit the beautiful mystical mountains of Bhutan right now. Too bad, the weather is beautiful. Our only hope is up-selling wine (food and house beverages are included, but premium wines and liquors are not) and spa services, otherwise we'll have to take away some of the management dining privileges and cut either the workweek or a few positions.

Edited February 10, 2009 by pastrygirl (log)

[Jaymes]

I can only fit 8 for classes, and I charge $35 for 90 min classes which is low IMO but its the most I've been able to get people to pay consistently.  All in all I make around $250 per class if I am the instructor.

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I know it's tempting to try to charge more, but if this is working, I'd be hesitant to mess much with it. For one thing, I know you're not located in the middle of downtown Dallas, and you have a limited potential customer base. I'd think you'd want to price your classes attractively enough to encourage repeat visits. If you consider that many folks would attend as a couple, that's $70. And you want them to add your classes as a continuing entertainment option.

I occasionally go to the Central Market cooking classes in Austin & Houston, and find that $45-55 is about average unless it's a celebrity guest chef. And that does include usually two glasses of wine (which they only fill to about half). One thing they've done is to have a punch card to encourage repeat visits. I can't remember how many classes you have to take before you get one free, but if you're interested, I can find out.

[gfron1]

I've worked through the pricing issue for a few years. I once had an awesome workshop set up - 4 hours, meal, and my charming personality. I was trying to charge $50 and I didn't get one taker. I've even tried $40 and few takers. So I struggled with - 1) suck it up and get a decent rate, or 2) try to change our culture and up the rate. I chose the former obviously. Its the old sell a little for a lot or a sell a lot for a little scenario. A great paying job in our town is $40K, so you have to keep perspective. As it is now, I sell out every class. I work to keep my ingredient expenses at $25 or less - which by the way has become a selling point in itself because I am feeding 8 people 4-7 courses (depending on the workshop) for $25. People translate that into their family expense. And we're able to do it all in less than 2 hours - that's a great selling point to a busy family.

So, everyone needs to find their own price. I hope some day to up mine, but in the meantime, I'll be happy to keep my sessions full.

[Holly Moore]

Increasing customers is only a part of the formula.

The easiest way to build sales is to sell more to customers already in your restaurant. How, depends on the level of cuisine. Attractively priced full dinners or tasting menus, desert and a half for sharing for the price of a single dessert, a couple of fancy breakfast pastries to purchase for the next morning - that sort of thing. Anything to entice them to spend ten to twenty percent more than they would normally.

[Jaymes]

I worked for a time at a travel agency downtown in a small town. There was a local, and popular, downtown restaurant a block or so away. Every workday morning, one of their waitstaff, wearing a cute red apron with their logo on it, walked into all of the businesses including ours, carrying a great big basket full of individually-wrapped pastries, and fresh fruit. And copies of their menu.

It was hugely successful. Not only was it very hard to let her get back out the door without buying at least a croissant and an apple or banana, it brought the restaurant to the top of the list of places to consider when lunchtime arrived.

Want to add that there was never any problem with the "no solicitors" thing. Everybody was thrilled to see the pastry lady. The only negative comment I ever heard was grumbling about where a certain business was on the arrival time list. If you were too far down the list, there invariably would be a favorite that she was out of. Like my cinnamon rolls. Grrrr....

Edited February 10, 2009 by Jaymes (log)

[Jaymes]

Decided to expand a bit on this, just in case somebody wants to try it. Also, I hadn't thought about it in quite a few years, and a few details are coming back.

First - I initially said that in addition to the pastries and fruit, there were sandwiches. I edited that out. As I now recall it, there were no sandwiches, nor anything else that required refrigeration. There were plain croissants, several variety of muffins, some banana bread, cranberry nut bread, big cookies, bear claws, cinnamon rolls...that kind of thing. There were also bagels. The owner of the restaurant was a client of mine and I remember asking him about the bagels: "You're not boiling bagels down there, are you?" To which he responded that they were not. But they had requests for bagels so they bought them, wrapped them up individually and resold them. For all I know, all of the baked goods had been bought elsewhere and just wrapped up and resold, but I don't think so. The owner said that he had been trying to come up with a way to pay his pastry chef more, and had thought of this as a vehicle to increase pastry sales. The restaurant did not open until 11, so the person that came around to the offices and businesses with the pastry basket in the mornings wasn't taking away from in-house sales. And she carried the goodies in a great big beautiful basket - no industrial-looking plastic cart. Actually, with her red apron, she looked a lot like Little Red Riding Hood on her way to grandmother's house.

All in all, very delightful and appealing sight at 10am when we were hungry for 'a little something.'

Edited February 11, 2009 by Jaymes (log)

[joanner]

I love the basket idea! My restaurant is in a strip mall with a lot of other businesses nearby; I'm in the habit of bringing menus around once a month, but how great would it be to bring some housemade chips and salsa as well?! Not great for the morning, but could work very well around the 3:00 after lunch lull.