Beyond Dine Out

[Andrew Morrison]

Even at some of the best restaurants in the city, winter brings with it fear-inducing, wallet-thinning times for those in the business.

How do you suggest restaurants make themselves more attractive during these times?

- extend their dine-out menus until spring? (btw, anyone doing this?)

- advertise more?

- beg and plead with passers by?

- shut down and hibernate?

- become big buddies with insolvency?

I know how servers make ends meet (grow ops in the change-rooms, chess for money, waiter calendars, etc.), but how do you think actual businesses get by?

Andrew

[nwyles]

Even at some of the best restaurants in the city, winter brings with it fear-inducing, wallet-thinning times for those in the business. 

How do you suggest restaurants make themselves more attractive during these times?

- extend their dine-out menus until spring? (btw, anyone doing this?)

- advertise more?

- beg and plead with passers by?

- shut down and hibernate?

- become big buddies with insolvency?

I know how servers make ends meet (grow ops in the change-rooms, chess for money, waiter calendars, etc.), but how do you think actual businesses get by?

Andrew

←

We extend Dine Out until Valentines Day.

If all things go well, we ride the wave of goodwill into the summer. Dine Out last year tripled our traffic and brought in people who had not been before. We saw those people again and again. We embraced the whole Dine Out concept and did well. Although the Vancouver restaurant scene loses a few places each year, there alway more opening up to take their place. Vancouver does well in supporting the restaurants thoughout the year and this one should be no different.

It it not all that bleak. The spring lull consistant and should be planned for.

[2roost]

My experience is that it's not as bad as people think.

Service staff take a bit of time off and the fewer shifts get spread around quite equitably - running leaner means break even in Jan/Feb and gear up in March.

If you are in a Big Room you may find things a little tougher but most well run establishments can ride out 6-8 weeks of slower volume without much trouble.

DOV and other promos can bring in "new" business and your regulars will stay loyal if you are doing them right. As a server I always find November the "cruelest month" regardless of where I am.

[Andrew Morrison]

When you normally run with 5 to 8 servers a night, dropping down to two can seem a far cry from equitable, no matter how you slice and dice the schedule.

November is pretty bad, but the stint between now and the daffodils is awful.

Smarter servers than me save some dosh during the hazy days of august when the cash flows like the nile in flood, and then extricate themselves from the whole problem by taking the month of january off, therefore leaving room on the schedule for others.

As i said, smarter servers than me...

Andrew

[Daddy-A]

Great topic Andrew!

Does the concept of "fresh & local" apply to the winter time as well? I know we don't have a vibrant produce scene here past Halloween, but would it make sense to switch over to "winter foods" like root veggies and stews, etc. It may not fit every style of cooking, but for those it does it might help.

Some examples: Pacific Palate magazine has a feature article on braised items from Elixir. nwyles & Chef Fowke did braised ribs for Big Night, and we've been talking about Osso Buco at Villa de Lupo. J & I had cassoulet & bouef borgignon at Pastis while snowed in town yesterday.

Andrew, you should start this topic up in General Food Topics as well (without the DOV reference of course). I think you'll get a lot of feedback from the rest of eG.

Another question ... do you change your avatar hourly, or daily?

A.

[nwyles]

At the request of some of my servers, I did do a quick little projection of the next couple of months based on past years numbers. With the exception of the first week of Jan. ( totally slow ) , the remainder of the winter months are not bad at all. Even in the years we did not do Dine Out, January was very good - late xmas parties by large firms , late xmas parties by restaurants, moving into Valentines Day, Tax parties from accounting firms, RRSP parties by investment firms. Good operators ( and there are many, demonstrated by the longevity of some of the local rooms ) get out there and shake the bushes and find whatever business they need, and it is not too hard. Winter / Spring in Yaletown might be a little different this year without hockey ( yes, you heard it here first , there will be no season !! ) but no one seems to be suffering to much.

Andrew , you paint a bleak picture but it really is not that way. I should qualify that by saying , for the most part , it is not that way Downtown.

Who would like to chime in about other areas - N. Van , W. Van, Burnaby, Surrey, White Rock, etc.

[winegeek]

I'm lucky in that I do work in one of the busiest fine dining restaurants in the city but right now we are running at about 40% of the FOH staff that we would normally operate with in peak summer, but hey, it's the first week of January. I do know that some of my best months as a server have been in February. The clientel are better, alot more "diners" as opposed to people going out to eat. I find that the average cheque is far higher in the winter. I usually take the first 2 weeks of January off to help with the "after-the-holiday-blues" (my way of saying less money coming in).

[2roost]

When you normally run with 5 to 8 servers a night, dropping down to two can seem a far cry from equitable, no matter how you slice and dice the schedule.

←

I'm guessing you are talking about 8 on Saturday versus 2 on Monday - still I can't think of many rooms big enough to require 8 that will only need 2 for the next 2 months - my condolences.

[Andrew Morrison]

Daddy, it's a reflection of my daily struggle with identity. Really, i'm just wiggling my way into that spot beside the fireplace trying to get comfortable here because i do believe i'm gonna be here for awhile. beyond that, i'm a class-a fidget.

Good idea about food topics, though. i posted a different version as you suggested.

I agree with winegeek in that you get more diners in winter, which is a big plus. i suppose i'm just a tad frustrated with the numbers. i know it gets better, and soon...but this week has just been bloody MURDER.

Neil, i like how you give your staff a heads-up on last years numbers. That's commendable.

2roost, to clarify: monday night = 8 in summer versus 2 in winter

No hockey? Whhhaaaatttt?

Andrew

Edited January 8, 2005 by editor@waiterblog (log)

[Andrew Morrison]

i take it all back.

murphy's law, i suppose...we got slammed.

only 3 waiters on, no food runner, 1 busser, 1 bartender.

we were all happily suprised and running around like crazy. totally pooped.

and now for my buddy glenmorangie...night all.

andrew

[PaoPao]

My experience in restaurants is more limited to the patron side so take my comments for what it's worth.

I've lived and travelled in big, small, wealthy, and poor cities. It always comes down to the quality of the food, at least the appearance of good value, fast and friendly service, and a good and interesting menu.

When these things are managed successfully .... there are always line-ups no matter what time of year. Word or mouth will flood or kill your place.

I've seen this from up-scale restaurants to street vendors.

Success being much easier said than done I realize that there are probably a 100+ things going on I'm probably not even aware of while eating. But IMO busy restaurants and the ones we usually leave saying "I can't wait to go back" are that way because they have figured out and proven their own success recipe.

But again, my tastes are different than most. I have been to most of the "more popular" being raved about by the egulleteers here in Vancouver and I would say that about half we're "ok" at best. Not a repeat experience. I'm not saying that in a snob way, but more my/our satisfaction level upon leaving the establishment with or without Chef recommendations.

Actually one of the reasons we moved to Vancouver about 2 years ago was because of the amazing divergent food be prepeared all around the city! I'm hesitent to say that to people we know because I usually get the puzzled dog look from them. But it's true, and we continue every week to be more amazed by the things we find to eat around here ......

[James Kendal]

Just my opinion...

when it's busy everyone wants time off...

when it's quiet everyone gripes...

make hay while the sun shines and Vancouver must be a lot better than the Island in the winter.

[Daddy-A]

make hay while the sun shines

Dad? Dad? Is that you?

Couldn't agree more James ... same thing as in my biz. And I know if I complain about being busy, all the business will dry up and never return!

A.

[Jeffy Boy]

Who would like to chime in about other areas - N. Van , W. Van, Burnaby, Surrey, White Rock, etc.

←

Down in White Rock (particularly on Marine Drive), things slow down quite a bit in winter time. Many of the "Fish & Chips" places, as well as ice cream shops, just plain close up for several months. Other restaurants may not serve lunch (or maybe no lunch Mon-Wed, say), and will try to close up earlier in the evening.

This seasonality is pretty consistent and predictable, and places that survive have learned how to adapt.