RESTAURANT COACHING & CONSULTING
  • Home
  • About
  • Learn
  • Blog
  • My Business Book
  • Contact
  • My Forbes.com article
  • Be a guest on my Podcast
  • $100K Food Cost Formula

A Day in the Life of Restaurant Food Waste

6/21/2019

0 Comments

 
A Day in the Life of Restaurant Food Waste6.20.2019 By Liz Thompson
As a restaurant owner, we are supposed to be thinking about food waste and cutting costs all the time; profit keeps the doors open, losses shut them. Did you know that every day we waste enough food to fill the Rose Bowl in Pasadena two times a day?
Here is a simple example of how to save money by reducing waste from bread service. A 100-seat restaurant open five days a week, 360 days a year could save upwards of $30,000 a year by removing and butter from the table and offering other options. And where could that extra money go? Ask a restaurant owner about their marketing budget and the answer is usually “who has money for marketing?" Don’t throw cash in the trash.
While recently in New York, I took note of blatant food waste in restaurants I patronized. 
BreakfastI ordered two scrambled eggs and one piece of rye toast. I was given two; I wanted one. I ate only one.
Cost: $.06
Waste: $.06 when it went into the trash
CoffeeWhile at a coffee bar, I was asked at the register if I wanted half and half and after saying yes. I was given half a cup and used an eighth of a cup.
Cost: $.50
Waste: $.25 went into the trash.
PizzaI ordered a slice of pepperoni with black olives. I love black olives and as the customer was very happy as I had close to half a cup on my slice. 
Cost of the Olive? $.75
Could the restaurant have served less and made more on them? Yes
Same Italian RestaurantBefore we ordered pizza, we were given a full basket of focaccia and a lovely plate of bruschetta. 
Cost to customer: $0
Cost to restaurant: At least $1.50
More cost to restaurant: $10 for lost dessert and coffee revenue because we were stuffed with free bread and had no room.
Things to Think AboutWhy do so many restaurant owners feed their customers for free and when the point of having a restaurant is to sell food?
Are we still living in the days of restaurant history when customers came to “tavernas” to fill up as much as they could for as cheap as they could because they didn’t know when or where they would find their next meal? And the restaurant owner preferred to fil up their customer with unlimited bread which was less expensive than serving seconds and thirds of the entree?
I have not seen a restaurant lately that only has one item on it so why is the bread still free?
Simple Ways to Reduce Loss/Waste and Increase ProfitsBreadDo individual service. Put it on the menu. It costs money to make it so charge for it.  Think of ways you can elevate the experience such as Grilled House-made Sourdough with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Aged Balsamic Vinegar, House- made Artisan Bread Selection served with Pesto and Marinated Dipping Sauce or Organic Corn Bread served in a Skillet
CondimentsThink portion control. No one needs one half cup of ketchup, horseradish or heavy cream. Set up portion cups before service for commonly served items.
Iced TeaEven though it seems as though there is no real cost for iced tea, stop waitstaff from refilling glasses before asking the customer if they would like more
Cost: extra teabags used if fresh brewed. Even wasting 50 teabags a day at $.10 each = $5 a day times five days a week x 50 weeks a year and that's $1,250 just on teabags!
CoffeeStop your waitstaff from filling up a customer’s cup of coffee just because it is empty.
Cost of an Unwanted Poured Cup of Coffee? An average loss of $.31 per cup. Do that for even one quarter of your customers and even 25 a day at $.31 x 360 days a year, that's a savings of $2,790
By giving customers only what they need, your restaurant will have a better chance of surviving and your customers may even appreciate your concern about food waste. You can even put a note on the menu “In efforts to prevent food waste, we conserve on the extras, but are happy to provide you with what you need. “ Every day we waste enough food to fill the Rose Bowl in Pasadena two times a day.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Restaurant Marketing Blogs

    Marcus Guiliano

    Catch up on my current posts along with industry articles

    Archives

    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Marcus Guiliano Productions LTD
PO Box 731
Ellenville NY 12428
​(845) 647-3000

www.MarcusGuiliano.com
Disclaimer
This site is not a part of the Facebook website or Facebook Inc. Additionally, This site is  
NOT endorsed by Facebook in any way. FACEBOOK is a trademark of FACEBOOK, Inc.

DISCLAIMER: The sales figures stated above are my personal sales figures. Please understand my results are not typical, I’m not implying you’ll duplicate them (or do anything for that matter). I have the benefit of practicing direct response marketing and advertising since 2009, and have an established following as a result. The average person who buys any "how to" information gets little to no results. I’m using these references for example purposes only. Your results will vary and depend on many factors …including but not limited to your background, experience, and work ethic. All business entails risk as well as massive and consistent effort and action. If you're not willing to accept that, please DO NOT GET OUR INFORMATION. ​
  • Home
  • About
  • Learn
  • Blog
  • My Business Book
  • Contact
  • My Forbes.com article
  • Be a guest on my Podcast
  • $100K Food Cost Formula