Reference no: EM133153967

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Case Study

The Roadhouse Restaurant is an independently owned restaurant, owned by George Pan. The Roadhouse is at the end of its first year of operations and is located in the suburbs of a mid-size metropolitan region. Located, approximately 17 miles from the city center, the immediate vicinity is primarily residential, still under development yet destined for significant growth over the next two years. The property is situated in a new and predominantly vacant strip mall, including a bank, a payday loan company, a convenience grocery store and one fast-food operator as neighboring tenants.

The restaurant has 148 seats, with a maximum capacity of 180. Decor is very modern and minimalist, heavy on black furnishings with sleek chrome/stainless steel contrasts and accents throughout. The menu is constructed to provide a multi-course, a la carte dining experience, with each course and the total number of courses determined by the customer(s). Accordingly, portions and prices are established such that each menu item may be shared as a small appetizer by up to three patrons in a party or enjoyed as a more substantial component of a full meal by the individual diner. The restaurant prides itself on expansion of cuisines to include offerings more global in nature

The restaurant is open for operation from 4:00 pm to 1:00 am daily, closed only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Management information systems include an automated point-of-sale (POS) system for processing of customers orders and printing of guest checks. The POS system provides full revenue and sales information and is highly flexible in generation of reports for user defined variables across unlimited time periods. Purchasing records are maintained on a monthly basis using Excel spreadsheets that are updated manually as orders are placed and received.

In setting menu prices before the restaurant opened, George decided that that he wanted to use a food cost of 26.5%. He determined that 26.5% was a good number to use as it was the figure used at the previous restaurant he worked. At the end of the first quarter of the business George outlined that the actual food cost emerged at somewhere between 38% and 40%. As it relates to food cost, George describes that purchasing and managing the inventory of produce is one area of concern. He outlines "Produce is a nightmare in this town. It has been difficult to get a good supplier, I'm a smaller account so there's not a huge interest in my business. I throw out nearly as much produce as I use due to spoilage. It's a continual balancing act when ordering to meet minimum order requirements for free delivery". The good thing is that there is not much of a problem with production waste. I spent a lot of time on the menu to be sure I had plenty of items that made use of product that would otherwise hit the garbage. And every employee knows that I keep a tight eye on the garbage cans in the kitchen.

One employee indicated that while, the ingredients were all there. The directions were often lacking, or nonexistent. She notes that the Chef had changed things since the recipe was written but the change didn't make it into the recipe, making it difficult for him as a new cook to follow and maintain the standard.

For the second year of operation George has decided to review the last years operations and to introduce new menu items. Considering this he has asked for your help in several areas of analyzing the restaurant operations.

Question?

1.From the case study of the restaurant identify the strengths and weaknesses of George's control of the Food operations. For the weaknesses identified outline suitable suggestions for George to implement.

Sources: Food, Beverage & Labor Cost Control