The restaurant industry is currently navigating a “strategic reset.” Between high-profile leadership shifts and the resurfacing of economic pressures like rising fuel costs, operators are being forced to rethink how they drive profitability.

At HotOperator, we believe the solution isn’t just better advertising—it’s better integration between your brand and your back-of-house. That is the core philosophy behind my newest book: Restaurant Marketing: The Handbook Every Kitchen Should Have.

Why Your Kitchen is Your Best Marketing Tool

Most people think “marketing” happens on social media or in a local coupon mailer. But in this handbook, I explain why marketing actually starts in the kitchen.

Marketing is about the promise you make to your guests, and the kitchen is where that promise is kept. If your kitchen isn’t aligned with your marketing strategy—through product positioning, consistent quality, and strategic food cost management—you aren’t just losing money; you’re losing guests.

Lessons from the Giants: The Portillo’s Reset

We see the need for this operational alignment in the news today. Nation’s Restaurant News recently reported that Gene Lee, the legendary former CEO of Darden Restaurants, has been named the new chair of the board at Portillo’s.

This move comes as Portillo’s enters a “strategic reset.” After rapid expansion—particularly in the Texas market—the brand is shifting its focus toward strengthening transaction growth and optimizing the returns on existing units. As Gene Lee steps in, the message is clear: even the most iconic brands must return to the fundamentals of unit economics and operational excellence to ensure a “brighter future.”

The “Gas Tank” Effect on Your Dining Room

Why is this reset so urgent for everyone from Portillo’s to your local independent bistro? Look no further than the gas pump.

According to recent data, gas prices have surged nearly 50 cents since the end of February, bringing the national average to roughly $3.60 per gallon. While that might not sound like a crisis yet, history and Technomic research tell us that once prices cross the $4.00 mark, discretionary spending takes a massive hit.

When it costs more to get to work, consumers start “trading down.” They don’t necessarily stop eating out, but they become hyper-sensitive to value. In fact, searches for “meal deals” on platforms like Yelp have skyrocketed by 117%.

How the Handbook Helps You Fight Back

When guests are “shopping on price” because of gas hikes, your menu has to work twice as hard. In Restaurant Marketing: The Handbook Every Kitchen Should Have, I offer insights on how to handle these exact headwinds:

1. Stop Cataloging, Start Selling: Your menu shouldn’t be a list of everything you can make; it should be a guide to what you want to sell.

2. Highlight the “Hidden” Value: You don’t always need a “buy one, get one” deal to offer value. Strategic highlighting and mental anchoring can help guests feel they’ve made a smart financial choice without you slashing your margins.

3. Kitchen Efficiency as Marketing: The handbook explains how streamlining your kitchen prep and focusing on high-contribution items allows you to maintain quality even when labor and fuel costs are rising.

Get Your Copy Today

The “strategic reset” happening at the top of the industry is a signal to all of us. You cannot out-advertise a poor operational strategy or a poorly engineered menu.

If you want to turn your kitchen into a marketing powerhouse and protect your profits against the next gas price spike, pick up your copy of the new handbook today.

Order “Restaurant Marketing: The Handbook Every Kitchen Should Have” on Amazon

Let’s get to work on making 2026 your most profitable year yet.

The restaurant industry is currently navigating a “strategic reset.” Between high-profile leadership shifts and the resurfacing of economic pressures like rising fuel costs, operators are being forced to rethink how they drive profitability.

At HotOperator, we believe the solution isn’t just better advertising—it’s better integration between your brand and your back-of-house. That is the core philosophy behind my newest book: Restaurant Marketing: The Handbook Every Kitchen Should Have.

Reach out to Mark K. Laux, author and Restaurant Marketing expert. Spend 15 minutes with him for free, and see if you need help. Reach him here: Mark@HotOperator.com

The post Make 2026 Your Most Profitable Year Yet appeared first on HotOperator.

This past fall, I had the privilege of presenting at the Wisconsin Restaurant Association’s Traveling Show, with stops in Eau Claire, Green Bay, and Wausau. Each city brought a different energy, and every conversation reminded me why I love working with independent restaurant operators—they’re passionate, hardworking, and hungry for practical tools that actually move the needle.

In my session, I walked through the foundations of menu engineering, the power of strategic menu design, and the importance of building a planned, consistent social media presence that sparks conversation. I also shared several of my favorite guerrilla marketing tactics—the simple, scrappy ideas that can drive real attention without expensive budgets.

Whether you attended the show or are seeing this for the first time, the video below is a look into how smart menu decisions and better storytelling can transform a restaurant’s bottom line. If you’ve ever wondered why certain items sell, why others don’t, or how to get more people talking about your brand, this is a great place to start.

Thanks again to the WRA team for hosting such a well-run and inspiring program. I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity to connect with operators across Wisconsin.

Watch the full presentation linked below.
(If the video takes a moment to load, hang tight—it’s worth it.)

The post Behind the Scenes of the WRA Traveling Show: My Talk on Menu Engineering, Design, Social Media & Guerrilla Marketing appeared first on HotOperator.

An ugly menu made by a restaurant operator.

I was out with friends for dinner the other night at a fairly upscale restaurant and was offered a really terrible menu. My friends all know that I have spent the last 30 years working with restaurant operators all over the world building great menus, so they all cringed a little when they got the menu. They asked me what I thought, and at that moment I was thinking: Does your restaurant menu represent your food? And then I said it out loud: “I was just thinking ‘does your menu represent your food?”

How can I put this in a way that you will understand how important this is and not get offended. When your menu is an ugly piece of garbage, it impacts your guest’s food experience. In this case, I ordered the ‘crunch chicken salad’, and found the chicken to be over cooked, and the salad dressing overly sweet. Would I have noticed that if I were not already turned off by the menu? Probably not. I can honestly say that if the menu were on a nice, waterproof sheet with an elegant design, I may have overlooked those slight imperfections. I probably would have thought that the menu does represent the brand, and that the salad was above average in quality.

Why chefs should stick to cooking.

What’s with all the dots? Makes the menu about price rather than quality.

When I go to a restaurant, I don’t expect to cook. I am going out to get something that is beyond my own capabilities. I’m looking for an experience. And your menu is a part of that experience. In fact, the entire experience comes together to form a brand in my mind. A special happy moment that is of a higher level. The food, companionship, service, food and atmosphere all come together to form a time that will be remembered. And the menu is a huge part of that experience.

When chefs cook and plate their food, they are looking for something special. The plate needs to go out just right and be consistent each time. Beyond that, the guest needs to be excited and satisfied with the entire experience from the moment they are greeted at the door to the time they first see the menu, to the time the food is delivered. If any one of those moments is a misstep, there is a hole in the brand that the guest will fill with criticism. Some of that criticism can emerge as a negative review. And here’s the thing, “positive reviews can encourage an influx of business, while negative ones can significantly impact a restaurant’s reputation and revenue. One research study found that a single negative review can drive away 22% of customers, while three can push the number to 59%.” This is more true of independent restaurant operators because they don’t have a high level of trust and notoriety. They simply are unknown, and people do not like to risk their dinner.

Your Menu is a Tool

HotOperator Design-Engineered

Okay, back to the menu. Take a good look at it and think to yourself: “Does your restaurant menu represent your food?” Thinking further, will this menu make my guests think more highly of my food? If there is any doubt at all, get it serviced. And don’t do what you’ve always done hoping for a different result. 

When you think of your menu as a tool for your ‘salespeople’ to use to sell food, you’ll see your menu as a brochure that represents your brand. You’ll more fully understand that your guests will have a much better idea and experience with your food when your menu is design-engineered properly. 

The Higher The Menu, The Lower The Quality of the Menu?

It’s funny, some of the most horrible menus are from so-called high end restaurants. Almost all of them are a complete disaster. Flimsy slips of paper that come off of a copy machine and flopped on the table without any explanation or introduction. 

A Restaurant Menu You Can Print

This is like your guests start making Béarnaise sauce over filet mignon on their own? It’s a difficult dish, but it doesn’t look that hard when you see it on a plate. How hard can it be, right? It’s just a tarragon-flavored French sauce made from clarified butter, vinegar, shallots, egg yolks and herbs. Simple enough. You can see where this is going. It’s about knowing what you’re good at and leaving the really tough stuff to professionals. You know, like your menu.

Simple Elegance in a Menu is like Béarnaise in a kitchen

Looks easy when it’s done properly. But it’s a bitch to get right when you’re working on it. Staring at the ingredients and getting everything together just right so it doesn’t scramble and make you start over is much more difficult in the process than it is to plate it up.  A great menu is similar. Take a blank piece of paper and make something that’s upscale, beautiful and will make your guests think more highly of your food. 

As an industry, we can do much, much better.

Google Design you can print on your own

Get the right agent to help you. Someone with an experienced staff with menu design and engineering skills. Then, listen to them. It’s easy to think: “But I can save money doing it all myself. Plus, I change my menu nearly every week, sometimes multiple times in a week.” But a great design firm can set the menu up so you can still have a beautiful menu, and change it every week. Hell, every day, if you want to.

Here’s my advice, and I hope you will take this advice: get a professional to work on your menu. Someone with skills and experience. A real high level ‘chef’ in design and writing.

Once Completed, Your Restaurant Menu Will Represent Your Food and Lift your brand.

To get a free consultation, call (920) 420-2076, or click the link!

The post Does Your Restaurant Menu Represent Your Food? appeared first on HotOperator.

A recent ad popped up on social media telling me to fire my agency. Well, if I have one. Having been in the food business for more than I care to admit, I’ve seen some changes in how restaurant operators advertise their businesses. And it isn’t working. In fact, it’s failing miserably. A USFoods representative in the Chicago area mentioned that she thought about 80% of the restaurants in her market were looking to sell. Is this proof that their marketing isn’t working? I would say yes, it is. 

Most recently, many independent restaurant operators are turning towards platform based advertising programs to ‘save money’. But what’s really happening is, they are missing some of the most important concepts in advertising. So, should they fire their agency? Or should they be hiring a restaurant focused firm that can represent them properly?

Here are seven reasons not to fire your agency (and to hire one if you don’t have one). 

First, there is expert advice.

I had a recent conversation with a potential client (actually, this restaurant operator was once a client years ago), and when I suggested that the advice they were looking for would require a payment, they went silent. I was reminded of a moment in the TV show The Good Wife when the character Alicia Florrick told a potential client what she might do, and then said: “Before we go any further, am I hired?” 

The advice I was about to give was very important to the continued success of this restaurant operator’s business. At the moment, the business is slowly drifting downward, and that will continue unless they take some drastic steps to change courses.

Second, there is focus.

It’s amazing to me how few restaurant operators seem to remember what business they’re in. They fire their agency (or skip hiring one) thinking they will just do it themselves. But then they lose focus on the marketing they thought they were going to do.  Agencies are paid to stay focused. It’s how they get paid. If the business is successful, the restaurant operator flourishes, and everybody is happy. Well, at least you would think.  What sometimes happens is, the restaurant operator takes credit for all the successful marketing and decides to do it themselves (continuing the cycle).

Third, a good agency is an expert in advertising.

At least they should be. I mean, that’s why you hire them in the first place. If they aren’t experts in restaurant advertising, yes, fire your agency (but then hire an expert). A good restaurant agency will be experts in placing ads, writing copy, design, photography, scripting, menu design and development, and menu engineering, etc. All important skills most restaurant operators are not experts in.

Fourth, navigating the complexities of restaurant marketing.

Restaurant marketing is not easy. Hell, if it were, everybody would do it. It’s also why so many restaurant operators go out of business. Most restaurant operators open from an emotional state of mind and with a passionate goal. But once they get into the business, they discover just how complicated it can be. A good agency partner can help navigate those complexities.

I was on a call with a client just the other day and he was complaining about an employee. At the end of the call he thanked me for listening. Then he said: “You know, as a business owner, I can’t complain ‘down’, only ‘up’. And because I own the business, there’s no ‘up’ for me to complain to.” What he meant is, he can’t complain to a subordinate, and for him, there isn’t a partner he can trust to turn to for advice.

Fifth, butts in seats is only half of the problem.

Here’s the thing, getting a customer in the door is only half the problem. The other half of the problem is getting them to order the right delicious food. You know, meals you can be proud of, feel good about selling, and that make you a little extra money. Hey, let’s face it, if a guest comes into the restaurant and wants to know what’s good to eat, I’m not going to tell them soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I’m going to sell them something that offers a nice return on investment. Maybe a steak, or some seafood.

Sixth, you can’t discount your way to success.

Most marketing platforms are based on offering coupons. These SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) programs are all mostly coupon machines. Sadly, most operators don’t make enough money to afford coupons.

There are only a couple of times to offer coupons, and that is to introduce a new customer to your business, when they join a club or when they win a prize in a contest. If your agency is offering a lot of coupons, maybe you should fire your agency (and redirect your platform).

Seventh, a great agency will help you get local.

The restaurant business is a saturated market. Drive down any frontage road and it’s filled with chain after chain. And the single advantage you have is being local. You can connect with people and build relationships. In fact, you must get local, or you will eventually go out of business.

If your agency isn’t offering a local approach, yes, fire your agency. But if they are working with you to connect locally (sports teams, clubs, events, opera houses, non profits, et al), keep them on. And do me a favor, recognize their contribution to your success.

One more thing.

I wrote a deck that you can look over that outlines the ins and outs of working with an advertising agency and platforms. If you would like a free copy, just shoot me an email and I’ll hook you up. 

And thanks for coming to work today!

The post Fire Your Agency (If you have one) appeared first on HotOperator.

The staff at HotOperator does a lot of business coaching for small and medium sized restaurant operators nationwide. Recently the co owners of The Land Run Steakhouse in Enid Oklahoma called and asked for advice. Since we have worked with this business for more than a decade, we listened and then offered advice.

The Problem for The Land Run Steakhouse

At the moment, The Land Run Steakhouse is a diminished business. Their sales peaked a number of years ago at just over $1.3M in sales. Recently, they will be lucky to make half of that. The owners at the restaurant think that is the problem, but it’s not. It’s actually a symptom of other problems. Convincing them of that turned out to be very difficult. And in this case, it has become a story of how not to advertise a local restaurant.

The Business of The Land Run Steakhouse

The business is actually very good. The chefs are excellent at their jobs, the interior space is wonderful, the staff is friendly and well trained. By all accounts, the business should be doing very well. Even their reviews on social media are high, with a 4+ star review on nearly every platform. Even on Yelp, they have a level above 3.5, which is actually pretty good for the Yelp bitch session.

What the Co Owners Think

When asked, the co owners both think the problem with few people showing up is that the prices are too high. They both pointed to anecdotal evidence that customers would sometimes take a look at the menu and then get up and leave. They stuck to that as the main issue. They have a few steaks that are over $30.00, but most of their offerings are in the mid twenties, and some of their items are in the high teens. 

Our advice was to develop a local survey through their chamber of commerce.

After looking over the survey, unless asked directly if the prices were too high, none of the more than 300 respondents said high prices were a problem. And when asked which local restaurants were too expensive in the local community, The Land Run never came up.

So, that couldn’t be it, right?

One thing that did stand out in the survey was, when consumers were asked to list the top three restaurants in their area, The Land Run didn’t come up there, either.

As it turns out, they have a brand awareness issue. There may be some people who think the prices are high, but more people simply are not thinking of The Land Run as a place to eat. Simply put, The Land Run Steakhouse is not top of mind with the right people (or anyone, for that matter).

The Land Run: What To Do

After reviewing the survey and looking over the business matrix, our advice was to advertise. What we told them was, if they don’t advertise, they will go out of business, sooner rather than later. We came up with a plan to help market the business that included some radio, social media and billboards. We kept the marketing spend as low as possible, but there are some minimums that need to be met. As an example, if you’re on social media and going to advertise, the minimum amount to spend is around $500.00 per month. This is because the traction you get really kicks up after that amount. Less than that, and we recommend not spending anything at all.

The Land Run: What Will They Do?

As it turns out, very little of what we recommended. The only thing they agreed to was the social media advertising, which is a helpful part of the solution, but probably not enough to turn things around for them.

Some of the marketing messages we gave them may make a difference. Here is a list of what we offered as far as a marketing position.

Dine Upscale: The Land Run is not a cheap restaurant. The food quality and service along with the location and atmosphere is upscale. They need to accept that, and enhance that message. This is ‘not for everyone’, but is the ‘desire of everyone’ at the same time.

The message needs to be about making people excited to dine there, and find the exclusive crowd that can eat there a couple times per week.

The basic math is simple. We’re looking for about 200 people to dine with the restaurant about 2X per week spending about $155.00 per visit to reach a goal of about $3.2M in sales annually. In a market of 50K+, this should be achievable.

Dine Local: The Land Run is a part of their local community, so they listen intently to the local crowd as their guests. They live locally, support their community and make it an interesting place to live. Chain restaurants can never do that.

Enjoy Local Eatertainment: With happy hours, special features, tasting menus and weekly piano bar, The Land Run is the place to gather together with friends for a great night out. Whether it’s just us girls, a business lunch, a personal celebration or a date, The Land run is always top of mind.

Be A Local ‘Insider’: This message would offer special ‘hijack products and specials’ that only ‘The Land Run Insiders’ can get. These would be special, laminated cards given to repeat guests and those on social media who are active with their account that they can flash to the server for something ‘free or discounted’ on each visit. This might be a special little appetizer, a special drink of some kind, and definitely a special meal offering that only ‘the insider’ can order. 

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

The first step in advertising a local restaurant is to actually advertise. In this case, they are not being aggressive enough. Part of the reason for this is they have another restaurant in the same community and they have never advertised that business and it is successful. Having said that, that local business is an Italian Family Restaurant with absolutely no competition in the market. 

The Land Run however is in Oklahoma selling steaks. That’s something everyone is doing, including Texas Roadhouse.

For restaurant or foodservice business coaching, follow the link.

The post The Land Run Steakhouse: How not to Advertise a Local Restaurant appeared first on HotOperator.

FF Chicken + HotOperator Together

FF Chicken is a new, Flame-Grilled chicken franchise that specializes in Free-Range chicken. It’s also free from hormones and antibiotics. Their All-Natural Chicken is marinated in their signature Peri Peri sauce. This new franchise chooses HotOperator for new Digital, Carryout and Catering menus. It also recently selected HotOperator for their continued marketing programs.

What is Peri Peri Sauce?

Peri Peri sauce is a blend of African Bird’s Eye Chili, Lemon, Garlic, and a secret blend of herbs and spices. The sauce is very popular in South Africa and Asia, and is gaining popularity in the United States. This is mostly due to military service people returning from being stationed in those regions of the world. 

The flavor is mildly wild, a little spicy, and very flavorful.

​Why FF Chicken Decided to Work With HotOperator

The owner of the FF Chicken franchise, Fahim Munawar said he had tried to work with a distributor. But he simply could not get the professional look he wanted. He also stated: “I want my franchise to grow and be impressive. The only way to make that happen is to work with an agency that is independent of trying to sell me food.”

HotOperator specializes in not just developing a menu design. They also helping their clients organize the menu process. This includes which items to 86, and which items to add to the menu to help grow the business. This advice is not based on selling select products to the restaurant operator. Instead, it’s based on an objective viewpoint to promote the restaurant brand.

A Professional Look for the FF Chicken Menu System

The creative team for HotOperator focused on creating a look that would express their brand, and at the same time, sell items with the highest plate contribution. HotOperator wanted the look to be both brand focused, and because the restaurant is a QSR chain, to help consumers make decisions as quickly as possible.

The designs the creative team came up with best represent the FF Chicken brand. They also use Product Positioning, Menu Highlighting, Mental Anchoring and Strategic Pricing to help make the FF Chicken franchise as profitable as possible without pushing away guests.

It All Starts With The Menu

HotOperator is a full service restaurant and foodservice marketing company. Their relationship normally starts with a menu makeover and continues with brand marketing, logo development, new product development, social media, radio, television, film and public relations.

FF Chicken chooses HotOperator for complete marketing campaign

Fahim decided to place his entire franchise marketing in the hands of HotOperator. He said: “HotOperator has done such excellent work so far, I decided to work with them on my entire program.” The work includes social media for Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn to generate more traffic for their restaurants along with more franchise locations.

For more information, HotOperator can be reached through their website here.

To inquire about an FF Chicken franchise, reach them on their website here.

The post FF Chicken chooses HotOperator for new Digital, Carryout and Catering menus appeared first on HotOperator.

Will Lasagna Save Your Restaurant? Or Will It Be Meatloaf?

Either way, ‘Take & Bake’ may be able to save your restaurant.

In a recent Washington Post article, a construction company/restaurant owner laments that his construction business is doing well, and yet his restaurant is bleeding cash. He’s not sure he can save his restaurant.

“It seems to be two different economies. In construction, I’m so busy I can’t keep up and everyone seems to have thousands in disposable income to spend. But come to the restaurant and everyone is so broke they can’t afford a $5 sandwich,” Workman said.

Rowdy Workman says he has tried everything to keep his restaurant afloat. He’s done discounts, sent out mailers, and yet, when the stimulus package went away, so did his customers. This is happening to a wide range of restaurant operators. At the moment, if you’re not a quick service restaurant with a drive through, you’re probably struggling to keep cash flowing.

As winter approaches, many restaurant operators are thinking about closing up shop. The thought of trying to make the business survive on less than full capacity is daunting. But when Mr. Workman says he has tried everything, our question at HotOpeator is, has he tried lasagna, or meatloaf, or any number of other traveling comfort foods?

How Lasagna Might Save Your Restaurant

And it’s not just lasagna, either. It’s any food that tastes great after it has sat in a car for half an hour. It’s meatloaf, pot roast, spaghetti, broasted chicken and even pork chops in mushroom gravy with mashed potatoes and a side vegetable. But before you go off thinking you’ve been there and done all of that, have you tried those items as take a bake?

What might save your restaurant is a Take and Bake program. The idea is, you make up half sheet pans of lasagna, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, prime rib and on and on and sell them out of your refrigerator or freezer. The consumer takes the product home and bakes it up. Just make sure you offer instructions for the perfect meal, including what wine to serve.

Social Media Might Save Your Restaurant, Too

You need a plan. Once you have all the cool comfort foods figured out and ready to go, you will want to tell the world what you are up to. Most restaurant operators simply do not post often enough, or about the right things.

That’s why HotOperator offers a social media program. To help save your restaurant. We post almost every day based on a social media calendar. That way you always know what’s coming, and your restaurant customers keep you top of mind.

A Take And Bake Menu Might Save Your Restaurant

To get started, plan out a promotional menu around your take and bake comfort foods. And have it professionally written and designed. If you are serious and want to save your restaurant, don’t slop on the menu. A great menu will make people like your food better, complain less often, and order more.

Get A Free Consultation To Save Your Restaurant

Reach out to HotOperator and set up a call with one of our marketing experts. They have been in the restaurant marketing industry since the late 1980’s and may know a thing or two about saving your restaurant. The first half hour is completely free. You can ask them anything you want. Call 800-316-3198, or contact them through their website here.

About HotOperator

HotOperator is a foodservice marketing agency. We love restaurants. We want them to survive. But we can’t do that unless we work together. Hire us to help you romance your restaurant brand.

Mark and Kelly are a marketing team and managing partners of HotOperator. They have been working in the restaurant business since 1989. Contact them through the HotOperator website, or by calling 800-316-3198. or contact Laux here.

The post Will Lasagna Save Your Restaurant? Or Maybe It’s Meatloaf? appeared first on HotOperator.

Is your restaurant business a one legged stool?

Your restaurant should be a four legged stool.

The post Is your restaurant business a one legged stool? appeared first on HotOperator.

Perfect Restaurant Menus for Imperfect Restaurant Times

“COVID-19 has really screwed things up.”

That statement by one of my clients recently summed up our current times pretty well. January through the beginning of March looked pretty good. Not the best year for many of my clients, but not bad. Then Coronavirus struck like a bolt of lightning and started to shut things down. The clients I have in states that opened early had a very brief relief from the virus until the cases started to spike and shut things down a second time.

The restaurant business isn’t going to be the same any time soon. The idea of a bar with wall-to-wall people and standing room only waiting for tables seems like a distant past. And the sad truth is, most restaurant operators simply cannot make it on 60% or even 70% capacity.

I spoke with a long time client just the other day and he told me he thought about shutting down except he has a couple of his kids working in the restaurant and needs to keep them employed. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The restaurant business needs to be rethought. Right down to the menu.

We have two menus that have been productive for our clients recently. An expanded carryout menu, and a placemat menu. Both of which are great at being cost effective, and still engineered to help promote the right foods at strategic prices. And by the way, it is important to take a price bump now. Our industry is going to need a shot of cash, and a strategic price increase is a great place to start.

Carryout Travel Menu

HotOperator has been redeveloping the carryout menu to make it more productive and cost effective. All of the engineering techniques we use on any FSR menu are used, but we lay the menu out in a way that makes it fit a smaller, less cluttered look. In this way, we can provide our clients with a very inexpensive menu that will bring a higher return on investment for our restaurant partners.

Does It Travel?

We recommend trimming down your menu to items that travel well. We also recommend cooking up everything you sell and letting it sit in a car for half an hour to see how it holds up. This is the only way to know for sure if what you are selling will represent your brand when it gets to its final destination.

If You Can’t Sell Pizza, There’s Something Wrong

Do you have a sports bar? Start selling pizza. Do you have a family restaurant? Again, start making pizza. Pizza travels well, it’s cheap to make and will help boost your carryout and delivery business. Just make sure the pizza you offer supports your brand. If you are an Asian restaurant, you don’t need pizza. Same goes for a Mexican restaurant. But other than that, you may want to consider pizza.

Placemat Menu

Normally for kids menus, we have been making placemat menus for the main menu for our clients and it’s working pretty well. They are cheap by comparison, you don’t have to clean them and you can even offer conversation starters, riddles and doodle diagrams to keep everyone entertained while you cook.

If your guests steal them, no big deal, right? You were going to throw them away anyway. The only downside is, they are not able to hold as much stuff because they have limited space. But we are recommending trimming down our client’s menus anyway. Focus your business on the stuff that sells well and brings a higher plate contribution and drop the stuff that doesn’t move as well.

Make Money Despite The Crisis

Back in the day (like March), a restaurant operator could make the business look profitable with enough volume. At 4¢ on a dollar, you simply dragged people in kicking and screaming and fed them. At the end of the day a little money was left over and you went to bed, got up and did it again.

With Coronavirus, that tactic no longer works as well. At between 40 and 70% capacity, there simply isn’t enough coming in to cover for a low profit business. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a business here. It simply means that in order to make the business work, you have to reach for 10 to 12% profits. To get there, you are going to need to focus on items that bring a higher plate contribution. That and introduce items that can bring a solid volume and still support those higher profits.

Don’t Try This At Home

To get higher profits from your menu, focus your business on items that consumers would struggle to make on their own. This has always been the long-card for restaurant operators, but a lot of restaurant operators allowed products that are easy to make at home onto their menus. Essentially, many restaurant operators got lazy. They put meatloaf on the menu, but not a meatloaf with any added value. Then they said ‘mama’s meatloaf’ as if it was something special when it was just a simple meatloaf.

Moving forward, the restaurant industry is going to need to refocus their business on items that offer a true consumer value and a point of difference. The meatloaf is going to have to become a mushroom and provolone rolled meatloaf with burgundy gravy, lumpy mashers and candied carrots. Something special, different and better than ‘mama’ would ever have made.

You Need A Menu Matrix

A professional menu matrix and menu review will help you get the core items you want to keep, figure out the items you want to drop and will uncover the next star for your business. This breakdown is essential for any restaurant operator in a time or crisis or not. Fall is a time of change for consumer spending and their tastes. But before you start working on a new menu, get an objective look at your menu.

To do a proper menu matrix, we need three things:

1 – A PMIX for a 3 month period. This is a product sales report from your point of sale.

2 – A copy of your current menu. This can be a PDF, but it needs to include your current prices and must align with the PMIX>

3 – Food costs. If you know them. If not, we can figure that out for you.

What you get back is a clear direction for your menu and restaurant moving forward. This is a difficult time. HotOperator can help with very effective menu design engineering, printing and advice for getting your business back in black.

About HotOperator

HotOperator is offering a consultation to help you navigate these difficult times. Reach out before it’s too late. A simple email to get things started, and we’ll be there for you. We are committed to the foodservice industry. We love restaurants. We want them to survive. But we can’t do that unless we work together. Let us help you with romancing your restaurant brand.

M+K Laux dba HotOperator is a farm to table marketing consulting firm. Mark and Kelly are a marketing team and managing partners of HotOperator. They have been working in the food business since 1989. Either can be contacted through the HotOperator website, or by calling 800-316-3198. or contact Laux here.

The post Perfect Restaurant Menus for Imperfect Restaurant Times appeared first on HotOperator.

Coronavirus Marketing For Foodservice: Getting your business back to 100%+

Here are 7 things you must do to get your business back above 100% sales

Coronavirus is here for a while, and if you are in the foodservice business, getting your business back to 100%+ is not an easy task. We get calls all the time from restaurant operators and food manufacturers wondering how to get their sales back above 50%. As a food marketing company, that is simply the wrong question to be asking.

Everyone in the foodservice industry is a part of the food business. And at the moment, we are getting our butts kicked by grocery stores. Let that sink in. Grocery stores are doing great, while most restaurants are struggling to hit 50% of their pre virus sales. The question shouldn’t be how do we get back above 50% of sales. What we need to answer is, what would my restaurant look like if we were at 100% plus in sales?

On a side note, there are a lot of restaurant operators doing that. Most of them have either drive-up or drive through businesses. It’s the full service restaurants that are struggling, especially the independent operators.

Here are 7 things you can do right now to help you get back to 100%+ of your pre virus business.Perfect for Coronavirus Marketing for foodservice, adn getting back to 100%+

1 – Getting your business back to 100%+ will require thinking about your business differently.

If you think of your restaurant as a little factory and local distribution center, you can think of your business differently. Suddenly you are simply taking in raw goods in the back of the house, and selling raw, partially finished and finished products out of the front of the house. Just by changing how you see what you do helps you to realign your offering to maximize throughput.

2 – Keeping your point of difference while expanding your offering.

Even if you are the worst marketing person on the planet, you still have a brand. And that brand is essential to what can go through your little restaurant factory without a hitch. Simply put, if a product doesn’t make sense to your brand, it doesn’t belong in your business. As an example, if you are a coffee house and café, selling bulk coffee, baked goods, sliced meats, salads, etc. would make perfect sense. But selling pizza would be a stretch.

3 – Cooking kits are hot right now.

People are cooking more at home, and cooking kits with recipes, ingredients and cool packaging are selling really well. Look at your business for anything that isn’t bolted down that a consumer might cook at home, and start selling. Make sure you have the recipe written well, so it’s fun, cute and descriptive. Make sure, too, that the ingredients are described in a way that will get people excited about your products.

4 – Keep people entertained.

Part of going out to breakfast, lunch or dinner is being entertained. It’s like a mini vacation for your guests. That’s why you need to be clever with your offering. Make sure people get a little something they didn’t expect. You may be acting a little like a grocery deli, but you are not a grocery deli. You are more than that. That’s why anything you sell must have something special about it.

5 – Bribe children.

We don’t mean that literally. We mean that in a marketing sense. Offer the kids something they might like in exchange for mom and dad’s order. Maybe the kids under a certain age get a free meal with every adult meal purchased. Or maybe the kids get a fun coloring book with a set of crayons free with the purchase of two adult meals. Getting your business back to 100%+ might need a little bribery. If you would like ideas on what to offer, reach out to HotOperator.com here.

6 – Stay top of mind.

People are simply not moving around as much as they did. So you have to stay in front of them. You need to be where they are. And they are on social media. If you don’t have a plan for social engagement, you need one. Better yet, outsource it. HotOpeator offers a number of plans for restaurant operators to outsource their social media. Follow this link and ask for a quote.

7 – Make your menu more manageable.

At HotOperator, we have helped countless restaurant operators trim down their menus. In this way, they are able to offer their guests great foods that travel well. But, do not start trimming your menu without doing a Menu Matrix first. This is incredibly important. A Menu Matrix will tell you what is too important to take off the menu. It will also tell you what might be a good item to add. HotOperator offers a lot of levels of research on menu design-engineering. Contact them here for more information.

About HotOperator

HotOperator is offering a consultation to help you navigate these difficult times. Reach out before it’s too late. A simple email to get things started, and we’ll be there for you. We are committed to the foodservice industry. We love restaurants. We want them to survive. But we can’t do that unless we work together. Let us help you with romancing your restaurant brand.

M+K Laux dba HotOperator is a farm to table marketing consulting firm. Mark and Kelly are a marketing team and managing partners of HotOperator. They have been working in the food business since 1989. Either can be contacted through the HotOperator website, or by calling 800-316-3198. or contact Laux here.

The post Coronavirus Marketing For Foodservice: Getting your business back to 100%+ appeared first on HotOperator.