After debuting its first two West Coast locations to huge crowd, The Halal Guys has opened its doors in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Located in an intimate space on the corner of Wilshire and Mariposa, The Halal Guys brings a Chipotle-like approach to some seriously good Middle Eastern food. They’re not joking around with their gyros, which boast some of the richest flavor you’ll find in a [now-chain] fast casual spot. That white sauce is famous for a reason too, and there is no question to why nearly everybody orders extra on the side. Don't shrug off their fries either. The Halal Guys has capitalized on a big open market of making Middle Eastern food approachable, and does so at a very modest price point. Most customers will walk out spending less than $10. Originally a food cart in New York, Halal Guys quickly evolved as locals flocked to indulge in their now-famous white sauce, gyro sandwiches, and chicken-and-rice platters. The Halal Guys now has plans to expand globally.
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You’d think serving good food would be a no-brainer as any restaurant’s top priority. Sadly, this is not the case with a growing number of establishments. More and more places are investing heavily in lavish décor, heavy silverware and artfully-designed plates and glasses, but cut costs where it truly matters—taste. A restaurant that looks good will absolutely bring in customers. A restaurant that tastes good, however, will bring those customers back. Good-looking restaurants drive up prices by latching onto food trends and buzzwords, inspiring people to dine so that they can share the obligatory story with their friends. Good-tasting restaurants can identify with some of these trends, but inspire their patrons to enjoy the experience for themselves rather than for the sake of telling others. I ventured into an LA restaurant recently that fit every aspect of ‘good-looking, bad-tasting’ to a T. The place certainly did its homework—rustic-industrial layout, chic booths, dim lighting and modern beats at the right volume, and beautifully plated dishes from a fascinating menu with more locally-sourced, artisan, organic and all-natural options than you could count. The place was an Instagrammer’s dream, and a must-visit for anyone willing to overlook the $100/person price tag to brag about their trip to the neighborhood’s newest spot. The food, however, was more suited for what you’d eat in your lap while driving in the car. Even then, In-N-Out would serve as a much better option. This kind of good-looking restaurant puts lipstick on a pig, and will inevitably be replaced by a series of similar successors until a good-tasting restaurant comes along to make things right. Pay heed to a few basic points to ensure that your restaurant isn’t just photo-worthy, but loyalty-worthy. Find ingredients that back up their buzz Trending terms like ‘artisan-made’ and ‘small-batch’ can cast your product in a premium light, allowing you to drive up menu prices, but tread carefully. At their core, these buzzwords aim to reflect quality, but the market has since been flooded by suppliers that live by these labels. Some of these terms are regulated [i.e. organic] but some are not and/or very hard to verify [i.e. locally-sourced]. When considering a supplier, ensure that they can truly prove the claims that drive their brand. "Just because it’s organic doesn’t necessarily mean that it tastes good." It’s also necessary to sample these products for yourself. Just because it’s organic doesn’t necessarily mean that it tastes good. Every shipment of raw products should pass a taste test to ensure consistency, so that you can isolate any weak links in your recipe before all ingredients come together.
Additionally, it’s important to note that buzzword terms can serve as a good supplement to lift your restaurant, but should never provide the base on which your restaurant stands. Of course stay away from the opposite extreme of excessive flavor additives, but taste will always trump catch phrases in the long run. Let your chef drive There’s a big difference between chef-owned and chef-driven restaurants. Chef-owned restaurants rarely have problems with good food, but at risk for focusing on good food so much that they overlook issues with front-of-house management and marketing. Chef-driven restaurants, on the other hand, combine the best of both worlds. In either case, the restaurant’s management team should come together frequently so that all parties can present the tools they need for an optimal product. Chefs, GMs and owners should work together on the restaurant’s budget on an ongoing basis—at least once per quarter. Assuming that a minimum ambiance threshold has been met where the quality of the food matches the quality of the backdrop, and that the restaurant is seeing healthy occupancy levels, the chef should have a stronger voice when it comes to spending decisions. Hear your chef if he calls out a faulty product, and participate in that investigation. Ensure that his entire team tastes everything they cook, and sample your menu frequently to ensure execution remains consistent over time. Give your chef the freedom to create standards for recipes, procedures and other best practices. Push the cycle All else equal, good food will drive demand, demand will drive up prices, and this extra revenue will allow you to reinvest in additional assets—elevated décor, marketing spend, an expansion, or even better ingredients—for the cycle to continue. Make good food the driving force behind your restaurant’s growth, then apply techniques in marketing and design to drive the business home. You’re coming out of a movie and are excited for a late dinner, but plans are quickly thwarted. Every restaurant you approach is either putting its chairs atop the tables or empty to the point where you can’t be ‘that guy’ who holds them up from closing. You wish that just one place would stay open late, and curse those that don’t. Many of us have found ourselves in a situation like this. Demand here clearly exceeds supply. The key question, however, is whether enough demand is present to make an increase in supply worthwhile. If you become the one restaurant to stay open in your area at an otherwise dead time, you could have a potential monopoly on the dining market. That choice certainly comes with risk, and careful calculation is necessary before expanding your hours. Know your costs If you want to expand your hours, the first thing to understand is how it will affect everything below the top line of your income statement. Factor in every component: labor is an obvious first thought, but how about the cost of keeping your restaurant lit? Running the oven, stove and other appliances? If it’s hot or cold outside, then keeping your dining area at room temperature is another cost. Break down your monthly bills into hourly costs and add them together. This will set a firm breakeven point. From there, add a hurdle rate—the minimum additional profit you want above your breakeven point to make the change worthwhile. Now it’s a matter of assessing demand and evaluating whether it will deliver your desired return. Observe your surroundings Understanding your landscape is critical to gauge if proper demand exists to justify expanded hours. One part is as simple as observing what goes on inside and immediately outside your restaurant. When exactly does your lunch/dinner rush end? How often do you see people peering through the glass, wondering if you’re open? Does the crowd change form as the night goes on [i.e. dinner groups vs. bar-hoppers?] Knowing your competitive landscape is just as critical. What are the hours of all the restaurants nearby? How many of those restaurants are truly comparable to yours—similar food, ambiance, full-service vs. fast-casual, etc.? Are these places attracting different crowds throughout the day/night? Record your observations over the course of a non-holiday week and estimate additional revenue from expanded hours. Take seasonality into account [i.e. do more people visit during summer]. Break this number down into revenue/hour. If estimated revenue/hour exceeds your breakeven and hurdle rate, then it’s time to adjust your hours! Transitioning to new hours If you’ve justified expanding your restaurant’s hours, make sure you’re delivering a product with minimal excess. Late-night menus and happy hours that offer a limited [but satisfying] selection are a lot more prevalent than they used to be, maximizing revenue with minimized overhead costs. Some restaurants go so far as to only offer drink service during off-peak times. Again, all is well as long as you’re observing happy customers who aren’t longing for more. Making your customers aware of new hours is vital. Before making the change, hit the ground running by adding a note to your menus and posting signage. Send the message through your social media channels. Launching an event around the change, such as a party during the new hours on the first night, could serve as an excellent promotional tool. Continue monitoring If your new hours prove profitable, chances are your competitors will follow suit. Keep a consistent eye on your traffic to stay on top of demand. What are people ordering over the course of the day? What are people asking for that you don’t have? Adjust your operations to changing demands in order to make the most of your expanded hours. Reducing your hours Some restaurants may very well have the opposite problem, where they’re open too early or too late and the operating costs aren’t worth the handful of people who come in at those times. In this case, use the same methodologies in reverse to determine optimal hours. Maybe it is worthwhile to close earlier, or for 1 – 2 hours between lunch and dinner, or to reduce your menu offerings after 9pm so that some people staff members can leave sooner. Just remember to take labor laws into account. |
AuthorBenjamin Brown is a seasoned restaurant writer and hospitality consultant, serving up SoCal's hottest food news and reviews. Categories
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