Food & Beverage

Food & beverage costs are usually the biggest single expense in most independent cafés/restaurants. They are also the most volatile operating expenses you've got.

While we believe that taking care of your guests and your staff are the two most important things you do in this business, you also need controls, good controls, when you're dealing with food and beverage. There are just so many ways to lose money, BIG MONEY in this area.

There are many independent restaurants that do a tremendous job taking care of their customers, but they still have a problem. They don't make any money, or they don't make as much money as their capable of making because of lax, or in some cases, almost nonexistant food and beverage controls.

Preventing food and beverage losses basically boils to the constant and proper execution of a few major controls and procedures. Although some of this book’s topics get into some level of detail, I'll let you know which ones will give you the most bang for your efforts.

You may be familiar with much of the information discussed in this section. If that's the case, great, but the real issue is not whether "you" know it but whether "your people" know it and more important still are they actually "doing" these things consistently, time after time.