Perhaps at no other time in the last decade have cost controls in the restaurant sector been so important. As the economy starts to get better, restaurants are busy adjusting their menus, dealing with higher commodity prices, and trying to attract more clientele – and they are trying to make up for lost ground and running the business in the red for several quarters. There are quite a number of large restaurant chains which are selling off locations, trying to reduce their debt.
As commodity prices for corn, wheat, and dairy products rise, the restaurant industry has no choice. If you own a restaurant you’d like to find more ways to save money, reduce costs, and become more efficient, then there is a very good book that I like to recommend to you. This is a book that I own myself, and you can read through it in one night, and use it as a reference from then on out. The name of the book is:
“Cost Controls – 25 Keys to Profitable Success” (From the Restaurant Manager’s Pocket Hand Book Series) written by David V. Pavesic FMP, Published with the Nation’s Restaurant News and Lebhar Friedman Press, New York – NY, published in 1999, ISBN: 0-86730-751-X, 96 pages.
There are several books in this series, but this is one of my favorite because he gets down the business, and tells it like it is, in very short chapters packed with important information. The author teaches restaurant management at Georgetown University, and he was a general manager of a chain of six restaurants in the Midwest. He knows his stuff.
Although this book was written 10 years ago it is as important today as it ever was. The book also warns not to cut costs in the wrong place, and it takes money to make money. The book also explains how you can use your menu to help cut costs by enticing customers and patrons to order specific items that use ingredients that don’t cost as much. There’s also a section on accounting, and preventing your employees stealing money.
There are tips in this book for purchasing, management, and the use of frontline servers and waitresses to recommend and push certain items, to help you make more money, put in real control costs, and be on top of your business. If you’re looking to find the best deals on produce, or how to negotiate the best prices this is an excellent book to read. Indeed I hope you’ll please consider this and add to your professional library.
