FSD Quarterly | Q3 2024

12 MIND-BLOWING, MONEYMAKING MENU MOVES TO STEAL FROM COMMERCIAL RESTAURANTS

BY TARA FITZPATRICK A t the recent Menu Directions conference in Atlanta, FSD's gathering for onsite foodser- vice professionals, sister pub- lication Restaurant Business Editors Jonathan Maze and Pat Cobe shared some insider tips and food trends so you can use your menu to make money in these trying financial times. May of the ideas are surprising- ly simple and make use of what you've already got on hand, so it'll be easy to give them a try, from engineering the menu itself to repurposing items into snacks to swapping in chicken, adding signature sauces, shareables and more.

Photo Courtesy of First Watch

“You want them to attract a customer base. How do you treat a new item from a profitability standpoint? In restau- rants, they’re engineering a menu item to ensure that it is profitable, but there will be times they’ll have to ac- cept lower margins to get customers in the door.”

tomers are cautious about trying new flavors, so one salmon dish was very straightforward–citrus grilled with roasted asparagus and potatoes–while the second one was more chef-driv- en, with Cajun blackened seasoning, shrimp and a pan-sauce with beurre blanc. They charged more for the sec- ond one than the one that was more tame. The added spices don’t cost a lot. You also see this a lot on restau- rant menus, where you can add shrimp and make this a surf ‘n turf and maybe charge an extra five dollars.” Maze offered the example of Star- bucks, where “adding a flavor shot to that latte, and charging 80 cents; they make billions doing that, just encourag- ing customers to play around and add things. There are lot of little things like that on the menu that can help build the average check with relatively low cost.

Photo Courtesy of Kitchen Social

RE-ENGINEER THE MENU: LIST THE MOST PROFITABLE ITEMS FIRST "One of the guiding principles of menu engineering is to list your most profit- able items on top," Cobe said. "Those are the ones your customers will most likely order. If you have a special LTO, you can highlight that in color or bracket it off to draw people's eyes to it, and that could be at a higher price point. And introducing new items does bring traffic." “It’s kind of a balance when you’re offering these new items,” Maze said.

Photo Courtesy of Bar Louie

ONE DISH, TWO WAYS “Bar Louie overhauled their whole menu,” Cobe said. “A lot of their cus-

FSD QUARTERLY

Q3 2024