You know better than anyone how
challenging it can be to have a full staff and
plenty of food but an empty dining room—
even just for an hour. Your restaurant’s
profitability largely depends on a steady
stream of customers, and maintaining that
steady stream comes down to more than
just flipping your sign to open and unlocking
the doors.
Figuring out new ways to deal with slow
periods is a big part of what it means to be
a successful restaurant owner. Your team
looks to you to direct their efforts. If you’re a
manager, the owner looks to you to increase
their bottom line. But identifying profitable
ideas that organically build on your existing
brand isn’t always easy.
You never want to expand with new
opportunities at the expense of your core
business — or the relationship with your
solid customer base. Finding a way to grow
your customer base and not simply shift it to
a larger pool temporarily, respects your hard
work and success to date. And it will help
you maintain trust with your existing diners
and staff, too.
With that in mind, we have assembled five
tactics restaurant managers can use to
expand your profits during slow periods —
and thoughts on how to implement each one
without undercutting your existing business.