How to Survive the Opening of a Restaurant

Staffing Needs

2010-11-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

I’ve written before about the unconventional hours of a restaurant manager. However, it’s important to realize that you’re not the only one working them. During the peak hours, your servers, bartenders and line cooks are working their hardest as well. The difference usually lies in the desire to be there. If you are a manager, you care about your restaurant; you made it to that point because you’re invested in the company (not necessarily financially) and you want to see it succeed. Like I said before, most foodservice employees are only there because they either are working towards some other career, or because they messed up so much in their lifetime they can’t work anywhere else. So every once in a while, when they are financially comfortable, your employees are going to want some of that peak time off. And before you know it, the holiday season will arrive, and your most dedicated employees will wonder why they all can’t have the holiday off.

Spreading the holiday cheer…

Depending on who makes up your staff, you may or may not encounter this problem every weekend. If you’re lucky, you’ll have people who are either so eager to make money, or who couldn’t care less about their lack of a social life. If your crew consists of some of these people, then you’re in luck- those Friday and Saturday night shifts will be filled, most of the time. However, even these employees will be looking for some time off- and let me tell you, it’s going to be at the same time.

No one wants to work a holiday. Whether or not they are “religious” or even know what the holiday is all about, they want off because that’s what’s “supposed” to happen on that day. If the banks are closed, they are mentally checking out of working that day. Again, if you’re lucky, you will have employees who give you notice far enough in advanced that you can fairly schedule who will work what holiday. But if you’re in the typical situation, the employee who NEEDS off the most is the one who gives you the least amount of notice. And they’re not going to ask nicely either.

Call it tough love or just being fair, but sometimes you just have to say no. Employees can’t get everything they want. A request off is just that – a request. I would love to give everyone their ideal schedule every week, but it’s impossible. So your best bet is to come up with a scheduling system before the requests start coming in. Make it mandatory to sign up for one or more holidays, with the stipulation that if you work one, you get another off. Is it a perfect system? No. But for every person who never wants to work a weekend or a holiday, you will have another who cares more about the money than the family/friends/TV time, and will show up early to help you set up for the night.

Being the Rookie Manager

2010-11-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

Being the new guy on any team is always hard. Whether the group gets along well or not, it’s human nature to rally along with what you already know against something foreign. So when you’re new to the team, and new to the game, you can expect to have to prove yourself with every move.

Whatcha Talkin’ Bout Willis?

It was cute on TV. But when you hear that phrase directed at you every time you speak, it gets old. FAST. I’m young, and as far as my fellow managers are concerned, fairly inexperienced. I’ve worked in restaurants, but nothing in comparison to the one I work at now. They know this, and use it to their advantage whenever possible. Not that their deliberately trying to put me down, but when my ideas clash with someone else’s, you can guess who wins. Regardless of who winds up being “right”, their justification for not listening to me is always the same-I haven’t been doing this as long as them.

Bringing Your Game

The only solution, of course, is to prove yourself. Sometimes you’ll be right, and sometimes you’ll be more wrong than you even thought was possible, but as long as you can back up what you do with reasonable arguments, you’ll be fine. I’ve made my share of bad decisions-I’ve also made my fair share of decisions that went against what other managers would have done, and I turned out to be right. But with each passing day, I’ve gained a little more respect and trust. Running a restaurant is no joke-so it’s understandable that managers responsible for it would be nervous about leaving their establishment to a know-nothing rookie. Let them know you’re no joke, and eventually, they’ll stop looking at you like you have three heads when you suggest something.

The 40 Hour Work Weekend

2010-11-25T20:28:00.001-08:00

If you’re considering working as a restaurant manager and your ideal work schedule is Monday through Friday, 9-5, get out now while you still can. Three things will drive you crazy about your work schedule:

1) Depending on the restaurant you work in, your hours of operation will far extend those listed above.

2) Also depending on the restaurant, the hours NOT listed above are normally the most profitable, which means you need to be at your most productive during the “odd” hours of the day.

3) The schedule above is a 40 hour work week. In a new restaurant, your weekends alone will add up to 40+ hours, and you’ll be working shifts Monday through Thursday too.

As a manager you have to balance what I call the “on stage” and the “behind the scenes” dueling lives. When you’re open for business, you need to be on stage, with your employees, interacting with customers and managing the floor. During slower times and the times before you open and after you close, you need to get all your office work done. Some people view it as two separate jobs, to help them prioritize tasks during different times of the day, and when you add up the hours, it most certainly will feel like you’re doing the work of two.

Is true of all restaurants? No. Some restaurant concepts call for breakfast and lunch only, some call for lunch and dinner, some dinner and late night only, etc. However, it is rare to find a restaurant that only operates during what most people would consider normal work hours. And in the case of a restaurant opening, the hours for managers extend far beyond the actual hours of operation. It’s quite a pill to swallow, especially for first timers. Everyday there is a list of tasks that will probably never get done; you cross one off and add three more. You learn to prioritize and squeeze the most out of every second, but getting over the frustration is the hardest part. You come in early and stay on late, just to try to complete your work, but something always comes up. And when you think about it, how productive can you be if you opened the restaurant for lunch, worked straight through the dinner shift, and decide to start paper work after your kitchen closes for the night? On a good night, you can get a lot done in a single hour, because you know how precious each minute is. On a bad night, you spend that first hour convincing yourself you love your job. The goal, obviously, is to have as many of those good nights as possible. Is it worth it? For me, it is. For you, try it, and let me know.

What's For Dinner?

2010-11-22T20:08:00.001-08:00

Restaurants = Food. If you don’t have an appealing menu, customers will never come in, or at the very least never come back. In order to be truly appealing, your menu items have to be appetizing and for a fair price.

Creating the Balance between Cost and Taste

Anyone who is planning on going to the French Laundry in California knows that they’re going to drop quite a bit of money for Thomas Keller’s prix fixe menu. On the very opposite end of the spectrum, an elderly couple going out for their weekly Sunday breakfast at the corner diner are not expecting to spend more than $20 including tip. When deciding on your restaurant concept, you need to decide where on the scale of price points you want to fall. Then you can tell your chef (or yourself if that’s you) that all the wonderful dishes you want to sell need to fall inside that price range. If you want to sell a dish that costs too much to make you will either have to sell it for much more than the rest of your menu items, which will make customers angry, or sell it for a loss, which will make your wallet angry. One thing I have learned to do in this situation: make this superb dish a special. Try selling it for a price that will make you a FAIR amount of money, and see if anyone actually buys it. The beauty of a special: you’re allowed to sell out. Normally, people get angry when you run out of an item on your main menu; but with a special dish, you can order the minimum amount to keep cost down, and not be afraid that you will run out. Run out. It actually makes the dish more appealing because people will suddenly want what they can’t have. It’s kind of a sick mind game to play on people, but it will get them talking about your restaurant. And then who knows, maybe through a few of these specials, you can build a new niche market; people who liked your restaurant before (when the prices were reasonable) but love it now that it’s got some “classier” aka more expensive menu items.

Mixing Business and Pleasure

2010-11-18T17:09:00.000-08:00

This doesn’t just apply to new restaurants, but if you are new to the restaurant world, beware of inter-workplace relationships. As a manager, you will come across more than one occasion of relationships gone wrong.

Indifference is Impossible

Restaurant workers spend a lot of time together. Shifts are long, and usually require a significant amount of teamwork. After relying on each other and interacting with each other for so many hours each week, coworkers will either become friends, lovers or enemies. It’s virtually impossible for people to not feel anything toward someone they spend so much time with. This is especially true for servers and bartenders, whose main source of income is tips made based on service given. If a specific coworker affects how much money is in their pocket at the end of the night, good or bad, it’s hard for them to stay indifferent to that person. It’s both a blessing and a curse; people are more willing to go out of their way to help a coworker they have personal ties with, but the last thing you want is service to suffer in the middle of a busy Friday night because your two head servers aren’t speaking to one another.

Managing the Situation

While it’s ridiculous to think you can prevent things from getting too personal, it’s not unreasonable to take steps to minimize the negative consequences of your employees’ relationships. The first thing to do is be aware of what’s going on. I don’t recommend spending a lot of time gossiping with/about your employees, but don’t turn a blind eye to a budding romance or a very noticeable tension that’s occurring between two or more of your staff members. If you are concerned, set up time to meet with each of the individuals involved. You can’t tell people what to do with their personal time, but let them know if their outside relationships affect the workplace in a negative way, you have the right to step in. Start scheduling the employees on different shifts, or in sections/positions in the restaurant that are less interactive (and let them know why!). The sooner you respond to the situation, the less likely it will get out of control. Just remember to be up front with everyone involved. People will almost always assume the worst and go on the defensive, if they think you are out to get them or someone they are close with.

Building Your Crew

2010-11-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

Bring on the masses…

The great thing about opening a new restaurant is that people find it exciting. If you can get the word out that your restaurant is soon to open, you will get some of the most excitable, personable hardworking individuals, along with all the other less than desirable candidates. Picking through the lot can be hard, but the turn-out is amazing. You will never be blessed/cursed with so many applications and recommendations at one time. So think positively, and get to work.

Sorting the good from the bad and the potentially dangerous

It’s no secret that the restaurant industry attracts some very weird people. For every hardworking, clean, drug-free candidate without a criminal record, you will find 25 lazy, drug-addicted or just plain crazy people applying for the job. You’ll never have a completely “clean” crew; the trick lies in finding which ones are actually manageable and what jobs you can give them within a restaurant that will make you money without putting anyone in harm’s way. I’m not saying that you can hire the knife-wielding drug lord as long as he’s secluded during his shift. But in reality, some of the hardest working dishwashers I have ever had the pleasure of working with are people I would probably walk away from if I saw them on the street. One of the hardest lessons to learn as a manager is that you are the minority. I love working in restaurants. I have an education in it and the desire to be there for a long time. But ninety percent of the people I currently work with do not love it, nor is being a server or line cook their life plan. Some people, like those scary looking dishwashers will come to you for work because they know their past drug use is not welcome in many places, but you throw them an apron and 15 bucks an hour and they go to work. Other employees are only there because they have some other goal in life (become a teacher, doctor, astronaut, etc) and they need a quick, legal method of making cash to get through school or pay their rent in the meantime. And some employees will be lifers in the industry, but with no real desire to be there. Working in restaurants is convenient for their lifestyle, so they enjoy it, but they’re not usually going to put in an extra effort for your sake (unless you’re paying big). And every once in awhile, you find a rare gem of an employee who will work hard without immediate reward, because working hard is their reward. They will care more than you expect and will wind up saving you in more than one instance. Find these people, and at all costs, keep them as long as you can. They will be the heart of your crew, and will be the ones to lead the others better than you can ever hope to do.

Introduction

2010-10-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

When I graduate, my degree will be in restaurant management. The first question I get from someone after they learn that is usually “Are you going to open your own restaurant someday?” The expected response is “Of course! I’m going to own a (enter type of cuisine here) restaurant after I graduate.” As if. Though I dare you to tell them that. All you’ll get is a pitiful look followed by a slew of questions that might as well never be asked, since the inquirer has already made up their mind that there’s no justification for what you just told them.

I’ve never owned my own restaurant, and before working in one, I have to admit I was someone who romanticized the idea of starting my own. How cool would that be? You come into work every day and get to hang out in a kitchen, eating whatever you want and meeting all sorts of new people that come in to dine. And the regulars! How chic is the idea of having regulars? People who are so dedicated to you and your restaurant that they can barely stand to be anywhere else. People that you will seat no matter how long the line at the door is (Because, let’s face it, in your restaurant fantasy, you know there’s a line out the door and around the block-you’re place is just that cool). I’m willing to bet that most people in this industry first become interested when they “realize” that all they want in life is to own their own restaurant someday. I have to tell you though, after working for well-known chains and in comparison a privately-owned brand new restaurant, my opinion of ownership has dramatically changed. My obviously stressed skin with its early onset wrinkles and bags is enough to convince me that it’s really not always as sexy as people make it seem.

Not to say it isn’t worth doing. The benefits are definitely there. I was hired on as an intern with the opening crew of the restaurant I’m currently at, and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else in the world. After my internship was up, I was hired on full-time as a manager and despite all the headaches (and newfound need for heavier make-up), I love that I’m a part of something I can have a real impact on. Corporate chain restaurants have so much bureaucracy that an individual store employee has little say over the big picture. When it’s just you and your restaurant team, what each of you decides to do is going to have a much bigger influence. The real trick lies in finding the right employees, who will hopefully impact your restaurant in a good way.