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One of the biggest mistakes I see at mom and pop stores is too low prices. I told the mom and pop Asian place at the local high-end mall to raise their soda can

One of the biggest mistakes I see at mom and pop stores is too low prices. I told the mom and pop Asian place at the local high-end mall to raise their soda can prices from $1 and I just went back and they'd raised it to $1.50. It's really the mom and pop places that would benefit the most from consulting like this.

briandear 8y ago
The other mistake is a menu the size of a phone book. Choice breeds paralysis. And it also drives up food costs.
- dsr_ 8y ago
  Counter-example: Cheesecake Factory famously has phone-book menus, but if you look carefully, you'll discover the same thirty-five ingredients* arranged in a thousand* combinations. *: No, I didn't count.
  - icebraining 8y ago
    Similar thing in our local Indian/Nepalese restaurant. 100+ choices based on the various combinations of ingredients.
  - hvidgaard 8y ago
    If you can make it work without driving up the inventory cost, then fair enough. But it's still annoying to have to go through 4 pages just to see the entire menu. I want 4-5 different plates or so to choose between for the main course. If the restaurant is any good, I'll be fine with a Fish, Cow, Chicken, Vegetarian dish, and the chef can make what is fitting for the season and current availability of produce. Some of the best meals I've had there wasn't even a choice. I really don't go to restaurants to research the difference between 4 similar but not identical dishes. I want to pay someone to know how to make a really good meal, and make it perfectly for me.
    - marak830 8y ago
      As a chef, these are the sort of preferences we in general have as well. My current menu is 4 entrees, 4 mains and 4 desserts(lunch changes weekly), same for dinner. The slight variations we have are gastronomic menu (a small portion of each dish), a plates menu (set courses) or a standard pick what you want to order and pay for a full sized your probably useto. Edit to add: This is so that we can concentrate on the meal. Each section only creates 8 actual dishes(for lunch), 4 are off the dinner menu and are quite rare to see ordered (due to cost difference from lunch), but those 4 lunch menu items I can spend a lot of time focusing on. Yes I might send 50-100 meals in one service, but if they are the same 4, I can create something of very high quality and consistent across the entire service.
- gadders 8y ago
  >> The other mistake is a menu the size of a phone book. Choice breeds paralysis. And it also drives up food costs. When you watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, slimming down the menu is typically one of the first things he does.
justherefortart 8y ago
My local Ma & Pop diner charges 2.75 for drip coffee. I just don't order it anymore. At 2.25 it was already ridiculous. I'm a soda-holic. I never order soda at any restaurant. 100% water for the last 3 decades. The cost is too high and the quality is shit as well. McDonald's Coke is probably the worst I've ever tasted. It's been shitty since the 70s.
- dagw 8y ago
  I'm a soda-holic. I never order soda at any restaurant. Counterpoint. I'm a very occasional and 'casual' soda consumer, but if I'm at a restaurant and feel like a soda I'll order a soda no matter if it's $1 or $5.
- madengr 8y ago
  So I’m not the only one who thinks McDonalds coke is foul. Coke is supposed to be fizzy, and burn a bit going down. I don’t know what the hell McDonalds does. The only thing I can drink there is unsweetened ice tea.
paulcole 8y ago
> I told the mom and pop Asian place at the local high-end mall to raise their soda can prices from $1 Did you at least try to educate these restaurant owning rubes on simple economic principles first? This is the most annoying kind of backseat driving. Because it’s coming from someone who’s only ridden in a car and never driven. I mean just imagine if some random customer came to your work and told you to raise your prices. Wouldn’t your immediate post-eye—roll reaction be to think, “well it’s a little more complicated than that, this person doesn’t know about...”
- soniman 8y ago
  Yeah it would be annoying but it's still good advice.
  - paulcole 8y ago
    How do you know the shop next to them doesn't charge $2 for a soda?
tlynchpin 8y ago
I recently told my donut shop that their strawberry cream cheese filled pastry was too cheap at $2. I go there occasionally, and it was such a strange mix of emotions when I dropped in and ordered my favorite and heard "$2.25" - yes, get the money, but no, not _my_ money!

briandear 8y ago

The other mistake is a menu the size of a phone book. Choice breeds paralysis. And it also drives up food costs.

dsr_ 8y ago
Counter-example: Cheesecake Factory famously has phone-book menus, but if you look carefully, you'll discover the same thirty-five ingredients* arranged in a thousand* combinations. *: No, I didn't count.
- icebraining 8y ago
  Similar thing in our local Indian/Nepalese restaurant. 100+ choices based on the various combinations of ingredients.
- hvidgaard 8y ago
  If you can make it work without driving up the inventory cost, then fair enough. But it's still annoying to have to go through 4 pages just to see the entire menu. I want 4-5 different plates or so to choose between for the main course. If the restaurant is any good, I'll be fine with a Fish, Cow, Chicken, Vegetarian dish, and the chef can make what is fitting for the season and current availability of produce. Some of the best meals I've had there wasn't even a choice. I really don't go to restaurants to research the difference between 4 similar but not identical dishes. I want to pay someone to know how to make a really good meal, and make it perfectly for me.
  - marak830 8y ago
    As a chef, these are the sort of preferences we in general have as well. My current menu is 4 entrees, 4 mains and 4 desserts(lunch changes weekly), same for dinner. The slight variations we have are gastronomic menu (a small portion of each dish), a plates menu (set courses) or a standard pick what you want to order and pay for a full sized your probably useto. Edit to add: This is so that we can concentrate on the meal. Each section only creates 8 actual dishes(for lunch), 4 are off the dinner menu and are quite rare to see ordered (due to cost difference from lunch), but those 4 lunch menu items I can spend a lot of time focusing on. Yes I might send 50-100 meals in one service, but if they are the same 4, I can create something of very high quality and consistent across the entire service.
gadders 8y ago
>> The other mistake is a menu the size of a phone book. Choice breeds paralysis. And it also drives up food costs. When you watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, slimming down the menu is typically one of the first things he does.

justherefortart 8y ago

My local Ma & Pop diner charges 2.75 for drip coffee. I just don't order it anymore. At 2.25 it was already ridiculous. I'm a soda-holic. I never order soda at any restaurant. 100% water for the last 3 decades. The cost is too high and the quality is shit as well. McDonald's Coke is probably the worst I've ever tasted. It's been shitty since the 70s.

dagw 8y ago
I'm a soda-holic. I never order soda at any restaurant. Counterpoint. I'm a very occasional and 'casual' soda consumer, but if I'm at a restaurant and feel like a soda I'll order a soda no matter if it's $1 or $5.
madengr 8y ago
So I’m not the only one who thinks McDonalds coke is foul. Coke is supposed to be fizzy, and burn a bit going down. I don’t know what the hell McDonalds does. The only thing I can drink there is unsweetened ice tea.

paulcole 8y ago

> I told the mom and pop Asian place at the local high-end mall to raise their soda can prices from $1 Did you at least try to educate these restaurant owning rubes on simple economic principles first? This is the most annoying kind of backseat driving. Because it’s coming from someone who’s only ridden in a car and never driven. I mean just imagine if some random customer came to your work and told you to raise your prices. Wouldn’t your immediate post-eye—roll reaction be to think, “well it’s a little more complicated than that, this person doesn’t know about...”

soniman 8y ago
Yeah it would be annoying but it's still good advice.
- paulcole 8y ago
  How do you know the shop next to them doesn't charge $2 for a soda?

tlynchpin 8y ago

I recently told my donut shop that their strawberry cream cheese filled pastry was too cheap at $2. I go there occasionally, and it was such a strange mix of emotions when I dropped in and ordered my favorite and heard "$2.25" - yes, get the money, but no, not _my_ money!