Are you ready to go?
We recently did a grand opening where the owners were focused on getting the physical plant ready to go. With all of their energy dedicated on getting the doors open, some pieces had fallen through the cracks. We came in with a short amount of time and needed to reevaluate the opening plan. While there was a great menu, it was very large and untested. The restaurant itself also required 8 servers for a busy night, which during a grand opening should be most nights in this location. With a review from the team, we were able to identify a shortage of staff on the hiring goals as well as a need to cut down the menu for service on the first few days and gradually add items to it. How did we help make the opening successful?
- Set up new hiring goals formulating station size, stations per shift and average shifts per employee. When doing this, we recognized that we were short on service staff. This resulted in the decision to open for dinner only at first. We also rated and recognized support staff members and were able to “promote” three members during the initial training. This gave the owners a little depth on their bench and helped others recognize the potential for promotion.
- Reduced menu for opening by highlighting items available. As the kitchen was able to handle the flow of business, we would add 2-3 more items on. Within a week the kitchen was up to the full menu and handling the flow with very little difficulty.