Inspiration can come from amazing places. Waffle House, that epitome of fine dining (just kidding, we love the waffles!)…
During the beginning stages of the lockdown process we noticed that Waffle House started selling multiple meals in to go packaging. Buy three and get one free even. This effectively had the effect of countering the removal of in house dining.
Many restaurants still struggle with the regulations and changing environments requiring them to reduce or in some cases still completely remove in house dining altogether. Whereas restaurants once had a thriving dine in policy which bulked up sales by encouraging patrons to sit and enjoy beverages while eating, this has largely been removed. How can one counter the lack of business due to the changing regulatory environment? Bulk selling is one option,
Another option is to branch out and package food for resale that is different than the traditional inhouse dining. Bulk sales is fostering the growing movement towards the Ghost Kitchens. Big name such as Nathans, NCR, Reef and even Kroger are adopting this idea. And it is almost impossible without bulk sales adoption.
The best part of this is that from the technology aspect, most of the capabilities are already in place. Use of QR codes for rapid menu information, contactless processes, online purchase solutions (such as the HungryZeit program) all gain viability as the dining environment continues to adapt to this new world we’re living in.
So how can a bulk purchase approach work? Let’s break it down with an eye on the technology.
Say you have a menu of 54 menu items, some with variables (size, toppings, and the like) and a drink menu of 8 options. Just keeping it simple here.
Before your clientele would drop in and four people might sit at a table enjoying a meal at lunch. Your typical ticket might be $25 per person with 70% table saturation over the lunch rush. With ten tables that math works out to be about $800 to $900 in our example for that time period.
Cutting the tables in half dramatically drops the total revenue.
Finding different mechanisms to replace that revenue is a strong reason to take it seriously. Software must work FOR you not in place of you. It’s that much of a bonus that our program HungryZeit offers many of the tools that you desperately need. Especially as a business owner or manager being forced to operate in this unique environment; filled with technology requirements that have henceforth been only something nice to have, and are now necessary to stay in business.