The anatomy of a restaurant business plan

By Doug Radkey One of the biggest mistakes an aspiring restaurateur makes is thinking a business plan is only needed if they require additional funding for their start-up. A business plan is much more than just paperwork to obtain funding from a bank or investor. It is the lifeline of your business and it is […]

Restaurant start-ups: Is the struggle real?

By Doug Radkey Starting a restaurant is an exciting, stressful, nerve-wracking, but often rewarding endeavour that is not for the faint of heart. It takes sacrifice, systemized thinking, social skills, creativity, stress management and a lot of passion to lead a restaurant to success. However, if you’re already living and breathing in this cutthroat industry, […]

Designing a profitable restaurant concept

By Doug Radkey No question, every restaurant or food and beverage related establishment starts with a vision. A dream for most that must be met with the right research, planning, and overall mind-set. Similar to the true definition of branding, one’s market will, and must, also define the concept. To be successful, you must be […]

Managing customer emotions using touch points

By Doug Radkey The restaurant industry is driven by delivering exceptional (and memorable) customer experiences. As a restaurateur, you need to realize that you don’t just sell food and beverage, you sell emotions through experiences. Your concept, whether a restaurant, bar, cafe or food truck, lives or dies by the customer emotions it creates. To […]

Tips for ordering inventory like a pro

By Doug Radkey Having the correct front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) systems in place will equally position you and your team to ‘order like a pro.’ First and foremost however, you need to understand and realize that the necessary return on both your food and beverage investment is partially a question of your trainable cost […]

Developing effective FOH and BOH systems

By Doug Radkey The more any restaurant depends on the owner’s day in-day out involvement in the operational details of the restaurant, the greater the risk of failure. Starting and operating a successful restaurant or bar relies heavily on having the right systems in place, allowing the venue and its hired team to work as […]