If you want to host Holiday parties at the restaurant itself, you need to decide if it is worth closing the restaurant for the duration of the party versus the sales of what your normal customer traffic would bring in.  For example, if a restaurant normally does $5 thousand on a Thursday night, a Holiday buy-out would need to bring in at least 6 to 7 thousand in order to make it worthwhile.  Also, try to encourage prospective party clients to book on slower days by offering better deals.  Thus, that $6 thousand event gets better Food & Beverage options for the same price, but they have to come in on a Monday.  This will easily surpass your normal Monday evening sales, while still keeping your weekends open for your regular customers. 

Extreme attention must also be paid to give enough advanced warning to your regular customers during these periods.  You can never put a price on a guest that arrived to have a fabulous meal at their favorite restaurant, only to find it closed for a private party.  Be sure to use all your resources to alert customers of holiday schedules, including using your Facebook and Twitter accounts to notify regulars.   

Another great option, instead of hosting the party at your establishment, is to offer a holiday season catering option for off-site events.  As long as you remember to keep the cost of set up, clean up, and tear down at a minimum, this is the best way to make additional revenue without the cost of losing regular business to your restaurant. 

Another issue that you must steer clear from is giving customers the option of an all inclusive package, especially those with alcohol.  This could easily get out of hand and end up costing you money rather than making you money.  Try options such as giving a two drink per person inclusive option, or set a specific dollar amount of free alcohol before turning it into a cash bar.

These events should be treated as catering events, with a minimum food & beverage limit with a confirmation required one week prior to the event for ordering purposes.  It is imperative that you give yourself enough time from the confirmation date to the party so that you are able to maintain all of the products and staff needed for a successful event.

 Vine Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and has offices in Corte Madera and Santa Monica, California.  Vine Solutions, Inc., provides accounting and financial advisory services to a variety of high volume independent restaurants and regional chains.  For more information, e-mail Vine  Solutions at info@vinesolutions.com, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/VineSolutions or read our blog at restaurantaccountingblog.com.

Restaurants are always looking for new ways to offset the rising costs of operations.  However, one of the best ways, and many times overlooked, is to provide a catering option for your restaurant.  Catering can be a profitable venture if done correctly.  You have a confirmed head count and confirmed dollars spent, a sort of guaranteed business rather than waiting for customers to walk through the door.  The biggest benefit of guaranteed business is the ability to control costs and improve profit margins.

If you are not ready yet for a full catering program, another offshoot that has gained interest recently is a Boxed Lunch Program.  If you are in an area with a high business customer market, this may be a great option to boost your lunch sales.  However, besides just the business customer, the in home catering options have seen a huge growth with four in ten customers surveyed said they were planning on entertaining at home more often than in the past.  According to the market-research firm Technomic, the consumer catering market is valued at $3.3 billion – nearly double the value of the business-to-business market.  If you have not yet taken advantage of this, now is the time. 

On the flip side, there are also often additional costs associated with catering.  It is imperative to have the right staff in place, in order to coordinate and organize the food, setup, and clean up.  All of these steps need to be built into the cost of the event.  Often, operators forget about these costs and lose money because the two hours to set up and the hour to break down were overlooked. However, if done correctly, this type of catering option will help solidify your restaurant’s future and give a much needed boost to your bottom line.

 Many of Vine Solutions clients have catering programs, so if you are considering a program but have questions about the best way to set up your program, please don’t hesitate to contact us here.

Vine Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and has offices in Corte Madera and Santa Monica, California.  Vine Solutions, Inc., provides accounting and financial advisory services to a variety of high volume independent restaurants and regional chains.  For more information, e-mail Vine  Solutions at info@vinesolutions.com, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/VineSolutions or read our blog at restaurantaccountingblog.com.