Foodservice Friends

Foodservice Distributor Electronic Reports - What to ask for & Why

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Electronic Reporting comes in many shapes and sizes. Depending on the Foodservice Distributors that you purchase from, the complexity and breadth of information that is reportable vary greatly. Large broadline distributors such as US Foods and Sysco, have the ability to provide foodservice operators with detailed information on purchases. Sysco many times refers to their usage reports as Satrak’s which simply stands for Sales Tracking. Other popular titles which for all intensive purposes...

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Costing Out Soda & Free Refills in Foodservice - How to Price Soda

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:04:00 +0000

A traditional box of syrup or B I B (bag in the box) holds 5 gallons of syrup. Let's say a five gallon BIB of your favorite Cola costs $50. The ratio of syrup to water is 5 to 1, meaning for every gallon of syrup served, 5 gallons of water is also used. In other words if you serve an entire BIB to Foodservice customers you have served 5 gallons of syrup + 25 gallons of water for a grand total of 30 gallons of product. As we know, there are 128 oz in a gallon. Therefore, 128 oz x 30 gallons...

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Using Up Foodservice Inventory to Sustain Cash Flow

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:51:00 +0000

In Foodservice, inventory at it's roots are products purchased in order to prepare and sell for more money than what you paid for them. The variance between sales price and cost is gross profit. Some foodservice establishments have large inventories that become stagnant for a number of reasons. First, many catering companies purchase large quantities of products, whether it be food, beverages or disposables to serve functions with specific menu and service requests. Many times these purchases...

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Cost Center vs. Profit Center & the Tale of Total Sales

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:38:00 +0000

With the growing importance of monitoring costs within foodservice establishments in a weak economy, the importance of understanding the methodology behind ratios is justly increasing. When going over monthly financial statements I have seen many methods in calculating food costs. Some are better than others. For the purpose of this article I am looking at a full service restaurant who sells Food, NA/Beverage, Beer, Liquor & Wine on a monthly basis with the total sales = $25,000. In the...

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Sysco Foods Acquires Irish Broadline Distributor

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:37:00 +0000

Today Sysco Foods (SYY) announced the purchase of Pallas Foods Ltd., a Broadline Foods Distribution Comany in County Limerick Ireland. Pallas Foods has 8 operating facilities in Ireland. This purchase marks Sysco's first acquisition of a Broadline Food Distribution company outside of the US. Pallas is reported to generate revenues around $200 Million per year and employees close to 500 people. Pallas Foods Ltd. began it's Foodservice operations in the early 1980's. Most senior executives...

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Front End & Back End Sales Basics

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:27:00 +0000

In general, Front End Sales refer to the acquiring of new customers and Back End Sales refer to getting those customers to keep coming back. Understanding these two principals can help identify two pivotal areas of your restaurant to focus upon to generate revenues. Restaurants as with most businesses for profit, operate to attract customers and turn them into repeat customers. With sales declining for many restaurant's, owners are increasingly taking a magnifying glass to areas of their...

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Inventory, Toothpaste & Cooks Spending Limits

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:22:00 +0000

My first foodservice job was behind the counter at a small Italian delicatessen and specialty market. The first lesson I learned at this job, besides how to keep the bathrooms clean, was that inventory is like a tube of toothpaste - Seriously! When you first buy toothpaste, you open the cap, squeeze out the product onto your brush and start the hygiene cycle. 3 weeks later, you begin to pay attention to the amount of toothpaste left in the tube. In fact, in the beginning of week 4 you may find...

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Historical Look at GPO's by: John Lawn

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:23:00 +0000

Enjoy an article written about the historical formation of Group Purchasing Organizations in the foodservice and healthcare arenas. John Lawn provides evidence to the organic formation of Group Purchasing Organizations and their changes in Foodservice and healthcare. Distribution with large broadline food distributors including Sysco Foods and US Foodservice are discussed. Group Purchasing Organizations including Novation Inc., Consorta Inc. & Amerinet are discussed along with suppliers,...

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Restaurant Beverage Control

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Controlling the Pour Levels of Bartenders Let's face it, if there was never a spill, a broken bottle, server impropriety with reusing the same check for multiple customers, mis-rang orders on the POS and all pours were at the perfect level, then we would have nothing to worry about. Two techniques I have seen are requiring all liquors to be poured into a "jigger" or shot glass before being mixed into a drink and also measured pourer caps that are designed to deliver the perfect amount of...

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Margin Drivers in Foodservice Distribution

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:18:00 +0000

Utilizing Margin-Drivers in Achieving a more Profitable Distribution Agreement Deliveries Per Week / Drop Sizes § The fewer deliveries and the more products you purchase per delivery provide benefit to the distributor. This monetary benefit can be capitalized on and shared by the distributor in offering you a lower margin. § In determining a delivery schedule pick what works for you. If your current schedule works perfectly only change it if you can combine deliveries without negatively...

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Purchasing Better with Integrity

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:37:00 +0000

My philosophy in business is the phrase “it’s not personal, it’s business” does not apply. In my opinion anything you do in or outside of your business is a reflection of yourself and is therefore personal. There are many ways to help your bottom line. Creating a dedicated purchasing program is one. Like many businesses, purchasing has a right way to do things or “best practices.” A successful purchasing program designed to be sustainable and help carry an organization forward in a good...

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Federal 941 Payments - EFTPS & Cash Flow

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:33:00 +0000

Federal Tax 941 payments encompass employee federal withholding and the employer and employee match for Social Security & Medicare deductions. Depending on the employer's frequency of pay (weekly, biweekly) paying the 941's on the same frequency can help manage the cash flow of a business. With payroll expenses being a prime cost for restaurants, paying this tax liability along with that of each pay cycle instead of making monthly or quarterly deposits will increase the likelihood that the...

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Food Safety Accredidation & Certification

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Link to food safety requirements per state: http://www.servsafe.com/sra/state_rest_associate.aspx Links to food safety http://www.professionalfoodsafety.com/ http://www.foodsafety.gov/~lrd/haccp.html Links to Servsafe main page & CLASS FINDER: http://www.servsafe.com/ http://www.servsafe.com/TrainingSearch.aspx

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Food Cost % vs. Gross Profit $

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Would you rather have a 20% or 40% food cost %? The answer is - "I need more infomation!" Suppose you purchased a $2 food item and sold it as an entree for $10. Well you realize a 20% food cost and $8 in gross profit. Now imagine you purchased an $8 food item and sold it for $20. Well you now realize a 40% food cost but reap $12 in gross profit. I would rather receive an extra $4 in profit each time I sold a food item. Food Costs are important as they can be used to benchmark your operations,...

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New Hire Reporting

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Most states require that employer's report each new employee they hire. With the turnover rate in restaurants this can be a repetitive process. Payroll companies know this. Many Payroll companies charge a "per employee" fee for registering new hires. What the payroll companies do not tell you is that the process takes no longer than signing onto your States main web site, finding the appropriate link for reporting new hires, and entering the information right off the employees W4. After getting...

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How to Design an Effective Logo

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:07:00 +0000

by: Brandon O'dellMarch 20th, 2009 · 2 CommentsIn order to effectively convey what it takes to create an effective logo, I think it is important to outline the qualities of an effective logo.An effective logo is easy to recognize, even at a glance or at a distance An effective logo is easy to remember An effective logo tells people who you are An effective logo tells people what you do An effective logo suggests your service style An effective logo may also have one “bonus” attribute that can...

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A History of US Foodservice

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Per Email Request from Subscriber - U.S. Foodservice The name "US Foodservice" comes from US Foodservice Inc, a broadline distributor based in Wilkes-Barre, PA. US Foodservice Inc was formed in March 1992 by Unifax Inc specifically to acquire the White Swan Inc, a Dallas-based distributor.[2] The merger with White Swan Inc was completed in October 1993. Via a share exchange (shares of White Swan were swapped for shares of US Foodservice), it created one of the largest broadline distributors in...

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Who is the Target Market for your Restaurant?

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:05:00 +0000

by: Brandon O'dellOctober 17th, 2008 · No Comments This may be the most important question you can answer when designing a restaurant concept. It is definitely the most important question to answer when creating a marketing plan. One of the biggest mistakes restaurants make is trying to appeal to everyone. If you think that your target market includes everyone, you are setting yourself up to fail. If you want to be successful in any business, especially the restaurant business, then you need to...

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Who's In Charge of your Restaurant?

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:05:00 +0000

by: Brandon O'dellOctober 14th, 2008 · 2 Comments Charlie said….. Marla said….. Patrice said….. He said, she said. It’s a game that gets played in a lot of businesses. Not having a defined “pecking order” that is understood by every person in your organization can lead to a lot of unnecessary headaches. Here’s a quick lesson about avoiding this business pitfall. Who is in charge when you’re not in your restaurant? Who is your second when you are/aren’t there? Every good business structure...

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Keeping it simple: How to create a restaurant concept that can succeed

noreply@blogger.com (wsm190) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:00:00 +0000

by: Brandon O'dellSeptember 23rd, 2008 · 1 Comment High failure rates for restaurants. Yes they’re exaggerated, but they’re still high. According to recent studies from Cornell and Ohio State universities, 59-60% of restaurants fail within the first three years. As many as 75% may fail within the first five. Why are they so high? For a list of the six biggest reasons, see The biggest mistakes restaurants make, and why they have a high failure rate. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to...

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