My mantra over the years has always been: Successful restaurant companies have multiple profit centers. The most common profit centers include private dining, catering, off-premise sales, unique bar programs and the in-store sale of…
With restaurant profits tight, one tactic that is relevant to continued business success is leveraging and expanding a restaurant’s trade name and reputation. I call it “brand extension” as it seems to work for…
Last month I addressed specific financial fixes for casual dining. This month, I’ll dig deeper into three areas of concern: dealing with problem stores, leases and senior debt. There are always underperforming stores, both…
Trying to obtain bank financing, equipment leasing or even vendor financing for a restaurant is one of the biggest challenges in the business world. Each week I hear from local restaurateurs who have either…
Obviously, the casual dining world has its ups and downs. Right now we are in a down period, with some major players struggling the last few years. There seems to be a light at…
The team behind Hola Arepa has switched gears and opened a South-Asian restaurant in the up-and-becoming trendy Northeast Minneapolis. Hai Hai is in a fairly underdeveloped area at 21st and University, which would normally…
I am always intrigued by “polished fast-casual” concepts— restaurants with counter service but a little more personal service and also higher price points that can attract customers with the ability to generate higher check…
One of the biggest winners under the new tax law is real estate, particularly restaurant real estate. Purchasing sites, making improvements, entering into sale-leasebacks, making renovations and remodels are all constant themes in our…
The third time wasn’t the charm, so now we have what amounts to the fifth try at the Calhoun Square restaurant space in Uptown. Figlio, a Parasole restaurant, had a 20-plus-year run in this…
