Why, and at what rate, do restaurants fail?

Research from Cornell about restaurant failure rates and reasons

KDS (Kitchen Display Systems) at The Hamilton in Washington, DC

These are some pictures from a new restaurant/entertainment venue in DC named The Hamilton.  It's 950 seats and they are open 24X7 starting in late December 2011.

 There is nothing quite like a huge shiny kitchen with lots of technical toys.  The three expediter screens are 26" touch screens.  They look very tough and industrial.

 All mounting was done by a business partner of mine.   If you're interested in having him do your mounts/security/surveillance/phones/audio let me know.

 The mounts are all industrial-grade VESA 100.  Very tight and secure.

 There are 13 individual 19" prep KDS screens in two kitchens and a service bar, and 2 of the 26" screens for the expo stations.

 The beauty of KDS is that it cuts down on any verbal communication in the kitchen, with each prep person only seeing what they need to do.  There are circles at the top of each ticket that let every person in the kitchen who has items on that particular check see which other stations have items on the same check and allows them to coordinate silently on a table-by-table basis.

 Once each station is done with their part of any given check, they double-tap the ticket and it disappears from their screen.  The expediter sees the circles representing each station fill in as the check gets completed.

 Once all prep stations are completed, the ticket shoots to the upper left hand corner of the expediter screen and will have a blinking, perforated border, letting them know that that is the oldest complete check and any food in the window on that check belongs to that table.

 The operators of The Hamilton have put this to tremendous use in the Old Ebbitt Grill, which is actually in the same building.  The Old Ebbitt can run over 1000 covers a day, doing $25 Million+ on an annual basis, and have no food left over at the end of a rush because each person only makes what's on their screen.  It's helped them bring in an extra $1,000,000 a year in revenue due to speed increases.

 Another benefit of the KDS system is that every detail of every check/menu item/station is tracked from the second it is rung into the system until it is marked done by the expediter.  This means you can tell exactly how long each station is taking to get items done, how long each menu item is taking, how many times any station has hit alert levels, and where the bottlenecks are.  Silver Diner was able to increase their guest velocity by 28% during times they were one a wait by analyzing various aspects of these reports and adjusting their operations accordingly.  If you would like details, shoot me a message.

 This is a speed of service screen, or SOS as it's known in our vernacular.  This is also a 26" screen.  It shows a box for each table in the restaurant.  You can scroll to the right on the screen to see each floor.  Once a check is started on the table the square turns white.  Once a food item is rung in a small box appears in the square with a timer showing how long it's been cooking.  There are configurable alert levels set so that after a certain amount of time the square will turn yellow, alerting the kitchen staff and management that alert level 1 has been hit for that table, and then another alert timer will trigger alert 2, which turns it red.  Each alert reached is also indicated by an exclamation point in the box.  Once the order is marked as done at all prep stations and the expediter station the square turns blue, but the exclamation points remain, allowing managers to have visibility to the fact that the table did in fact reach alert one and/or two.  The box resets once the check is closed on the table.

You can also look at the detail of any check by double-tapping any square that is showing an open check.  In addition to that, any station can high-lite any menu item on their screen with a touch, then hit a media key which can bring up any information the restaurant would like to enter about that menu item including recipes or preparation instructions in text or video format.  It can cut down on training cost/time and increase the consistency of the items being produced.  It's much more than just a paperless kitchen.

For more chef-driven restaurants, we now have the ability for the chef to high-lite items on his screen and tell the prep stations to start working on them.  This is handy in tapas style as well as steak houses, where a chef may want the secondary stations to wait to prepare short prep-time items while a steak is being cooked.

All-in-all, a very high-tech operation using technology to it's advantage.  If you would like more information on the system and how I can help you use technology to make your restaurant more efficient and profitable please reach out.

Controller Position for DC Metro Restaurant Group

Controller Position

The Controller will handle all accounting, database/analysis, and financial responsibilities.  The primary duties include:

• Manage day-to-day operations of the Accounting Department, including preparation of weekly and monthly financial statements
• Interaction with other the Company Leadership
• Cash management, bank structures and relationship, and shareholder distributions
• Detailed communication and planning with outside accounting firm
• Accounting duties, including payables/receivables, inventory management, sales reporting, cost accounting, financial forecasting and modeling, expense reimbursement system, etc. with focus on systems building, implementation and efficiency
• Loss prevention
• Establish, implement, and maintain internal controls
• HR functions, including employee benefits administration, working with outside payroll company with the plan of bringing payroll completely in-house
• Audit and income tax planning, primarily preparation of information for outside CPA prepared tax returns and annual audit
• Managing of insurance coverages and premiums
• Other financial, accounting, tax and administrative aspects, including evaluating, implementing, and overseeing the use of technology in the company’s operations.
• Financial Analysis and Modeling (Cash, Real Estate, ROI on business Deals)
• Presentations and Reporting (Periodic Board Reporting)

Department Management:

• Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, and Controlling an Accounting Department.  (Developing for our next phase of growth)
• Weekly, 4 week Period, Quarterly, and Annual P+L reporting
• Payroll ( Payroll Experience to take the function in house with Compeat Software)
• Receivables  (inter and intra company Bakery Billings and LLC Restaurant transferring of product)
• Payables  (Streamlined Payables and Direct Billing)
• Compliance (Labor Laws, IRS reporting, Records and Data Archiving, Licenses and Leases)
• Compeat Analytics Data (Theoretical Food Cost, Recipe Data Base, Payables)
• Loss Prevention
• Banking Relationships (All online services for payroll, payables, and statement reconciliations including all cash management)
• Insurance renewals in general insurances and employee benefits

Qualifications

The ideal candidate has an accounting degree, with at least 5 years in restaurant or hotel bookkeeping and accounting.   CPA or MBA is a plus.  The candidate should be trustworthy, organized, hard working, flexible, a detail-oriented self-starter and able to thrive in a small, team oriented and entrepreneurial environment.  Strong computer skills are required, intermediate to expert Excel user, and experience with restaurant-centric food cost management system (COMPEAT experience is a plus, but not a must). 

Experience successfully managing a team of 3-5 administrative and accounting staff is required, as is some true “company-building” experience as it relates to building and implementing systems in a department or workgroup.  Proven experience in financial analysis, financial management, and project management. 

The position offers competitive compensation and benefits.

Sustainable Restaurant Practices by DCSEU

For those of you who missed the sustainable restaurant practices seminar Monday presented by The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, you'll find a sheet with some ideas from DC's Sustainable Energy Utility below.  A great panel including Hollis Silverman of Thinkfood Group and John Snellgrove of The Saint Ex Group were involved.

Here's a video of some of the neat things MICROS can do with a partner, namely Unison Agency http://unisonagency.com/  in Georgetown.  Please check them out.  Let them know where you saw this.

Jason Wilt of Winmar and Public Group

Jason Wilt, good friend and long-time business partner, talks about our relationship over the years and why he chooses to do business with me and my company.

Thierry Jugnet talks about MICROS.  He and I have been working together since 2003, when he opened Mosaic in Rockville.  His new concept, Wicked Waffle in DC, is a run away hit.

Nate Auchter of Salt & Pepper in DC talks about MICROS

Nate Auchter, owner and chef of Salt and Pepper in DC, talks about his experience with me and my company.

Jason Awad of Graffiato on MICROS

Jason Awad of Graffiatio explains how MICROS exceeded his expectations.

Thinking about using hand-held terminals or tablets? Read this first.

Mobile POS Information

A Guide to Best Practices and Procedures

David Smelson

dsmelson@gmail.com

The following information is intended to inform restaurateurs of some of the choices and responsibilities to consider before choosing a wireless solution for their point of sale system.

Wireless technology is a great way to increase your servers’ time spent satisfying your guest.  It’s been shown to provide a great return on investment and is very functional. 

That being said, there are considerations that must be taken into account before you decide that wireless is a good choice for you and your operations.

This document is by no means fully inclusive of all possibilities as technology changes rapidly.  Please discuss opportunities with your point of sale representative in conjunction with a trusted IT provider.
Careful planning will help ensure the success of your project.
Things to consider when planning your wireless POS tablets/hand-helds:

·        It will be more expensive to implement a  wireless infrastructure than a comparable wired infrastructure

o   The cost to implement a secure wireless infrastructure in a restaurant is greater than the cost to run CAT-
5e cable. 

o   It is highly recommended that you have a complete wireless site survey by a qualified professional.

o   You will still need wired infrastructure for terminals, printers, kitchen display systems (if purchased) and back-office equipment.

o   The industrial wireless infrastructure required is not consumer-grade equipment and is much more expensive than the equipment you may see on the shelves at consumer electronics stores. These consumer products may lack security features required for PCI compliance and may have less than consistent wireless coverage power.

o   Consume-grade devices may not provide “smart-switching” capabilities that actively hand-off ownership of a signal from one access point to another, which can result in lost orders and credit card authorizations.

o   The maintenance and upkeep on the wireless infrastructure will be more complex and will likely require the services of an IT company/consultant specializing in wireless infrastructure whereas a wired network is generally a one-time expense.

o   There are special CISP/PA-DSS consideration for wireless networks. (Please ensure that you or your designated wireless contractor are familiar with these requirements prior to making any purchase. It’s also a good idea to check the requirements on a regular basis as they do change.)

·        Consider your hardware devices carefully

o   There are many hardware platforms available today.

o   iPads have sizzle and everyone likes them, but there are drawbacks:

o   They break frequently if dropped

o   The credit card swipe is generally a plug-in and can break easily

o   Look for hardware that has a break-fix warranty for at least three years

o   Look for hardware that is designed to be in a restaurant or is designed for military use

·        Software platforms that run point of sale on wireless devices

o   Be sure that any platform you choose processes credit cards with a processor of your choosing.  Some point of sales companies will lock you in at exorbitant processing rates with huge fees to switch

o   Be sure that your software and processing are PA-DSS compliant and are certified as such on one of the following sites:

https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/vpa/

http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/validated_payment_applications.pdf

·        The wireless hardware portion of your point of sale system will be more expensive than a comparable wired solution.

o   One wired terminal can be shared between 3-5 servers in a typical restaurant.

o   When using hand-held terminals (HHT’s) or wireless tablets each server needs one.

o   Batteries are not covered by warranty and generally need to be replaced on an annual basis.

o   You will still need terminals for bars/retail/carryout and it is highly suggested that you place some terminals where servers can get to them in the event that the wireless network goes down or becomes inoperable for any reason.

·        The wireless network will not be as resilient as a wired network.

o   This is a function of environment, not the point of sale system or the hht/tablets.

o   People physically create interference just by being in the restaurant. Wireless coverage testing should be done when your restaurant is full.

o   Support beams, decorative fixtures, lights, music amplification equipment  and  other devices can create interference which may affect the reliability of the network between the transmitting and receiving points. These conditions can change over time, or depending on what is being used at different times of the day or night. It is normal to have to make adjustments to wireless networks to maximize coverage and as conditions change.

o   Home wireless networks don’t cause errors or any noticeable trouble when they disconnect momentarily.  A POS system running a database needs to be in constant contact with the terminals and errors may result from a less than 100% connectivity rate.

o   Servers may need to reboot hht’s/tablets if they carry them out of range before they will connect to the network.

·        Adopting hht’s and/or tablets will require fundamental changes in the way your restaurant operates

o   Your servers will be able to handle more tables, so you will need fewer of them.

o   Servers’ sales may increase drastically as there are fewer of them.

o   You will need to employ drink and food runners

o   You may need to adjust your tip pool/sharing practices to accommodate the changes in what other employees are doing for your servers. 

o   Your table turn times may decrease putting more strain on the kitchen and bar to keep up.

o   Servers will need to have a wired, or wireless-ly bridged thermal printers nearby to print credit card auth’s, checks, and other items.

o   You will need to have a plan to manage the physical assets to avoid losing equipment. Checking the devices in/out to servers is recommended. Additionally, you need to consider the space, and electrical outlets to be able to charge the devices, and spare batteries. In most operations you will not be able to get through the whole day or shift on a single battery charge. Most wireless devices have swap-able batteries so that you can have fewer devices, with spare batteries to swap.

·        Who is responsible for the implementation and configuration of the wireless infrastructure?

o   Your point of sale sales representative may provide proposals for the wireless access points/ports if they carry/support them.

o   You may require more points/ports than are originally proposed based on variables that cannot be foreseen at the time of the initial configuration/proposal.

o   Any mounting of access points/ports that require equipment to install, i.e. cherry-pickers/cranes may be the responsibility of the restaurant.  Look at your contract.  If it’s not clearly stated, it will be your responsibility.

o   You may hire your own IT company to perform the survey and implementation of the wireless infrastructure.

• In conclusion, it will cost you more to use wireless and it will change the way your servers interact with their customers.  It will also make you more money if you've got a steady customer stream and your kitchen can handle the extra volume.  There are ways to address that, which I'll discuss in my next post.

·        If you have any questions or I can be of further assistance, please contact feel free to contact me @ dsmelson@gmail.com