Successful Restaurant Strategies

Author: Fisher, Douglas P., B.A.S., M.Sc., CMC, FCSI

Hospitality Ink, 1998

Forward
For many, the restaurant industry holds a special cachet. Despite the hard work, the long hours, the fickle nature of customers who fly from restaurant to restaurant in pursuit of the latest culinary fads and trends, who among us can say we have never dreamed of running a restaurant? The thought of having a place of your own, where you can delight in sharing your recipes with an adoring clientele in surroundings that are warm and congenial, represents some kind of ideal, and as such appeals to many of us.

But as many operators will attest to, a restaurateur's life is far from the glamorous picture we paint in our minds. Far from being one long party, the responsibilities are awesomely large. The industry is fraught with long hours, hard work, and sometimes low profit margins.

For many years the foodservice industry has held the reputation -- deservedly or not -- as an unsophisticated industry. With the exception of the larger, fast-food franchise operations, many of the industry's independents were perceived to lack controls, comprehensive management training and marketing savvy. Thankfully, this has changed dramatically since I began working as an editor 15 years ago. Today's operators are better informed, more probing and sophisticated in their approaches, and much more marketing driven. Clearly this industry has much of which to be proud. The restaurant industry has a colorful and vibrant history and is populated by people with an undying passion for everything they do. Perhaps more than any other industry. the hospitality business has a true entrepreneurial heart.

Still, to build a truly successful enterprise requires more than just entrepreneurial spirit: it requires a solid foundation of business skills. Doug Fisher's Successful Restaurant Strategies empowers operators by providing them with the essential tools to build that foundation. The uncertainty and insecurity of being an operator becomes more manageable with the practical and down-to-earth advice drawn from Fisher's 15 years of experience as a consultant. Fisher has divided his book into three sections: Starting, Managing and Franchising, with topics ranging from Business Planning and Pricing It Right to Solving Franchise Disputes. Each chapter is written so as to stand on its own, or to be read as part of a comprehensive package.

No operator will ever have all the answers to the questions of how to run a successful restaurant. But having a resource tool such as Successful Restaurant Strategies is a good starting point on the journey towards success. My hope is that books such as this will not only help operators to solve their operational challenges and develop their skills as business people, but will allow the industry overall to mature and prosper. I suspect there will always be operators who fly by the seat of their pants, and chances are that some of them may even succeed. But thankfully, in today's increasingly sophisticated foodservice and hospitality industry, operators understand that success is based on developing a strategic plan and ensuring its execution at all levels -- that, and a lot of hard work, perseverance and dedication. As for the dream we all harbor of being restaurateurs, it's still there for the taking.

Rosanna Caira
Editor,
Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine
Toronto, Canada