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Running Your Business: Catering: The Highest & Best Use Of Your Restaurant By Michael Attias
In real estate there is a concept called 'highest and best use' of a piece of property. An investor maximizes his return when he develops his property in order to capture as much income as possible.
That is why you never see an entire New York City block with just a three bedroom, two-bath home. The income from the property is far greater by erecting a tall skyscraper.
You can apply the 'highest and best use' principle to your restaurant. Catering is a profit center many operators are neglecting to use to get the highest return possible from their restaurant, especially in this challenging environment.
As a fellow operator, I am familiar with the fact you pay the same amount of rent each month regardless of whether you cater or not. Most restaurants are able to incorporate a catering profit center within their existing overhead structure and take a large portion of catering sales to their bottom line.
Catering also helps your labor costs. You can utilize your crew to prep for catering jobs during down time. Cost justifying extra hours makes for happy employees.
Your front and back house crew will enjoy going out on catering jobs. It is the equivalent of a field trip in school with the possibility of making extra income from host tips.
Due to the higher check averages of catering, you can get a higher return on your advertising investment. An added benefit is that you get paid to market your restaurant each time someone enjoys your food at a catering.
Go out and start using catering to get the 'highest and best use' of your restaurant.
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Michael Attias operates a restaurant in Nashville, TN, and helps restaurant owners add or expand a catering profit center through his company The Results Group. You can download his FREE Report: Tapping Into Your Hidden Catering Profit$ at