When I talk with restaurant industry leaders across the country, I ask them how they react, in terms of growth and staffing, to the current market climate. What I discovered is that there are basically three schools of thought in this question.
One of the problems that I hear is some concepts that, if necessary, make reductions in many areas to ensure their weather storms. Mitchell Moore, vice president of operations at Nestlé Cafe, told me: “We cut about 12–15 positions in the corporate office to rely on outgoing expenses in 2009.” Karl Howard, CEO of Fazoli, whose concept takes advantage of improved commodity prices and investing in quality on its menu, told me his concept “Made the necessary cuts in October 2008 when we saw what would happen.” Fazoli will change about 40% of its offers starting from 2/16/2009.
Another answer from the restaurant management that I hear is “wait and see”. Some concepts, for the most part, support the status quo. David Newman, president of BP Newman Investments, who oversees 33 Chied Chicken chicken coops, said: “Let economists say what they will say: David will use part of this time to sharpen the saw of some of his key people by sending them leadership training.” It's time to invest in my people. ”According to Mitchell Moore, there are a lot of“ wait and see ”from Nestle Cafe franchises because they are looking for loans to make them more affordable before they open additional units. This suggests that in 2009 we are actively increasing 25-30 units, ”says Mitchell. Sam Beiler, President and Chief Executive Officer Auntie Anne & # It was said: "In accordance with our attention to careful management of expenses, in 2009 we take a conservative approach when it comes to creating new positions."
Probably the least advertised and most enviable position, some concepts turn out to be ... financially sufficient to use the current market conditions in the restaurant industry to grow their units through the acquisition and attractive conditions of real estate from landowners who are now much more ready make concessions. Leon Irons, president of the Churpeye, Sonic and Church Fried Chicken franchise group, said he is adding stores this year and should increase the total number of units for our group of restaurants by a third. (They currently operate 53 Sonics and 33 Church.) Lance Benton, CEO of 100% Buck franchise pizza, is very optimistic about his position and says that they ask about their concept many times right now. “I don’t like to hear about people who don’t work, but these people have to replace something with their income, and many are looking at our franchise opportunity to do just that.” Sam Beiler from Aunt Ann continues, "Based on the cyclical nature of the economy, which historically shows that over the past 100 years we have experienced a recession every 7-10 years, we began to prepare for a soft economy more than 18 months ago." “Over the past few years, we have experienced strong similar sales in stores, and especially in 2008, we had a strong year, which prepared us well for further growth in 2009. We look forward to the opening of 42 domestic locations and 53 international locations, which will add to our store more than 980 stores in 20 countries. ”
The same restaurant companies can also use the current pool of candidates to “renew” hired talents that were not normally available. Mike Hamra, CEO of Hamra Enterprises, who manages 27 Wendy and 47 Panera Bread, pointed out the position of his group as follows: "We strategically consider ways to improve the quality of our staff and improve them with our growth plans and exhaustion." President Wendy of Missouri, Chuck Okarts, told me that although he was worried about the next 3-6 months, he definitely “takes advantage of the talent that is there to improve my team. “Tim Kullers, vice president of restaurant services at Timberlodge Steakhouse,“ is very aggressive about looking at talent ”and sees the potential for growth of his group of restaurants in this market.
Although there may be different strategies for successfully navigating the current turbulent market, some things remain constant. Tax liability is wisdom in all aspects of a business, as well as renewing talent in your team when that talent is available.
