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Restaurant Purchasing Report 2019 – Over 550 Independent Operators Share Their Experience and Insights Regarding Purchasing

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- RestaurantOwner.com has published the report of their 2019 Restaurant Purchasing Survey. This report focuses on restaurant purchasing, summarizing input from over 550 independent operators regarding their purchasing, including where operators purchase, involvement in group purchasing organizations (GPOs), the prevalence and benefits of prime vendor relationships, and the rationale and satisfaction with prime vendors.

A copy of the report is available at: https://www.restaurantowner.com/RPS2019

Survey Results:
Despite the purchasing power of GPOs, only 9% of responding operators are part of one. Four GPOs accounted for 67% of those named by respondents: Dining Alliance (23%), Delaware Valley Purchasing Group (19%), Foodbuy (14%) and Entegra (12%).

Unlike GPO involvement, most (78%) operators have a prime vendor relationship or distributor from which they purchase most of their food, beverage, and paper products. The benefits are many, but more than 75% of respondents cite better service, simplicity of fewer vendors, improved relationship with sales representatives, and feeling that a vendor genuinely supported their restaurant's success as benefits of such a relationship.

Forty-five broadline suppliers were named by respondents, yet only five suppliers serve as the primary supplier for 90% of respondents: Sysco (34%), US Foods (23%), Gordon (13%), Performance Food Group (12%), and Ben E. Keith (8%).

Most (84%) operators are satisfied with their prime vendor. This satisfaction is evident in the length of these relationships, with most (52%) operators having worked with a prime vendor for more than 5 years.

Even with the benefits of a prime vendor, nearly a quarter (22%) of operators did not have such a relationship. Almost half (49%) of operators without a prime vendor report that they prefer to work with multiple distributors and suppliers. Additional insights and quotes from operators are included in the 2019 Restaurant Purchasing Survey Report.

About RestaurantOwner.com:

Since 1998, RestaurantOwner.com has provided training and resources to independent restaurant owners and managers who want to improve their leadership and business management skills to create a higher quality guest experience, greater employee engagement and better financial results.

More information: https://www.restaurantowner.com/.

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*Image Caption: page six example from the comprehensive 2019 report.

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Business, Free News Articles, Reports and Studies, Restaurant, Hotel and Hospitality

How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant? 350 Independent Restaurant Owners Share Their 2018 Startup Costs and Financial Performance

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- RestaurantOwner.com has released the report of their 2018 Cost to Open a Restaurant Survey. The report summarizes input gathered from over 350 independent restaurant owners and operators regarding their startup costs as well as their financial performance.

A copy of the survey report is available at: https://www.restaurantowner.com/public/How-Much-Does-it-Cost-to-Open-a-Restaurant.cfm

The median restaurant startup cost was $375,000. This equates to a median cost of $113 per square foot, or $3,586 per seat. Many factors affected cost including remodel vs. new construction, free standing building vs. tenant space, and whether the restaurant was full service, limited service, bar or tavern, catering business, or takeout and delivery.

"New construction was more costly than remodeling. The median cost of building a restaurant from the ground up, not including real estate, was $650,000," said COO Joe Erickson.

Remodeling a non-restaurant space was the second most costly, with a median cost of $425,500. Remodeling an existing restaurant space was the least costly, with a median cost of $275,500. Consequently, the median sales to investment ratio was highest for remodeling an existing restaurant space (4.2:1), versus either remodeling a non-restaurant space (2.1:1) or new construction (2.0:1).

The median size of restaurant startups was 3,070 square feet, and 120 seats. This size resulted in a median of 31 square feet per seat. Kitchens occupied about 31% of the restaurant space, with a median size of 1,000 square feet.

The median annual sales across all service types was $1.125 million. That financial performance resulted in a median annual revenue of $325 per square foot, or $10,567 per seat. Median time to profitability was 5 months. 25% of owners reported that their restaurant was profitable within the first 2 months and another 25% took 12 months to become profitable. The median net income reported was 5.5%.

About RestaurantOwner.com:
RestaurantOwner.com provides leadership, financial management and operational training and resources to independent restaurant owners and managers to improve the guest experience, employee engagement and achieve better financial results.

More information: https://www.restaurantowner.com/.

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*Image Caption: page three example from the comprehensive 2018 report.

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Business, Free News Articles, Reports and Studies, Restaurant, Hotel and Hospitality

Profitability in 2017 and Optimism in 2018: Over 880 U.S. Independent Restaurant Owners Voice Their Thoughts on 2018

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- RestaurantOwner.com has released the report of their 2018 Independent Restaurant Outlook Survey. The report summarizes input gathered from over 880 independent restaurant owners and operators regarding their 2017 financial performance as well as their 2018 expectations.

A copy of the survey report is available at: https://www.restaurantowner.com/public/2018-Independent-Restaurant-Outlook-Survey-Report.cfm

Survey Results:
2017 was a profitable year for independent restaurants. 79% of the 882 responding independent restaurant owners or operators reported a net income greater than 1% of sales in 2017, of which, 31% reported a net income greater than 10%. Of those that were not profitable, approximately 10% broke even, while 11% reported a net loss greater than 1% of sales.

Profitability is on the rise as many independent restaurants performed better in 2017 than the previous year. 62% of respondents reported that their net income in 2017 outpaced their 2016 net income. Only 16% reported no change, and 22% reported lower net income in 2017 compared to 2016, indicating an overall upward trend in performance.

Independent restaurant operators are optimistic about 2018, and their optimism is trending upward. 65% of respondents indicated they are more optimistic about 2018 than they were about 2017. This is up from last year's survey results where only 56% of respondents felt more optimistic about 2017 compared to 2016.

For operators who are optimistic, over half (68%) attributed their optimism to improved business practices or systems. Over half (61%) of those who are not optimistic attributed it to challenging labors costs.

Independent restaurant operator goals reflect their optimism for 2018. Most (82%) identified four or more goals, indicating a desire to improve and grow in the new year. Over 50% of respondents reported they intend to focus on improving profitability, business practices, guest experience, or staff training, or that they are going to reduce their costs in 2018.

About RestaurantOwner.com:
Since 1998, RestaurantOwner.com has provided proven resources to independent restaurant owners and managers who want to improve their leadership and business management skills to create a more consistent, higher quality guest experience, greater employee engagement and better financial results.

More information: https://www.restaurantowner.com/.

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Waitlist Me is Killing the Old Floor Plan Approach to Table Management in the Restaurant Industry

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Waitlist Me, Inc. announced a new set of table management features for its popular iPad and Android apps that helps restaurant staff know the best place to seat the next customer. The solution for managing tables without a spatial floor plan is an industry first, and was developed by combining insights from psychology, data science, and cutting-edge design principles.

Most restaurants still use an old-fashioned laminated floor plan and a grease pen to mark off occupied tables. However, the inability to see key information like how long tables have been occupied makes it difficult for wait staff to optimize table assignments and estimate wait times. There are apps that add in layers of data, but they make the mistake of designing around the old floor map concept.

"Floor plans look simple, but are deceptively complex," said Brian Hutchins, Waitlist Me CEO. "Deciding where to seat the next customer requires a haphazard search across the whole map followed by a complicated process of interpreting a lot of unstructured data. Wait staff don't need a map of the tables. They know where to go. What they need is a fair, easy, intuitive way to know where to seat the next customer."

In the Waitlist Me app, tables are represented by boxes of equal sizes for simple comparisons. Table sections are organized as lines that can be read from top to bottom, and left to right, like a book. Open tables for each section stand out in green on the left. Then tables that have been occupied the longest show next in the row, with the time occupied displayed in the lower left.

Sections of tables can also be organized into different saved layouts to fit varying needs or times of day. For example, a restaurant manager might divide tables into six sections for a busy weekend night, and switch to a layout of only three sections for a regular day.

"With Waitlist Me's table management features, customers get better service, with less waiting. Employees get their fair share of the work, and the tips. And this all leads to a more efficient and profitable business," said Hutchins.

About Waitlist Me:

Waitlist Me was started by ex-Googlers and has been used to seat over 100 million customers since 2012. The app is available for iPad, iPhone, Android devices, and computers. To learn more about Waitlist Me, visit http://www.waitlist.me/.

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Business, Free News Articles, Reports and Studies, Restaurant, Hotel and Hospitality

1,190 Independent Restaurant Owners Share Their Thoughts on Over 100 POS System Brands

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- RestaurantOwner.com released the 2017 POS Survey Report today. The report summarizes input gathered from 1,190 independent restaurant owners from around the world regarding over 100 different brands of POS systems, focusing on several critical aspects including cost, installation and support experience, and features. The results of this survey provide unique insight into the POS system market and emerging trends, all of which are valuable to independent restaurant owners.

A copy of the report is available at: http://www.restaurantowner.com/POS2017/.

Survey Results:
The average cost for a restaurant POS system has notably decreased since 2012. In 2012, the average expenditure for a POS system was just over $18,000, as opposed to $13,344, currently.

The top seven POS solutions were Aloha POS, MICROS, Digital Dining, Clover, Adelo POS, Future POS, and POSitouch. These top seven POS systems accounted for 47.5% of the market. Beyond the top seven, all other POS brands each accounted for less than 3% of the market share.

We identified a shift toward cloud-based systems and POS solutions offered by credit card processors. Clover, Dinerware, Harbor Touch, and Square were the top credit card processor provided POS solutions, accounting for nearly 11% of total market share.

Despite the increased use of cloud-based and mobile systems, less than 10% of independent restaurant owners indicated they use pay-at-the-table devices. Moreover, only 31% of restaurants reported using EMV compliant POS systems. This is particularly noteworthy considering the fraud liability shift that took place in October 2015, mandating that merchants upgrade to EMV chip technology or accept increased liability for fraudulent transactions.

Improvements in plug-and-play components, increased Wi-Fi capability, and a tech savvy labor pool are allowing many restaurant owners to opt for self-installation and remote support. As a consequence, only 74% reported using an authorized POS vendor for programming, training, and support.

About RestaurantOwner:

With over 46,000 members since 1998, RestaurantOwner.com's mission is to change lives by educating and inspiring independent restaurant operators to create restaurant success stories. RestaurantOwner.com is committed to providing practical, proven insights, and resources to enable members to build a better restaurant, a better business, and most importantly, a better life.

More information: http://www.restaurantowner.com/.

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