Many months ago, I discussed the idea of prepared foods. Of course a number of the diehards laughed it off. Some of these people would never consider offering a menu item that wasn’t completely prepared in house. Fast forward to the not-so-prosperous times of 2009. A number of these same people are now either out of work or are hanging on by their fingernails.

Did you know that the hottest selling items for most produce distributors are pre-cut fruits and vegetables such as diced onions, diced celery, carrot batons, Mirepoix, the Holy Trinity (maybe my Cajun friends could explain that one), and fruit salsas? While these items are more expensive than their unfabricated cousins, the savings to you, the operator, is in the labor. I could give you mathematical examples but I’m trying to get the basics across. Remember in previous posts how I discussed paying your premium grill cook to do the job you hired him/her for (grilling)? It is a lot more efficient for a distributor to spread their labor costs over the fabrication of 10 pallets of onions versus your labor to fabricate one case of onions in your operation.

The moral of the story: Times like these dictate that operators must evaluate all options to keep their operations running. In another blog someone brought up a great point about pricing discounts. If you think that half-priced meals will be the saving grace so you don’t have to consider cost controlling options, I would ask you to put yourself in the guest’s shoes. If you pay $25 for a filet (including an appetizer, intermezzo, dessert, drink, balloons, coupons, spa treatments, a new car, and whatever other gimmicks people are doing to get you in the door) this year, would you pay $50 for that same basic filet next year? Look at all of your options.