Your own business: lunch in the office. How to open a business lunch delivery company to the office: necessary equipment, cost calculation and SES requirements for food preparation

Business lunch in a restaurant– a very common service nowadays. But using it in your establishment can bring both benefit and harm. Why?

The main postulate is as follows:

Where a client has a cheap lunch, he will never pay dearly for dinner.

Therefore, if you want the same people to visit your establishment both during the day and in the evening, you should not introduce an inexpensive business lunch.

Also, keep in mind that if your restaurant is located away from any business activity, and is not surrounded by office buildings, no one will attend your business lunch either.

If your establishment is well located, there are many offices around, and many clients visit you at lunchtime, then again, you can do without a business lunch. Why? Because just one table with guests who order lunch from the menu is sometimes worth ten tables with business lunch service. In addition, servicing one table by employees in this case is much cheaper.

Why is a business lunch in a restaurant cheap?

An ordinary person asks the question: “Why are business lunches in restaurants so cheap if individually these dishes cost the client 3 times more? For example, I go for a business lunch at a nearby restaurant. And it costs 250 rubles there. Moreover, this restaurant is quite expensive - potatoes with meat in French from the business lunch menu costs 350 rubles, and a salad costs 200 rubles! I really don’t understand how the restaurant owner benefits from this?”

Business lunch in a restaurant is good marketing ploy, and, despite the apparent cheapness, a good profit for restaurateurs.

The business lunch menu consists of dishes that are easy and inexpensive to prepare. In addition, the labor costs for a business lunch are also low: the soup and main course are prepared not in separate portions, but in large volumes at once from inexpensive products. The cook can only quickly place the food on plates, without using any culinary delights.

Win-win business lunch menu:

• Salad,
• Vegetable soup or noodles,
• Stew (baked or fried fish)
• Garnish: rice or pasta
• Drinks – tea, packaged juice, Coca-Cola.

In which establishments is Business Lunch not appropriate?

In some types of catering, the introduction of a business lunch service looks completely absurd.

Which establishments are Business Lunch suitable for?

Business lunches take root well in beer restaurants, coffee shops, sushi bars and restaurants in the mid-price segment. In similar establishments Catering business lunch usually constitutes the main source of income.

What about breakfast??

Unlike business lunches, inexpensive and quick breakfasts are practically incapable of scaring away visitors, “destroying the concept” or, even more so, ruining the reputation of any establishment, including an elite expensive restaurant. The breakfast option can be used by literally all catering establishments: from small cafes and fast food outlets to interior restaurants and even nightclubs.

It’s midday, everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. Let's read their thoughts? So, sir, business is business, and please give us lunch exactly according to the work break schedule. Definitely tasty, filling, hot and inexpensive. Larger portion and good service! So, ladies and gentlemen restaurateurs, add a business lunch to the menu. It will be loved not only by hungry workers in the nearest business center, but also by people with average incomes who happen to visit our restaurant.

What do you eat with for a business lunch and what is it? The tradition for public catering in Russia is almost new - this did not happen during the Soviet era, not counting set lunches. Lunch came to us from the west - there business people Don't waste your lunch time and do business right after Power Lunch. Perhaps they weren’t forbidden to talk while eating as children? But - closer to the topic.

So, a business lunch is a business lunch, lunch with a business partner. It differs from a regular snack in a restaurant/cafe in certain ways.

What does a visitor get from a business lunch?

* High pace of service. Business is conducted in certain time, for example, from 11 to 16 o'clock - when the restaurant is not busy. After all, romantics and revelers gather there much later, when dusk falls on the city, and all temptations acquire special attractiveness

* Business lunch menu. Everything is appetizing and more or less varied, although it consists of dishes other than the main menu.

* And finally, the difference that is most attractive to the lunch client is the fixed, low price for a standard set of dishes.

So - inexpensive, tasty, satisfying and fast.

In what case is this beneficial for the restaurateur?

An establishment where visitors are offered a business lunch will be in the black if a number of conditions are met. Which ones?

The location is desirable in a business anthill. White collar workers from numerous offices will be happy to come at least 5 times a week. However, they will look at the delicious smell and blue sleeves. They are also aware that business lunch dishes are cheaper than those on the regular menu.

High quality of prepared dishes is important for obtaining a stable profit - today's competition is such that the reputation of an “appetizing” establishment is worthmaintain daily. It’s not difficult - the menu for a business lunch in a cafe consists of dishesprepared according to a collection of recipes for a business lunch.

Is there any profit from a business lunch?

Although average bill business lunch is only 150-200 rubles, there is a profit - the cost is 3 times less than the selling price of a business lunch.

Preparation costs are minimal; no expensive ingredients or special ceremonies are required. For example, hot dishes are prepared not in single portions, but in large quantities, and are served and served as quickly as possible.

The best business lunches in terms of profitability and demand among visitors are salads, vegetable or noodle soups, stews or fried fish, and a side dish of rice or pasta. Popular drinks in business are tea, juice, soda. Technological maps of dishes for a business lunch can be made to order.

It is believed that sushi bars, cafes, beer restaurants and mid-range restaurants pricing policy They make the main profit after hours through delicious business lunches.

But still, the main thing in a business lunch is not profit, but attracting clients and filling the room.

Types of business lunch.

* Sushi business lunch, otherwise called bento lunch. It differs from the classic set in the presence of rolls. Complemented with European drinks. Everything is delivered both to homes and offices, which increases the popularity of the sushi restaurant. In addition, this relieves the service point - otherwise the lunch break may be delayed, which will bring losses.

* A business lunch with delivery will add points to any establishment with a “lunch menu”. After all, many managers want to see employees at their workplace even during a day break and do not approve of going to public catering. In this case, only delivery can solve the problem. The “business lunch to the office” service will bring a flow of clients that you would never see in your restaurant or cafe.

Does every restaurant need a business lunch?

In an expensive restaurant, there is a possibility that business clients who do not fit into the leisure philosophy and are always in a hurry will scare off valuable visitors - those who come to eat leisurely, prestigiously and luxuriously. Business lunches should probably be excluded here.

Restaurants in the mid-price segment are exactly those catering establishments where business lunches can compete with expensive dishes in terms of income at the box office. It is recommended to update the business lunch menu 1-2 times a season. Efficient staff should behave in a friendly and welcoming manner, providing high-level service.

And finally, advice to a novice restaurateur: look for your zest, a business lunch should be attractive. So that even happily married office workers would strive for it, bashfully feeding stray cats food from home.

So this is what it is - a business lunch, bait with a tenacious hook restaurant business! Open your doors wider. Become simpler - and people will come to you again and again. Anyone who quickly eats their lunch today will definitely return to your restaurant or cafe. For a banquet, corporate event, wedding or even a funeral.

Business lunch is a fairly common service and has long been known in large cities. But precisely today, during economic crisis, it acquires special significance, because, according to market experts, the flow of guests coming to the restaurant at lunchtime has not changed either qualitatively or quantitatively, despite the general drop in the establishments’ turnover.

The time for “show off” is over

Russian experts predict a drop in turnover this year by restaurant market by 15-20%,” says Roman Rozhnikovsky, restaurateur, founder of the Grabli free-flo chain, the Cherry Mio restaurant, and the Rozhnikovsky Academy culinary school. – Of course, the crisis has affected the sphere of leisure and entertainment, which includes restaurants. In Moscow, the segment of expensive restaurants has seriously declined. Democratic networks, including Rake, suffered slightly less. We're seeing about a 10 percent drop in attendance. We can say that “Rake” and other democratic establishments are a kind of indicator of the solvency of the market. If people don't have money, they can't afford to eat out. There are problems at work - I don’t want to sit in a restaurant. All this is reflected in the attendance of our establishments and revenue. There is a clear connection: as soon as the media and TV constantly talk about the crisis, people are reluctant to go to restaurants. As soon as the crisis mood in print and the silver screen subsides, life returns to normal, and people come to us for a bite to eat. But we have already experienced all sorts of crises and therefore are always ready for them. Our plan is not to lose quality, not to lose guests, and to continue to provide services.

However, there are no fundamental differences in restaurant attendance during the business lunch period before and during the economic downturn, both in both capitals and in the regions, says Sergei Butakov, project manager and CEO LLC "Consulting group "RestArt". – The fact is that the world financial crisis mainly affected the evening occupancy and the average check at this time. Otherwise, people were still having lunch and having lunch, fortunately most restaurants quickly responded to the changes economic conditions in the world. Many establishments had to revise their offers at lunchtime, reducing costs or increasing (reducing) portions, and some catering establishments that, in principle, did not make such offers to their guests, were forced to create them.

Thus, the St. Petersburg restaurant “Cult” recently introduced a business lunch. Personality" - this measure is not at all forced, but necessary. Here it was elegantly called a gastronomic lunch, which included offers from the main menu - perhaps a little simplified.

We definitely need to attract people, on the one hand, with delicious dishes, and on the other, with good prices,” says Ruslan Stupitsky, chef of the Kult restaurant. Personalities." – For a business lunch, we suggest making 3-4 salads, 2-3 soups, 3 hot dishes and 2 pastas to choose from. We will change its menu once a week.

And this is right, because today even those who dined in premium and premium plus restaurants have paid attention to restaurants with inexpensive but tasty dishes.

We noticed that visitors who were clearly not in our segment, who were accustomed to establishments more high level, says Alexander Pshenichny, general director of the Yamato restaurant chain. “They order bento lunches, which are essentially Japanese fast food, but presentable and economical.

By the way, you can eat a first-class steak in an ordinary steakhouse, emphasizes Roman Rozhnikovsky. - And pizza - in an inexpensive pizzeria. Even the rich sometimes go to McDonald's. And this is a challenge, this is partly a desire for convenience, partly a manifestation of freedom. It is quite obvious that in Russia the time of “show-off” is over.

The success of a business lunch depends on the neighbors

However, for a business lunch to be a good help for the restaurant, so potential clients become regular guests, you need to consider some factors. The success of introducing a business lunch depends primarily, of course, on the location of the restaurant. If he is in residential area There is not a single business center around; experts question the profitability of this measure.

But even when restaurants are located in a business center or near large business centers, problems may arise with the arrival of guests. First of all, this is a stationary catering service in an office center. If it is varied and tasty, it will be difficult to overcome it: people are used to having lunch without leaving the building, spending a minimum of time on it.

It is also difficult to “interrupt” the love of simple office workers to fast food establishments: as a rule, they offer a wide selection of dishes, fast service and a lively atmosphere - on the one hand, cheerful, but on the other hand, not relaxing, allowing you to quickly eat and go on to work. However, here the experts’ forecast is more favorable: many office workers want to be quiet and relax in a calm environment during lunch. So, if a restaurant’s goal is not to lure away all fast food customers, but simply to offer some of them a slightly different lunch format, most likely it will get its guests.

It is also necessary to take into account the strength of another “competitor” - lunch delivery to the office. But this is easier to deal with: firstly, people most often do not like to have lunch at work, preferring to take a short walk, and secondly, the cost of such lunches can be even higher than the cost of a standard business lunch. So, if in a business center where ready-to-eat meals were previously delivered, they find out about the opening of a new inexpensive outlet nearby, they will definitely come there at least once. But to detain them is another task.

Optimal business lunch

Business lunches come in several formats. Business designers suggest that the guest independently chooses a dish from each category: soups, salads, main dishes, side dishes, drinks. There is a classic business lunch format, when the guest chooses from pre-formed offers (usually 2-4 options). During an “a la carte” business lunch, the guest chooses any items from the menu, which are subject to significant discounts during the lunch period - up to 50%, explains Sergey Butakov.

Which option is more suitable for a particular establishment depends on its format and service option.

In the “Rake” chain, which already has 7 restaurants in Moscow, we came up with the so-called “lunch formula”: several options for ready-made five-course meals for 200 and 300 rubles,” says Roman Rozhnikovsky. – Today, when a person comes to a restaurant, his task is not to choose all the most delicious things, but to stay within his budget. Abroad, almost all establishments have been offering these “lunch formulas” for a long time. Previously offer such ready-made solutions it was useless in our country. Now it works great. This move is quite revolutionary for the Grabli network.

In general, a business lunch should be simple, that is, consist of the most popular dishes; fast - positions that require minimum costs cooking time; tasty and special attention should be paid to the decor, serving and use of original sauces; and inexpensive: the lunch offer should have a small markup, since the calculation is based on cross-country ability,” continues Sergei Butakov.

The price of such an offer can be discussed separately. At the restaurant “Cult. Personalities,” for example, a full business lunch, including fruit drink, salad, soup, a second course with a side dish and dessert, costs 350 rubles. Is this too much or too little? Yes, to a person with a below-average income this amount will seem overpriced. However, a middle manager will at least once a week go to an establishment that offers a full meal in a pleasant stop at a price much lower, provided that the exact same order is on the evening menu.

Today, optimal prices for business lunches are still being formed, since the crisis is only halfway to its highest point, says Sergei Butakov. – Prices will be adjusted constantly, as exchange rates change (which affect the cost of purchasing imported goods), consumer psychology changes (the buyer begins to be more attentive to his expenses, excluding unnecessary or unimportant ones), and so on. The optimal price at a certain point in time is the price that today the consumer is psychologically ready to pay for a certain set of goods or services.

And to sum it up, a business lunch can really be a bid for victory in times of economic downturn, but the restaurateur should follow some simple rules: offer a variety of dishes and serve guests quickly. The lack of diversity may not be noticed for some time. They will notice the delay in service immediately and, if it happens again, they will not come again.

Ask a restaurateur why he is introducing a business lunch in his establishment, and, most likely, you will hear quite standard arguments in response: this way, guests will have the opportunity to get to know our restaurant, and then they will come to us in the evenings for dinner; Yes, and during the daytime the hall must be filled somehow, because we still pay rent, and lunch provides additional income! There is some sense in these arguments. But does a business lunch always work the way we would like?

Taking a closer look at a typical lunch menu, what do we see? It consists entirely of vinaigrettes, chicken skewers, mashed potatoes and other low-cost dishes. Yes, the low price of a business lunch and the desire to make money on it force us to introduce simple items.
But what kind of acquaintance with the level of the restaurant in this case? we're talking about? How can guests rate your main menu items? Or do you hope that they will think: since your cooks do a great job with Polish-style pike perch, then their scallops will turn out great? Alas, of those guests who are accustomed to 250-ruble lunches at your restaurant, the vast majority will never come to you for dinner. They will most likely choose other places.

The profitability of lunch is a completely different story. You look at the bare numbers - the cost price is around 35% - and it seems that, in principle, lunch can be brought good profit. But there are additional factors: an increase in the wage fund and energy consumption, write-offs and other expenses. Having calculated all this, you will probably stop believing in the great economic feasibility of this venture.
There are also disadvantages to a business lunch that are, at first glance, non-economic in nature.. It often happens that several guests, having ordered lunch from the main menu, leave the restaurant more profit than all those dining together. At the same time, they, as a rule, are not very happy with the atmosphere of a friendly dining room that reigns in the restaurant at lunchtime.

In addition, most waiters get into the rhythm of lunch and serve all guests automatically: the faster, the better. And this has a very negative impact on the service. As a result, guests will bypass your restaurant next time. And the waiter, having finished a busy lunch, evening time will not be able to work fully. Therefore, the introduction of restaurant dining must be approached with great caution. I only use lunch as a last resort.

When launching lunch in our Lizarran and Cantina Mariachi restaurants in the Metropolis shopping center, we did not introduce new low-cost dishes. In order not to lower the bar, we have created a comprehensive menu for fixed price from existing inexpensive items. In addition, they did not include a drink in this offer to encourage guests to make an additional purchase.
My goal was to sell no more than 60 lunches for two restaurants with a total of 140 seats. Why is that? To avoid the situation described above, and at the same time create a fairly lively atmosphere - after all, few people will want to go to an empty restaurant. It was planned that guests arriving for lunch at the same time would not occupy more than a third of the hall.

The result completely met my expectations. With the cost of lunch being 390 and 290 rubles, the average bill, including additional drinks, was 460 rubles. And the visitors shopping center they are happy to go to a busy restaurant and, by ordering from the main menu, give 70% of the proceeds.

Recently, when opening the next restaurants “Lizarran” and “Cantina Mariachi” - this time in the AFIMall shopping center on the territory of Moscow City - I thought for a long time about whether it was necessary to launch lunch there from the very beginning and how best to do it everything to do. It is clear that the network format dictates the need to follow uniform standards. But the format of the business center itself and the structure of the offices gave every reason to believe that lunch here would generate too many office workers and kill all other sales during lunchtime.
After weighing all the pros and cons, I launched the lunch. I'll explain why. The fact is that the shopping complex did not open quite correctly. The parking lot is not ready, the cinema is closed, there are no more than 30% of working tenants, and at the same time almost all competing restaurants are already operating. The peculiarities of the lease agreement forced me to open on May 1st, and the grand opening of the complex took place three weeks later. In addition, I am far from sure that it will quickly gain the required number of visitors.

Therefore, we had to rely on office workers. And on the first working day, with 250 seats, we sell 83 lunches. In the second - 127, in the third - 215, in the fifth - 285. In the first days there were glitches, since lunch is based on the restaurant menu and most of hot dishes are made to order, and are not prepared. Setting up the kitchen to run smoothly with so many orders turned out to be difficult. In order for her to cope with the load, at the initial stage I had to transfer three chefs from other restaurants.

What were the benefits of launching such a lunch? The first week due to the lack of visitors in shopping complex We received all the proceeds at lunchtime. The guests saw the advantageous difference between our lunch and what they ate in other restaurants. After all, cod cooked in a josper is very different from pike perch transferred from a steam table. And if guests who visited us at lunch come to the restaurant floor of the shopping center in the evening, then most likely they will head to our restaurant. Many, by the way, have already received our discount cards, which will also stimulate their choice. At the same time, the surrounding restaurants, which lived only on lunch and launched it in a different format, felt a huge blow to their revenue. Some started having problems with staff. Which again in harsh conditions, in which we are forced to run, plays into our hands.

In conclusion, despite all this, I consider a business lunch only as a last resort due to a lack of guests. Having received a fairly stable flow of visitors, we will return to the previous norm: no more than a third of the hall for lunch. A dining room and a restaurant in the same room are incompatible.