Better Food = Better Results

By | August 10, 2023

Hungry for more profit? Attracting new guests and increasing return visits to your Family Entertainment Center calls for creativity, and deep pockets – new attractions represent a significant resource

investment. When you don’t have the time or the money, or even when you do, there are creative ways to improve profitability without a huge investment. There’s real money to be made in food, and you can make it happen by investing in as little as a simple pizza oven – it’s a recipe for success!

Maybe you already offer food such as grab & go goodies, snacks, candy bars and $2.00 sodas. Not a lot of margin, and not enough to keep guests within your four walls – they need and want real food. Better quality food options satisfy guests, thus ensuring they stay and play longer, and come back for more. By elevating your food choices it’s possible to increase check averages for each guest, and to increase profitability.

Who doesn’t love the scent of fresh baked cookies or the savory aroma of a piping hot pizza? With a pizza oven you can offer both, and more. A small investment in a versatile pizza oven pays countless dividends. Pizza, Tater Tots, mini melts, cookies – you need not be a chef to create tasty and appealing

food offerings in a limited space. Good food encourages guests to hang out – better food keeps people in your facility as there’s no need to leave and spend money elsewhere, and longer visits translate into more activities enjoyed, and enhanced revenue. Small improvements in food offerings elevate your brand and can help to attract a happy hour or date night crowd in addition to your current audience.

An investment in a small catering kitchen with self-contained grease traps, a pizza oven, grill and ventless fryer lets you up your game and explores new business opportunities such as parties and group events. Your area of expertise is most likely in operations and equipment, so it makes sense to rely on others for help when improving your food options. Larger attractions may have a chef on staff or access to one at corporate, but smaller stand-alone operators still have options.

Experimentation is key, and food distributors are happy to help – after all, the more food you sell, the more business they enjoy. Ask your current and potential food distributors about chef-driven menus and food options – most have chefs eager to share their expertise, and many will help in menu creation for your venue. Flatbreads, wraps, sliders – select distributors will even provide a chef on-site to help you work through menu development, food preparation and presentation.

Diversify and grow. Once you establish a new menu you have a foundation to build upon for exponential growth. Opportunities include exploration of unique and distinct flavor profiles designed to both attract a more diverse clientele and incent current guests to return again and again. Popular flavor profiles such as chili lime, Nashville hot, and Korean BBQ transform basics such as chicken tenders and pizza into exciting new dishes guests can’t find anywhere else.

Margins matter. If you are not at 35% or below on your food costs you are leaving money on the table. Many small operators consider food an “also ran” and don’t focus on the numbers. They assume a food cost of 30% to 50% is fine, when the reality is your food costs should mirror those of most fast casual establishments and come in at 25% to 35%. A savvy operator who effectively manages portion size and pricing can come in at 20% to 25% food costs. One way to improve your numbers is group meals and catering, where you can enjoy food costs as low as 15% to 18%.

A pizza oven or small kitchen pays for itself by creating new business opportunities, allowing you to target corporate HR departments, service sales meetings, host awards ceremonies, facilitate employee morale boosters, hold family reunions and the like. When you invest in equipment, leverage your food distributor relationships and know your food costs, you have a new revenue stream at a fraction of the costs of a new attraction. You can attract new visitors, engage returning guests and elevate your brand experience, which may even lead to increased ticket prices. Better food truly does lead to better results.