Another Restaurant Buying Thread (2 Viewers)

[pollardsvision]

Have you killed midweek breakfast yet? If it's your biggest loser id kill it asap. And honestly I doubt most people consider your spot when they're trying to think of a place to get breakfast. It's a hotdog and burger joint ya know?

Any luck with the liquor license? Beer is high margin.

It's getting better.

The overall volume isn't/wasn't necessarily the problem. We're just overstaffed for it. We've made cuts there. Two people that worked about 70-75 hours a week on breakfast/lunch when we came are now gone, with no one replacing those hours (besides me). We still have too many hours for breakfast (lunch too, really).

When we started, the place was so incredibly inefficient, it would've made Tipsey's head spin. Overstaffing. Hiring family members to do completely unnecessary jobs. People only doing one job at a time and taking a break when there was nothing glaringly obvious and immediate to do. For shifts where they used to have 5, 6 or sometimes 7 people, we now have 4 (and business is up). We're now developing better habits, and frankly, many of those shifts only need 3 people.

Obviously, this presents some uncomfortable dilemmas. I don't plan on making any cuts soon. I made the others, but these....these would be another matter. I floated many of the inefficiencies for longer than I think most would've. I'll float these until I can't do it anymore. Some decisions can't quite be made straight from the accounting ledger.

 

[msommer]

Obviously, this presents some uncomfortable dilemmas. I don't plan on making any cuts soon. I made the others, but these....these would be another matter. I floated many of the inefficiencies for longer than I think most would've. I'll float these until I can't do it anymore. Some decisions can't quite be made straight from the accounting ledger.

If you'll excuse the Biz101: To improve your result you either need to cut costs (without hurting the product) or generate more revenue in periods where there is slack.

Seems to me you should take a look at the latter somehow. Fliers, FB competitions, whatever. The lower cost (incl promo cost) that deliver the results the better.

One thing to consider though: At what point will crowds of students drive away the regulars?

 

[The Ref]

What would you say your restaurants biggest problem is right now?

 

[pollardsvision]

Obviously, this presents some uncomfortable dilemmas. I don't plan on making any cuts soon. I made the others, but these....these would be another matter. I floated many of the inefficiencies for longer than I think most would've. I'll float these until I can't do it anymore. Some decisions can't quite be made straight from the accounting ledger.

If you'll excuse the Biz101: To improve your result you either need to cut costs (without hurting the product) or generate more revenue in periods where there is slack.

Seems to me you should take a look at the latter somehow. Fliers, FB competitions, whatever. The lower cost (incl promo cost) that deliver the results the better.

One thing to consider though: At what point will crowds of students drive away the regulars?

Not worried about that at all. This place has always been a real melting pot of sorts.

Plus, the most of the long-time customers know that this place nearly went out of business when the old owner was trying to sell and couldn't find any buyers. They know some changes are necessary, and seem to be happy to see them.

I still haven't done any advertising outside of Facebook (a boosted Green Chile post this week actually did work wonders for about $40). I've been so focused on the inside of the restaurant that I don't look outside very much, if that makes sense.

The efficiency and product quality are damn close to where I want, but some of those last few changes are still pretty recent.

A natural increase is coming once schools gets back in and I'm excited to see that coincide some of the internal improvements made over the Summer.

 

[pollardsvision]

Also, in a lot of ways, the slow down over the Summer has been quite a blessing. Weird as it may sound, several of the improvements would've been much harder to pull off otherwise.

Kind of like a sports team finding it's easier to work on some things after a loss, rather than in the middle of winning streak.

 

[pollardsvision]

Moving your way pv

I'll be stopping in next Saturday morning. Always wearing a Red Sox or Titleist hat. Definitely will be order the weenies all the way.

Say hello if you're around.

Swing on by.

Don't come too early though. I'm there every day (took 3 days off in the last 9 months), but some Saturday's, I don't show up until about 9AM because we don't do BBQ on Saturday's.

 

[Rick James]

Are you paying yourself?

 

[pollardsvision]

What would you say your restaurants biggest problem is right now?

Talk about a tough question.

Now that the efficiency and food quality are getting very, very close to where they need to be (I think, at least), the biggest problem is probably exposure. I ##### a lot, but we do have a great staff and a great service/product.

When new people come, they come back and bring friends. That's the point we've been working to this whole time.

But we still have a lot of people in the community that still either have never heard of us, think we closed down a year ago, or think we are "just" a cheap hot dog joint.

I've got to find a way to transition from my current role to being a better manager and promoter.

 

[The Ref]

What would you say your restaurants biggest problem is right now?

I've got to find a way to transition from my current role to being a better manager and promoter.

I'll be back in three months to ask you how the above is going.

 

[pollardsvision]

Are you paying yourself?

Yes.

It's certainly no FBG salary, and I held on to a few paychecks during the slowest parts of June. Not that I necessarily couldn't have cashed them, but the account got down closer to the buffer that I like to keep than I was comfortable with.

But yes we pay me, and most of the time, can do so somewhat comfortably. Still obviously not quite where it needs to be at the moment.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Have you thought about joining the Chamber Of Commerce? That's networking/promotional Nirvana.

 

[pollardsvision]

By the way, our hot dog chili is ####### awesome, and I have FBG and Judge Smails to thank for it.

While we still do use some chili powder, it's mostly made from dried Guajillo and New Mexico chiles. The flavor is so much better. It's good for other reasons, but having previously ventured into those techniques with Smails chili and using dried chiles before has made a big impact.

We take that glorious chile puree and add it to choice-grade 80-20 Chuck and other spices with very little else.

I'm pretty sure everyone else around here that moves this much hot dog chili is using cheap beef, adding some sort of grain filler, and they definitely aren't starting it from whole dried chiles.

 

[Instinctive]

 

[msommer]

By the way, our hot dog chili is ####### awesome, and I have FBG and Judge Smails to thank for it.

While we still do use some chili powder, it's mostly made from dried Guajillo and New Mexico chiles. The flavor is so much better. It's good for other reasons, but having previously ventured into those techniques with Smails chili and using dried chiles before has made a big impact.

We take that glorious chile puree and add it to choice-grade 80-20 Chuck and other spices with very little else.

I'm pretty sure everyone else around here that moves this much hot dog chili is using cheap beef, adding some sort of grain filler, and they definitely aren't starting it from whole dried chiles.

Judge Smail's Chili dog?

Or would that get too many awkward questions?

Obviously, this presents some uncomfortable dilemmas. I don't plan on making any cuts soon. I made the others, but these....these would be another matter. I floated many of the inefficiencies for longer than I think most would've. I'll float these until I can't do it anymore. Some decisions can't quite be made straight from the accounting ledger.

If you'll excuse the Biz101: To improve your result you either need to cut costs (without hurting the product) or generate more revenue in periods where there is slack.

Seems to me you should take a look at the latter somehow. Fliers, FB competitions, whatever. The lower cost (incl promo cost) that deliver the results the better.

One thing to consider though: At what point will crowds of students drive away the regulars?

Not worried about that at all. This place has always been a real melting pot of sorts.

Plus, the most of the long-time customers know that this place nearly went out of business when the old owner was trying to sell and couldn't find any buyers. They know some changes are necessary, and seem to be happy to see them.

I still haven't done any advertising outside of Facebook (a boosted Green Chile post this week actually did work wonders for about $40). I've been so focused on the inside of the restaurant that I don't look outside very much, if that makes sense.

The efficiency and product quality are damn close to where I want, but some of those last few changes are still pretty recent.

A natural increase is coming once schools gets back in and I'm excited to see that coincide some of the internal improvements made over the Summer.

Makes total sense. Are there any local papers or radio stations that you could hit up for a 'review'? This might inform the locals that you are still around and entice them to check out the new quality stuff.

Only issue with adding more students as your customers is their seasonality. So a local (mini) campaign might work out real nice for you.

 

[Rattle and Hum]

So, how was year 1, PD? Glad you did it? Hopefully things still going well.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

What would you say your restaurants biggest problem is right now?

Talk about a tough question.

Now that the efficiency and food quality are getting very, very close to where they need to be (I think, at least), the biggest problem is probably exposure. I ##### a lot, but we do have a great staff and a great service/product.

When new people come, they come back and bring friends. That's the point we've been working to this whole time.

But we still have a lot of people in the community that still either have never heard of us, think we closed down a year ago, or think we are "just" a cheap hot dog joint.

I've got to find a way to transition from my current role to being a better manager and promoter.

You ever think of doing that tasting deal in town that Gordon Ramsey always does to reintroduce a place? Sounds hokey, but can't hurt - meeting new people and getting the word out - while they taste some of your best stuff.

 

[pollardsvision]

So, how was year 1, PD? Glad you did it? Hopefully things still going well.

Great year and absolutely glad I did it.

Business for the first 12 months was up around 12% over what the previous owner had been averaging for the last 5 years (my only data is his last 5 years worth of tax returns). We've also cut labor and food costs compared to what he was doing. We also invested more into the building and equipment in one year than he did in the last 5 (nearly double, in fact).

That's not to say we are where we need to be yet. We've still got a long, long way to go. We're still working on getting food and labor costs down still, and business is still short of where I think it needs to be.

The two pressing concerns, though, are the building and my time.

I'm proud of how much we've invested into the building, but it's about to really hurt. We've got 45 year old plumbing. ####ty galvanized pipes buried in concrete (building was built with no basement even though there was space to do it). We've had a couple bust, but we've found work-arounds so far. But the next step, I'm afraid, will likely involve busting up the concrete floors to reroute all the drain pipes to the sewer. We haven't had to borrow money yet, but I'm sure we will when this issue comes to a head. Again, we've got work-arounds, but I have no idea how long those will hold out.

For the time issue, I still haven't figured out a way to pull this off without me being there 70+ hours a week. I've taken 3 days off in the last 13 months, and that was for my grandmother's funeral. Not that I mind, but my wife and dog might. Frankly, I'm not sure I could do this if we had kids.

I think we'll get there on the time issue, but it'll likely get worse before it gets better. My main opener is leaving in a week. We can use the help on labor costs, but it'll put more on my plate for awhile.

I do absolutely love it though. The staff, as maddening as they may be at times, is really wonderful

 

[Juxtatarot]

Have you made any menu changes since summer?

 

[chauncey]

What would you say your restaurants biggest problem is right now?

I've got to find a way to transition from my current role to being a better manager and promoter.

I'll be back in three months to ask you how the above is going.

Bump.

How is the above going? It sounds like you have been swamped over the past year fine tuning the day to day operations and taking care of building issues. Have you had any time to focus on getting the word out on the best bbq/dog joint in Lynchburg?

Any ideas from the crowd here?

Congrats on the success in year 1!

 

[pollardsvision]

What would you say your restaurants biggest problem is right now?

I've got to find a way to transition from my current role to being a better manager and promoter.

I'll be back in three months to ask you how the above is going.

Bump.

How is the above going? It sounds like you have been swamped over the past year fine tuning the day to day operations and taking care of building issues. Have you had any time to focus on getting the word out on the best bbq/dog joint in Lynchburg?

Any ideas from the crowd here?

Congrats on the success in year 1!

Getting better at the manager part. Not better at the promoting part, or changing my current role/stepping back a little. I really don't think I have any desire to do the latter. I could dial back the hours a little, but I really don't want to.

January has been a pretty frustrating month. Our slowest yet. For the first week or two, I was hoping everyone just blew their wads over Christmas, but we've been pretty slow for the whole month now. We're down 13% compared to last January, and 17% from December. It's nothing to panic about, but it's obviously quite a concern. The biggest concern is that I don't know why we're down so much. Trying to figure out how much is controllable or just normal fluctuation is pretty maddening. Throw in a couple days having to close for snow, and we're starting to feel pinched in a way that we haven't up to this point. We'll get it figured out, but it's frustrating.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Do you have regulars that you've gotten to know? If so, they could be a great source of information on what the public is thinking - such as this winter's dip in business.

 

[Das Boot]

Do you have regulars that you've gotten to know? If so, they could be a great source of information on what the public is thinking - such as this winter's dip in business.

Good idea.

Also, if he's friends with any other local small business owners (especially restaurant owners, but to some degree any small business) see if they are also seeing a slow down.

 

[comfortably numb]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.

Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

 

[comfortably numb]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.

Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

 

[satch]

Some kind of "loaded weenie nachos" sounds delicious.

New England Weenie: topped with thick clam chowder. Essentially a chowder dog as oppsed to a chili dog.

 

[John Bender]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.

Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

3 breakfast spots in town in my 20's. We had a crew of 8 or 9 people that always went to breakfast Sunday morning.

We always picked the one where the hot waitress worked.

 

[satch]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

3 breakfast spots in town in my 20's. We had a crew of 8 or 9 people that always went to breakfast Sunday morning.We always picked the one where the hot waitress worked.

Why not take it one step further? Have your hot waitresses wear tight pants/shorts/skirts and wear tight shirts with your new slogan on the back:"Lynchburg Weenie Stand- great weenies deserve great buns!"

And sell t-shirts with the slogan. Maybe have a picture of a hot dog winking and smirking. I'd be happy to design the shirt, slogan, and logo for you.

 

[comfortably numb]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

3 breakfast spots in town in my 20's. We had a crew of 8 or 9 people that always went to breakfast Sunday morning.We always picked the one where the hot waitress worked.

Why not take it one step further? Have your hot waitresses wear tight pants/shorts/skirts and wear tight shirts with your new slogan on the back:"Lynchburg Weenie Stand- great weenies deserve great buns!"

And sell t-shirts with the slogan.

I like it....and then weenie shots!

Eat a weenie out of a hot chick's crack!

He can even use those small weenies instead of a hot dog.

 

[MaxThreshold]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

3 breakfast spots in town in my 20's. We had a crew of 8 or 9 people that always went to breakfast Sunday morning.We always picked the one where the hot waitress worked.

Why not take it one step further? Have your hot waitresses wear tight pants/shorts/skirts and wear tight shirts with your new slogan on the back:"Lynchburg Weenie Stand- great weenies deserve great buns!"

And sell t-shirts with the slogan.

I like it....and then weenie shots!

Eat a weenie out of a hot chick's crack!

He can even use those small weenies instead of a hot dog.

Maybe hire a couple transsexuals, that way you could also advertise "Our weenies are so great that even the girls have them".

 

[satch]

Hire a couple female tranny midgets and advertise:

"What do you call a female midget?...a widget!

What do you call a widget with a weiner?...Waitress!!"

Only at The Weinee Stand every Saturday night!!!

 

[mr roboto]

####### hell.

 

[Zegras11]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

3 breakfast spots in town in my 20's. We had a crew of 8 or 9 people that always went to breakfast Sunday morning.We always picked the one where the hot waitress worked.

Why not take it one step further? Have your hot waitresses wear tight pants/shorts/skirts and wear tight shirts with your new slogan on the back:"Lynchburg Weenie Stand- great weenies deserve great buns!"

And sell t-shirts with the slogan. Maybe have a picture of a hot dog winking and smirking. I'd be happy to design the shirt, slogan, and logo for you.

 

[gianmarco]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

3 breakfast spots in town in my 20's. We had a crew of 8 or 9 people that always went to breakfast Sunday morning.We always picked the one where the hot waitress worked.

Why not take it one step further? Have your hot waitresses wear tight pants/shorts/skirts and wear tight shirts with your new slogan on the back:"Lynchburg Weenie Stand- great weenies deserve great buns!"

And sell t-shirts with the slogan.

I like it....and then weenie shots!Eat a weenie out of a hot chick's crack!

He can even use those small weenies instead of a hot dog.

Maybe hire a couple transsexuals, that way you could also advertise "Our weenies are so great that even the girls have them".

Better to get some that are transitioning.

Can call it "Tweener Weiner Night"

 

[MaxThreshold]

Hire a couple hot waitresses.

You'll see an increase of at least 8%

At least. All of the repressed horn dogs at Liberty will flock to the place.Boot has a good idea about talking to other eateries. It may just be the natural rhythm of the town (college on winter break, snow birds hightailing it).

I'm half joking but it's amazing how many men...both young and old will go to a place cause they know a hot chick is there.Especially for this kinda place. It's not like people are dropping $100 on a meal and have high expectations.

3 breakfast spots in town in my 20's. We had a crew of 8 or 9 people that always went to breakfast Sunday morning.We always picked the one where the hot waitress worked.

Why not take it one step further? Have your hot waitresses wear tight pants/shorts/skirts and wear tight shirts with your new slogan on the back:"Lynchburg Weenie Stand- great weenies deserve great buns!"

And sell t-shirts with the slogan.

I like it....and then weenie shots!Eat a weenie out of a hot chick's crack!

He can even use those small weenies instead of a hot dog.

Maybe hire a couple transsexuals, that way you could also advertise "Our weenies are so great that even the girls have them".

Better to get some that are transitioning.

Can call it Tweener Weiner Night"

 

[satch]

Lots of good ideas here, you just gotta think outside the box.

Hey, speaking of the box, you should have a couple take-out boxes to choose from. Then, every time a customer orders a weiner to go, have a tranny and a widget waitress approach the table together holding the take-out boxes behind their backs and ask the customer to choose, "Would you like your weiner in my box or hers?"

You could even have them describe their boxes. Widget: "My box may be small, but you'd be surprised how much you can fit in there."

Tranny: "My box was custom made to fit most weiners."

Then delight in watching him make his choice as his wife and kids wait with curious anticipation for Dad to select which one of the waitresses boxes he wants his weiner in.

 

[comfortably numb]

He is not responding....perhaps we should go suggest these on his Facebook page?

 

[chauncey]

What a turn this thread took this morning.

Another vote for the hire a few hot waitresses. I'll even volunteer my time to come in and interview them for you.

Do you happen to have a black leather couch in the back of the restaurant?

 

[mr roboto]

'They came in to interview for a waitress job...

...except there was no job. Only a wiener.'

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Put this guy out front, maybe spinning a sign too.

Kick the pizza guy to the curb though.

 

[John Bender]

He is not responding....perhaps we should go suggest these on his Facebook page?

I'm on it.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

He is not responding....perhaps we should go suggest these on his Facebook page?

I'm on it.

You might not be the right man for the job... but you definitely who is.

 

[pollardsvision]

Thanks guys. After a frustrating month, I was in great need of a reminder that I need to lighten up and remember that I sell ####### hot dogs for a living.

On the hot waitress issue, I've put a lot of thought into this one. The issue is that we probably aren't a fit for your prototypical hot waitress (ie 21 YO college student). We don't really have a pure waitstaff position, and evenings aren't our busiest time. I'm trying to crank out $600 lunches with 3 people. That largely means everyone has to do a little bit of everything. Including washing dishes and other dirty work that smoking hot 21 YO chicks might not be inclined to want to do. 20-something chicks are also tricky because are known at times to get pregnant. Not a huge deal, but given that we rely on our staff for more than what a typical waitress position would expect, it's a consideration. Not writing it off, but not hanging my hat on it either.

Our current staff is attractive, a lot of fun, and all have their share of customers interested in more than just the food. They just generally range from about 40-67 years old, so again, probably not exactly what most of you are referring to. Including the 67 YO, who has an old, former Reverend just dying to bed her. He's had a $500 offer on the table for decades now.

 

[John Bender]

Still always thinking of ya here PV. I'm only 90 minutes away now and Dogs are my favorite food on the planet.

I will see you soon.

My alter ego left you a nice fbook review as well

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Thanks guys. After a frustrating month, I was in great need of a reminder that I need to lighten up and remember that I sell ####### hot dogs for a living.

On the hot waitress issue, I've put a lot of thought into this one. The issue is that we probably aren't a fit for your prototypical hot waitress (ie 21 YO college student). We don't really have a pure waitstaff position, and evenings aren't our busiest time. I'm trying to crank out $600 lunches with 3 people. That largely means everyone has to do a little bit of everything. Including washing dishes and other dirty work that smoking hot 21 YO chicks might not be inclined to want to do. 20-something chicks are also tricky because are known at times to get pregnant. Not a huge deal, but given that we rely on our staff for more than what a typical waitress position would expect, it's a consideration. Not writing it off, but not hanging my hat on it either.

Our current staff is attractive, a lot of fun, and all have their share of customers interested in more than just the food. They just generally range from about 40-67 years old, so again, probably not exactly what most of you are referring to. Including the 67 YO, who has an old, former Reverend just dying to bed her. He's had a $500 offer on the table for decades now.

Can we get a pic of the staff?

 

[pollardsvision]

Still always thinking of ya here PV. I'm only 90 minutes away now and Dogs are my favorite food on the planet.

I will see you soon.

My alter ego left you a nice fbook review as well

I thought I recognized ol' Ronald. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[cosjobs]

Some kind of "loaded weenie nachos" sounds delicious.

New England Weenie: topped with thick clam chowder. Essentially a chowder dog as oppsed to a chili dog.

That New England patriots weenie dog should be topped with cheater cheese

 

[Rick James]

Some kind of "loaded weenie nachos" sounds delicious.

New England Weenie: topped with thick clam chowder. Essentially a chowder dog as oppsed to a chili dog.

:X never open a restaurant

 

[Cjw_55106]

What would you say your restaurants biggest problem is right now?

I've got to find a way to transition from my current role to being a better manager and promoter.

I'll be back in three months to ask you how the above is going.

Bump.

How is the above going? It sounds like you have been swamped over the past year fine tuning the day to day operations and taking care of building issues. Have you had any time to focus on getting the word out on the best bbq/dog joint in Lynchburg?

Any ideas from the crowd here?

Congrats on the success in year 1!

Getting better at the manager part. Not better at the promoting part, or changing my current role/stepping back a little. I really don't think I have any desire to do the latter. I could dial back the hours a little, but I really don't want to.

January has been a pretty frustrating month. Our slowest yet. For the first week or two, I was hoping everyone just blew their wads over Christmas, but we've been pretty slow for the whole month now. We're down 13% compared to last January, and 17% from December. It's nothing to panic about, but it's obviously quite a concern. The biggest concern is that I don't know why we're down so much. Trying to figure out how much is controllable or just normal fluctuation is pretty maddening. Throw in a couple days having to close for snow, and we're starting to feel pinched in a way that we haven't up to this point. We'll get it figured out, but it's frustrating.

Of course, it doesn't explain the drop from last January, but I think its safe to assume January will always be your worst month. People like to pretend they will eat more healthy and not eat out so much when the new year kicks in. They'll be back.

 

[Johnny Rock]

Still always thinking of ya here PV. I'm only 90 minutes away now and Dogs are my favorite food on the planet.

I will see you soon.

My alter ego left you a nice fbook review as well

I thought I recognized ol' Ronald. Thanks for the kind words.

Might want to consider trying a Facebook ad boost. We're finding it simple and incredibly effective. You can spend as little as you want. You can increase complexity but not necessary. Also, verify your page to add credibility. You might be able to increase your younger demo.