Help!!! I need to make money in my restaurant!!!

Hey everybody! I am a restaurant manager at a family entertainment center. It is a 40,000sq ft fun center. It has a 32 lane bowilng center, 150+ arcade area, and a HUGE restaurant and bar. Our main focus is pizza wings and burgers, but we also have full dinners such as strip steak, lasagna, meatloaf,and a fish that everybody calls grouper but its really catfish.( I told everybody that we should take it off, but they insisted on keeping it and calling it by its scientific name. Pangasius) Anyway, I have been here for 3 months and the GM wants me to come up with ideas about changing the restaurant around and making some money. The restaurant can seat about 130 people and we are never full. i want to break up the restaurant and have a seperate place for private parties. The reputation of the restaurant is not in good standing either. I have tried changing the menu but i think we need to go another way. But i dont know which way is best. I had a thought of a diner set-up, but have never delt with a diner before. Does anyone have any ideas i could work with. If so please let me know. I know if I dont change this place around soon, very soon not just myself but all my employees in the restaurant will be out of a job. Please help if you can

Signed,
A man in desperate need!!!

Where is this place located? I have been tellng people for year's that there need's to be such a place in Lakeland. First off, you should not be calling catfish grouper! There are alot of people that can tell the difference and i would be pissed to order grouper and end up with catfish :p I could probably give you some idea's if i knew a little more about the place. What is the interior decor like? I wouldn't go for a diner look. People are looking for something new and innovative these day's.

Its in lake wales. Its called recreation station, at the Eagle Ridge Mall. I share your problems with calling catfish grouper and i fought a good battle but in the end the owner wanted it on the menu so i could not do much. Anyway,the restaurant name is Station House Bar&grill,the theme is a family restaurant. They say they have a sports bar but never play any big games, dont have any sports packages, and never have a big bar croud. When i did the menu I tried to go with a railroad theme. I think I did a pretty good job with it. I named things after trains and put little DYK facts around the menu. I have said that if they want a Railroad theme they need to go all out. But they have all kinds of beer logos up and they are in the process of a thing called the polk county hall of fame wall. It, when its finished will have pictures of teams and stand out players of local sports teams that have done well in there sport on a proffesonal level. the bar is HUGE. It never fills up anymore and i have said we should cut it down.

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| 12 feet |
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15 feet 15 feet

I said that it would be nice to cut off that 12 foot block and have a straight bar.
We have 21 booths and 3 4 top tables and 3 tables for parties. where the party tables are use to be pool tables there is a pacman game a small crane game ,a bowling game, hunting game, and tiger woods golf game in the restaurant. the bowling and golf game get the most play. we also cook for the attached snack bar, where people from bowling or the arcade can order food or beer for the lanes. also where that bar protrusion is about 8 feet over is the wall of fame it is 9 feet tall and 32 feet long. Not moveable. If you can think of anything that would be great. Or if you need any more info just ask. the place is nice but was not run well in the beginning. I would love to change it and make some money for the place and myself .

I reaize that the bar picture i drew did not come out well it is abouyt 45 feet long with a 12 foot span that goes out about 10 feet in the middle

As far as innovative. You need money to do that and the people who were here before me were not restaurant people. they tried to do to much and ended up fu(king over alot of people. I need a Good but cheap solution to make a good amount of money without spending alot to renovate everything.

Cory,

We often frequent the rec station. It is great of for a quick bite to eat, but you don't really go for outstanding food. Don't get me wrong the food is ok and I particularly go because I bring my family and the portions for the price are very good. I mean the pizza is very good size and has a ton of cheese, but it is very bland. It isn't anything to say to someone, go and have the pizza at the rec station. The nacho's are probably my favorite, and the veggies are always fresh, but the meat isn't seasoned anything special and the cheese again isn't awesome either. I will be honest and tell you I have not tried too many things other than those items in a long time. Oh I did try the fried sliced potatoe things and that was not something that really pleased me either.

I really don't want to sound like I'm downing the place because I will tell you the arcade is a major hit, the bowling is very good and the bar make's a Kamikazi just the way I like them. But the food is not wowing anyone and even though it is a great portion and again on the pizza it has the most cheese of any place in town. It doesn't have any pizzaze (ok not sure how to spell that)

I also wonder a little about the advertising. I see your new ad in the Coffee News and it has nothing about the place having a restaurant. No mention of food at all.

I think the little area that you serve drinks and Pizza by the arcade and bowling center is fine, but I would be finding a way to bring a better food product to the table. And if for some reason I have missed the culunary greatness that is now going on at the Rec Station because I'm not ording the right food, then find a way to let me how good it is.

If you have a new chef then let the media know that he is there and what his backround is and what major changes have or will occur in the future.

I like the Rec Station restaurant part and would hate to see it go, but the actual food is a big part of it for me personally.

I meant to say bring better food items to the inside part of the restaurant. Frankly Garfields has good food, but service seems to lack more often than not and they seem to still thrive. I think a infusion of new items on the menu, maybe geared to a different palette may be in order. Kind of like what Applee's did when they got Tyler Florence. Now I know that is not possible, but something to add buzz is always a great thing.

Oh and I don't know how the location being beside the movie theater is a help or hinderance. Some people don't like to have to wade through the throngs of people.

I have never been to the Rec station, never even knew it existed, so i couldn't really give you my opinion. Seeing Jetfighter's opinion on the food i must say that his suggestion is right. It sound's like you have bowling alley type food. If that is the case i would have to agree with him that you should bring in more talented chef's. There is nothing worse than eating crappy low budget food.

I visited the website to gather what i could. It said that you have bumper cars? Is that a big area? Maybe lasertag would be inexpensive to add. Children love lasertag. What about small children, anything for them? A play area maybe? A padded rock climbing wall? What is starcade? Do you have some kind of cosmic bowling on weekend night's? Maybe with a DJ or big sound system. Do you have pool table's. You should up the advertising, try advertising to Lakeland/Auburndale more. There is nothing like that here in Lakeland.

What about the arcade? What kind of prize's do the customer's get with their ticket's? Do any raffle's?

If your food is so so you should definetly work on the menu. Get some higher quality ingrediant's in there. If you can hire some more experienced chef's in there, they will be able to make the majority of dishe's completely from scratch rather than using canned and frozen item's.

I also noticed that the resturant staff looked very young, maybe it would help to hire some a little more experienced.

Jetfighter and Lkldchic,
Thank you for the input. As far as your questions Chic, yes to all. the only thing is we do not have a play area for little kids. we had a giant air play pen but we put bumper cars there instead. weekends are rockin'. weekdays are so slow. I really do not think that people in polk county would care if we showcased a new chef. Maybe I am wrong. I totaly agree with your saying that the products we use are not the best, because they are not. we get fresh produce that is it. We are trying to keep it simple. But in keeping it simple we should have the best simple food that we can. and i know from expierence that alot of people will not pay alot for food at rec station. I have a $16 steak, its a 12oz strip and comes with salad, and 2 sides and it takes 2 weeks to sell a case of 12.
I know alot about fine dining. I was a sous chef in massachusetts at a place called pearls restaurant( pearlsrestaurant.com ) But, i hate to say it but polk county is a different kind of place. 80% of the people that i encounter love to drowned there food in ranch. i have worked at red lobster in winter haven and everyday it was the same thing. Here is no different. I know what you are saying but how do i make a drastic change without losing costomer base and not making the place go under? I run a 30% food cost and any highter my bosses would have a sh!t fit. I am going to see what i can do about the homemade thing, but i need people to want to come to rec station to eat have a good time. i am told that we do not allocate enough money for major advertising. i think it is crap but if we dont have the money!!!! I love input so please let me know if i am doing things right. Jetfighter, my name is cory, introduce yourself next time and ill buy you a drink.

I will do that. Am sincere regarding my opinion. I or the family come in once every couple of weeks. Would hate to see it go. I'm part owner of a new local news, information and events website called DailyRidge.Com . And understand about getting people to change perception.

corybeck wrote:

Hey everybody! I am a restaurant manager at a family entertainment center. It is a 40,000sq ft fun center. It has a 32 lane bowilng center, 150+ arcade area, and a HUGE restaurant and bar. Our main focus is pizza wings and burgers, but we also have full dinners such as strip steak, lasagna, meatloaf,and a fish that everybody calls grouper but its really catfish.( I told everybody that we should take it off, but they insisted on keeping it and calling it by its scientific name. Pangasius) Anyway, I have been here for 3 months and the GM wants me to come up with ideas about changing the restaurant around and making some money. The restaurant can seat about 130 people and we are never full. i want to break up the restaurant and have a seperate place for private parties. The reputation of the restaurant is not in good standing either. I have tried changing the menu but i think we need to go another way. But i dont know which way is best. I had a thought of a diner set-up, but have never delt with a diner before. Does anyone have any ideas i could work with. If so please let me know. I know if I dont change this place around soon, very soon not just myself but all my employees in the restaurant will be out of a job. Please help if you can
Signed,
A man in desperate need!!!

I have lived in this area my whole life so I understand what you mean about certain foods appealing to the population.

My husband and I owned a pub/restaurant for 3 years and I know that you have to be really busy ALL the time to make decent money. It takes more than the weekends huh?

My suggestion, and what worked well for us- my husband had previously been a cook for years at Chilli's so that is what we went with.(on a much smaller scale). I think a better description would be a "Beef o' Brady's" type menu. Are you familiar with them? If not, most definitely go get familiar with them. It sounds like what you need EXACTLY!!! They are making serious money off their menu.(located in Plant City)

I also think that offering an area that people can rent out for parties and large gatherings/functions is a great idea. I have paid alot of money many times for my children to have parties at either a bowling alley or a games spot.

Good luck buddy- I hope you do well!!!

Mother of 5 teens,
Thanks for your input. we do offer banquet rooms and party options for a very resonable price. in fact right now that is the only thing that is keeping us afloat. i am very familar with beefs and that is a very good idea. i changed the menu about 2 months ago and am already thinkng of a new one. smaller might be better. i butt heads with the gm alot because he wants things his way and I am trying to do what i was payed to do. and it seems that if i want to get things done i have to do them myself. I am from up north and let me tell you, there are very few kids that have good work ethic. I end up doing everything myself and then dont have time to do the managing and talking to costumers. anyway next time you have a bday or celebration check us out. we are alot of fun.

corybeck wrote:

Mother of 5 teens,
Thanks for your input. we do offer banquet rooms and party options for a very resonable price. in fact right now that is the only thing that is keeping us afloat. i am very familar with beefs and that is a very good idea. i changed the menu about 2 months ago and am already thinkng of a new one. smaller might be better. i butt heads with the gm alot because he wants things his way and I am trying to do what i was payed to do. and it seems that if i want to get things done i have to do them myself. I am from up north and let me tell you, there are very few kids that have good work ethic. I end up doing everything myself and then dont have time to do the managing and talking to costumers. anyway next time you have a bday or celebration check us out. we are alot of fun.

The restaurant business is a VERY hard business. Finding quality help that STAYS after you have put so much effort(time and money) into training them is nearly impossible. I feel your pain.

Switch the menu (BEEF's)- if your girls(waitresses) are making more money because the food is better and they are busy then you will have better retention.

We will come over and check you guys out.

corybeck wrote:

Hey everybody! I am a restaurant manager at a family entertainment center. It is a 40,000sq ft fun center. It has a 32 lane bowilng center, 150+ arcade area, and a HUGE restaurant and bar. Our main focus is pizza wings and burgers, but we also have full dinners such as strip steak, lasagna, meatloaf,and a fish that everybody calls grouper but its really catfish.( I told everybody that we should take it off, but they insisted on keeping it and calling it by its scientific name. Pangasius) Anyway, I have been here for 3 months and the GM wants me to come up with ideas about changing the restaurant around and making some money. The restaurant can seat about 130 people and we are never full. i want to break up the restaurant and have a seperate place for private parties. The reputation of the restaurant is not in good standing either. I have tried changing the menu but i think we need to go another way. But i dont know which way is best. I had a thought of a diner set-up, but have never delt with a diner before. Does anyone have any ideas i could work with. If so please let me know. I know if I dont change this place around soon, very soon not just myself but all my employees in the restaurant will be out of a job. Please help if you can
Signed,
A man in desperate need!!!

Answer: Cory - you need to hire a consultant. The cost would be minimal compared to the possible loss of your entire operation if you just throw ideas on the mat. You can access many restaurant industry professionals at our restaurant business e-zine site: www.theforkandspoon.wordpress.com . You may also visit www.nationalrestaurantfunding.com to see about financing your venture. Good luck with your operation and let us know how it turns out.- The folks at The Fork & Spoon

i just need to know where is the location of the restaurant

I know this may seem like a cheap plug for my website but I have just started a local community specifically for Polk County Residents & Businesses to network with one another as well as share ideas and promotional campaigns.

The website is http://www.polkals.com
You can also use the Auctions website I just started to sell items which in turn would help people get to know you locally once they see a couple auctions listed by your company. Its free and its advertising which is obviously what you need to invest in.

The two sites are
http://www.Polkals.com <--Discussion Forums
http://www.polkbids.com <--Auctions

Cory,

Are you still in the restaurant bussiness?

An advertising idea is to partner up with other local businesses and trade services...

corybeck wrote:

Hey everybody! I am a restaurant manager at a family entertainment center. It is a 40,000sq ft fun center. It has a 32 lane bowilng center, 150+ arcade area, and a HUGE restaurant and bar. Our main focus is pizza wings and burgers, but we also have full dinners such as strip steak, lasagna, meatloaf,and a fish that everybody calls grouper but its really catfish.( I told everybody that we should take it off, but they insisted on keeping it and calling it by its scientific name. Pangasius) Anyway, I have been here for 3 months and the GM wants me to come up with ideas about changing the restaurant around and making some money. The restaurant can seat about 130 people and we are never full. i want to break up the restaurant and have a seperate place for private parties. The reputation of the restaurant is not in good standing either. I have tried changing the menu but i think we need to go another way. But i dont know which way is best. I had a thought of a diner set-up, but have never delt with a diner before. Does anyone have any ideas i could work with. If so please let me know. I know if I dont change this place around soon, very soon not just myself but all my employees in the restaurant will be out of a job. Please help if you can
Signed,
A man in desperate need!!!

If you need to make money and figure out what to do about your restaurant at the same time, email me at marlenabaldonado@gmail.com. I might be able to help you.

Think he said the eagle ridge mall - don't look now, at old exit 23 on I-4 a new mall is opened up. It may put the eagle ridge out of business or at least give it competition.