With the rise of the public making healthier food choices comes a demand for vegan and vegetarian restaurant options. For restaurants, this produces a new opportunity to make more sales. Including vegetarian options means you have more items on your menu with higher profit margins- taking the meat out of recipes means it's cheaper to produce. Due to various factors, many diners will choose a vegetarian or vegan meal over a meat-based meal. Still, the climate crisis is a big motivator for many Millennial and Gen-Z diners to choose options with less of a footprint on our climate. No matter the reason, going vegan or vegetarian on a few dishes on your menu could pay off!
Soups or stews with tomato, coconut milk, or water bases are also highly profitable because the ingredients are cheap, and delicious. Diners love curries and soups, and they're easily made vegetarian or hearty with ground/shredded meats. Ground meat is a more affordable option to produce than serving lean meats, so it's an excellent choice for both flavor and your wallet. Adding rice, another cheap ingredient, is a welcome option for most soup and curry lovers.
French fries on the side or as a dish are a humble but profitable food item that should stay on your menu. Load them up like nachos or sell them as a side dish- they're hard to mess up, and diners love them. Always have them in-house even if it's only for the kid's menu- chances are, adults will indulge too. You'll make that extra sale rather than your diner filling their appetite with complimentary chips and salsa.
Pasta is cheap, but you don't have to sell it like it is. The wheat used to produce the pasta is cheap; beyond that, it's all about what you put into the sauce. Many pasta sauces are tomato based, which, as discussed before, is a cheap ingredient. It also is highly versatile and can easily be made vegetarian by replacing meat with hearty mushrooms and vegetables. Spaghetti is a notoriously romantic dish, thanks to a certain cartoon classic. It can be elevated by adding meatballs, shredding authentic Parmigiana Reggiano on top, and serving with delicious garlic bread. These suggestions are cheap additions to an already-profitable, commonly loved food item. Yet it feels more exclusive when you ask diners as they take their first smell in from their dish, "Would you like some Parmesan grated over your pasta?" Upsell the experience! Use cheap ingredients but make the experience rich.
Save on expenses by replacing old fraying menus with TerraSlate Waterproof menus. In the long run, TerraSlate will save you from having to reorder menus due to wear and tear because they are highly durable and waterproof with no lamination. As an added bonus, they are rip-proof and have an antimicrobial, antiviral coating that helps prevent the spread of germs. Furthermore, TerraSlate menus easily wipe clean as they repel liquids and grease effortlessly while looking sleek and professional.
Whichever steps you take, there are always creative ways to increase your revenue. Researching which items you can make yourself more cheaply than outsourcing is a smart move that can save you money. On the flip side, certain ingredients are cheaper to get from elsewhere rather than making it from scratch yourself. Consider the time it takes to make things and the cost of labor, too. Whatever works best for your restaurant, we're here for it.