Is The Kitchen Still Open?
QUESTION FROM: Marie in WA
"This is not a complaint, but it is becoming extremely common for our kitchen to get slammed literally minutes before we close.
Our kitchen is open until 9pm during the week & 10pm on weekends. We have always accommodated all orders, but it seems to be getting out of control!! I know, if we are open we are open, but its getting crazy how many orders we are getting within 10 mins of closing down.
Recently the ticket line has been full at shutdown time!! . My kitchen always pushes out the orders, but should they need to be cooking orders half hour after close, just because it was ordered at 9:59:59?
How do you say no at 10:01, when we are still bringing food out to others. This is adding at least an hour to everyone's evening & we all understand the hours cooks are already putting in.
Just wondering if you've ever dealt with this and what you would do. Would you just deal with it & move on, or is there a solution?
HH ANSWER:
This is a pretty common question and although it does, to some degree, depend on your location, concept, staffing levels and seasonality; I believe very strongly that our job as restaurant operators is to serve the community and answer the demand for an amenity they want and need as opposed to the other way around.
One of the biggest mistakes I see owners making (after poorly negotiated Leases of course) is putting the concept first and the location second when, in reality, the location and neighborhood comes first - then comes the concept...to suit the neighborhood. I mention this because understanding the purpose of being in business (or your "why") makes it much easier to pivot with regard to your "how" / operations.
In other words, if you're there to serve the community and the community is regularly demonstrating the fact that they want or need a place that can serve them between 10:00 and 10:15, you should adjust your hours to accommodate them so that you are open/serving dinner until 10:30 or 11:00.
If you are a restaurant and bar, communicating service times and business hours can get slightly complicated but most potential issues can be eliminated or mitigated by clear and obvious communication. What I mean by that is: you need to be explicit on the door, on your website, on your outgoing, voice, message, on social media, and on Google that you are open until a certain time but the kitchen closes at a different time…or that you serve food until a certain time to avoid food orders being placed after the kitchen has closed/hot food is available.
Having an alternative to hot food or food that must be prepared on the line is also a great way to avoid turning down additional business or ever having to say “No” to a guest. We frequently do this in hotels with a alternate, bar or late night menus that are largely comprised of pre-assembled dishes, salads, sandwiches, or hot dishes that are pre-portioned, pre-plated and/or easily heated up by a member of the staff that is not trained in the culinary arts (aka room service captain).
It's not difficult to have a few items that are consistent with the concept, but not requiring any (or much) prep. Whether it's a charcuterie board, chips and salsa, soup, salad, cold sandwich or even microwaved soufflés- having something to offer not only makes you more accommodating, but is often more profitable than saying "sorry".
If you are a restaurant without a separate revenue centers: e.g., lounge or bar area, you can avoid most issues by having a clear and direct conversation with staff upon hire and counseling so that they understand you welcome and seat any and every guest that comes through the doors up until and 15 minutes after the "posted closing time" the same way you would welcome a guest that arrives 15 minutes after your "posted open time"... which means: no-one even starts breaking the line down until posted closing time. And any closers should be scheduled/on the clock until one hour after posted closing time. If closers are able to leave early, then they leave early at the discretion of Management but if they have to stay and feed someone that arrived just under the wire – that's why they are there.
It's often more difficult to make that shift and have that conversation if the staff has long closed up shop whenever it starts to get slow, but, if you've ever heard of "self-fulfilling prophecy" then you understand why you can't justify shutting the line down early because there are no sales or guests walking through the door during the final minutes of service... especially if you ever tell a guest who arrives at or just before your posted closing time that you're sorry, but the kitchen closed early tonight.
I'm not suggesting that if you are currently doing that - you should abruptly stop and adopt a new policy. Changing service hours and related policies requires some in-depth conversation and considerations among ownership, management and hourly staff whose availabilities and interests may dictate a more gradual shift to later hours, a revamp of the menu, schedule adjustments (e.g., staggering in-times) and/or hiring additional staff.
As a general rule of thumb, I think you'll encounter fewer issues and make more people happy if you simply seat any guest up until close (with an appropriate grace period) offer a "last call" for food orders 30 minutes after your posted closing time and then close the kitchen only after the last dessert goes out.
If at any time you find guests arriving later, staying later or wanting to order later - consider extending your hours even further. More business is a good thing... and the more accommodating you are, the more you’re bound to stand out from your competition.
Final Note - and HUGE pet peeve: If you are going to welcome a guest to dine with you, then extend them the same level of hospitality and patience that you would to any other guest. By that, I mean, do not rush them. Do not sweep or vacuum around them. Do not turn the lights up. Do not start putting chairs on top of tables around them or within their view. Do not have servers sitting at tables nearby doing side work, counting money or talking on their phones. And for God’s sake PLEASE don’t bring the check to the table without first having suggested some dessert or an after dinner drink. In other words - don’t change the dining room appearance or experience in any way that the guest might feel you are trying to send a nonverbal message that you'd really prefer them to hurry up and/or go.
There's an article in the hospitality helpline library, entitled: "You Don't Have To Go Home But.." under the FACILITIES section. That article discusses, in detail, how to handle campers and guests that are or threatening to overstay their welcome. Safety / security and tact are key as is polite and appropriately timed communication with regard to your interest in and appreciation for the opportunity to serve them. If you haven't read that article, I strongly recommend it.
Best of Luck!