Cara’s Keg acquisition latest move in restaurant industry consolidation

Cara Operations Ltd.’s deal to buy The Keg restaurants is the latest consolidation move in an industry dominated by three operators that account for one-sixth of restaurant sales in Canada.

Cara, MTY Food Group Inc. and Restaurant Brands International Inc. brought in an estimated $10 billion from a total $60 billion spent at restaurants last year, according to figures from market-research firm NPD Group.

And experts suggest the trio are likely to see their market share grow as the industry consolidates further _ which could benefit consumers, but see some independent eateries disappear from the competitive landscape.

“They are the three largest restaurant consolidators in the marketplace,” said Robert Carter, NPD’s executive director of food service.

Together, they collectively operate thousands of restaurants in Canada under a variety of banners.

Cara _ now the country’s largest full-service restaurant player _ runs about 1,200 locations, including Swiss Chalet, Harvey’s and East Side Mario’s.

Canada’s food court king, MTY, owns more than 2,450 locations, with brands that include quick-service staples like Country Style, Mr. Sub, ManchuWOK, Extreme Pita, Pinkberry and Villa Madina.

Meanwhile, RBI _ the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen _ operates an estimated 4,100 restaurants in Canada.

As the restaurant market is relatively flat, said Carter, restaurant operators are focused on growing their portfolios by bringing established chains into their fold.

Last year, sales at full-service restaurants fell two per cent to $21 billion, while sales at fast-food outlets rose three per cent to $27 billion, according to NPD data.

In a move telegraphing the intended focus of its portfolio, Cara sold food court staple ManchuWOK to rival MTY in 2014.

Its latest choice to buy The Keg restaurants is “consistent with Cara’s modus operandi over the last few years ,” said Sylvain Charlebois, dean of the faculty of management at Dalhousie University.

The operator also acquired the Pickle Barrel late last year and rotisserie chicken joint St-Hubert the year prior.

RBI, which formed from a merger of Tim Hortons and Burger King, expanded its portfolio by taking over fried chicken brand Popeyes last year.

Meanwhile, MTY closed out 2017 by acquiring Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. _ a franchise and licensing business with five banners: Baton Rouge, Pizza Delight, Scores, Toujours Mikes and Ben & Florentine.

“The strategy is to buy market share,” Carter said.

Additionally, restaurant consolidators are cherry picking brands that are high-performing and can help make them more profitable, he said. The Keg, for example, is among a small sub-segment of premium casual restaurants that is experiencing strong growth in traffic and sales, according to NPD.

With multiple brands, operators can streamline their strategies such as by creating one gift card that can be used at many restaurants _ options to attract consumers that aren’t available to smaller companies, Carter said.

Consolidation could also benefit the consumer as the companies pass down savings from greater economies of scale to the consumer, he added, but independent restaurant owners may suffer as a result of increasing consolidation.

“I think what it does, ultimately, is continues to put competitive pressure on the marketplace in the form of making the smaller chains and the regional players strengthen their games,” Carter said.

More than 60 per cent of Canada’s roughly 72,000 restaurants are regional chains or individual units, according to NPD. Carter believes they’ll suffer from not having the huge marketing muscle that exists behind the big chain concepts and will have to become much more strategic to establish their difference.

“I think it’s going to be a situation where the strong survive and evolve,” he said.

“The ones that are not evolving and adapting to the market changes will struggle and go out of business.”

Source : https://www.menuorderapp.com/blog/caras-keg-acquisition-latest-move-restaurant-industry-consolidation/

Menu Order App - Solution for Food Ordering System

MenuOrderAPP is an Restaurant online food ordering platform for the Hotel and Restaurant owners. This platform provides the food menu and the orders can be placed through Website Ordering/ Mobile App Ordering/ Facebook Ordering.

MenuOrderAPP provides various plugins like Delivery setting (Area/Google GPS), Card Payment integration, Multiple tax options, Addons Management etc…

An easy and attractive menu can be provided with all available options and dynamically adjusted to order food online. When an order is placed by the customer, MenuOrderAPP then relays these orders to restaurant employees electronically, exactly as the customer specified.

Why a restaurant needs MenuOrderAPP?

In today’s world, it is a must to have online system to increase the profit of the business and to serve easily to customers. The latest research shows that 43 percent of consumers have placed a takeout or delivery order online. Restaurants that offer online ordering benefit from having customers satisfied by the convenience. Many restaurants have chosen to focus on quick preparation and speedy delivery of orders rather than offering a rich dining experience.

Challenges faced without an Restaruant online food ordering platform:

· For many restaurants, taking orders over the phone takes five to eight minutes per order.

· How much staff time is now spent taking orders over the phone? How many errors occur because of miscommunication?

· Language barriers, bad reception and human error contribute to incorrect orders, expensive redeliveries and dissatisfied customers.

Solutions with MenuOrderAPP:

· MenuOrderAPP can reduce operational cost since transactions are done through web. The automation of checkout, billing, payments, inventory management, and other operational processes, lowers the number of employees.

· MenuOrderAPP is away from Miscommunication, Language barriers, bad reception and human error.

· Also online system is available anytime, anywhere, thus it increases the number of orders for the company. As for the customers, they can choose the item they want at their convenient time. Just using the tip of finger people can explore the shopping world hassle free and less effort in going to the restaurant.

Benefits of MenuOrderAPP

· Online Food Ordering System greatly simplifies the ordering process for both the customer and the restaurant. Online orders are received in less than 30 seconds.

· For placing any orders customers have no need to visit hotels or restaurants to know about food items and then place order and pay. Through MenuOrderAPP, time and manual work is reduced.

· When the customer visits the ordering webpage, they are presented with an attractive menu, with options to add and delete dynamically adjusting prices based on the selected options. After making a selection, the item is then added to their order, which the customer can review the details of at any time before checking out. This provides instant visual confirmation of what was selected and ensures that items in the order are, in fact, what was intended.

· Every restaurant needs certain employees to take the order over phone or in-person, to offer a rich dining experience and process the payment. These are not required in the case of using Restaurant Order System.

· 90 percent of mobile users say they are interested in using websites and apps to make purchases.

· Online ordering is also beneficial for the small independent restaurant.

GST: 18% will be charged on food takeaway from non-AC area at AC restaurants, clarifies govt

A uniform GST (Goods and Services Tax) rate of 18 percent will be charged on takeaways as well as food served from a non-AC area of a hotel or restaurant if any of its part has a facility of air conditioning, the government has said.

The new GST regime, which was rolled out from 1 July, provides for levy of 12 percent on food bill in non-AC restaurants. The tax rate for AC restaurants and those with liquor licence will be 18 percent while 5-star hotels will charge 28 percent GST.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has clarified through an FAQ on the GST rates that will be levied by restaurant-cum-bars where the first floor area is air- conditioned and used for serving food and liquor while the ground floor only serves food and non-AC. The CBEC said tax will have to be charged at 18 percent irrespective of from where the supply is made, first floor or second floor.

“If any part of the establishment has a facility of air conditioning, then the rate will be 18 percent for all supplies from the restaurant,” it said.

With regard to tax rates that would be charged for take-away food from such restaurants, the CBEC said, “Tax has to be charged at 18 percent on supplies of food made from their takeaway counter.” Besides, such restaurants are also not eligible for the composition scheme as they are engaged in supplying liquor.

Source : https://www.menuorderapp.com/blog/gst-18-will-be-charged-on-food-takeaway-from-non-ac-area-at-ac-restaurants-clarifies-govt/

Menu Order App - Memorizing Food Orders Pros and Cons

s a server who’s afraid of forgetting the simplest little things, I am constantly writing everything down. My fear with memorizing food orders is that I’ll carelessly make a mistake and forget to order a glass of wine or order a steak well done instead of medium-well. So, with that fear deep-rooted in my system I make it a point to write down all my orders even if it’s a person dining alone.

Every waiter and waitress has their own system of taking down orders whether it is just doodling on your order sheet while memorizing every point or penning every single word the customer says. If you have a great memory and are just starting out as a waiter/waitress in training, you may want to consider the pros and cons of memorizing food orders.

PRO

The eye contact that you keep with a customer while taking their order is extremely important. Some waiters just stare at their order sheet the whole time while writing down orders which leaves the customers feeling short-changed on the “service with a smile.” Some are capable of writing without looking down too many times, which is an improvement at least, but memorizing your orders can give you complete control over your eye contact with your guests, creating a very friendly and open service for them.

CON

If you’re planning on memorizing orders, keep in mind that you are more likely to make mistakes. The amount of times I’ve seen a server run up to the kitchen and say something around the lines of “My bad, guys. It was supposed to be the salmon, not the tuna” is staggering. It could end up happening more often than you’d probably like to admit and can develop a certain amount of hostility between you and your coworkers. Not to mention the managers will be wondering how all these mistakes are affecting their food costs.

PRO

With no pen and paper glued to your hands at every moment of service, your free hands allow you to do other things while taking drink and dessert orders. You could be tidying up your tables of any clutter, picking up empty beer glasses, or picking up menus. The ability to multitask in the restaurant business is a big bonus on your side if you are able to do many things at once. Plus, the length of the service will diminish slightly by just having the free hands to clear the table and memorize coffee orders at the same time, making it easier to turn your tables and serve more customers.

CON

Sometimes, as you’re leaving a table to enter the order into the computer system, someone may stop you along the way preventing you from getting to the computer while the order is still fresh in your mind. Maybe a customer will have a complaint and stop you for a whole 5 minutes before giving you a chance to ring up the order. What happens then? Your mind gets completely distracted by the complaint that you stand at the computer holding your head thinking, “What did she order? What appetizer did he want? Did he want fries or rice with his steak?” Sometimes you’ll remember…sometimes you’ll just forget. Forgetting an order can be extremely embarrassing and will seem pretty unprofessional when you need to go up to the guests a second time to ask what they ordered.

PRO

Memorizing food orders can save a lot of time when it comes to ringing up your order. Instead of constantly referring to your order sheet, you’re simply punching in your orders without missing a beat to glance down at what you’ve written. This can save time on your service and once again allows for a quicker service, which means your customers are receiving their orders sooner than others therefore satisfied with the fact that they aren’t waiting longer for their food to arrive. Every second or minute saved counts for a lot in the restaurant business.

CON

Not writing down an order can and will make your customers nervous. One night I went out to eat at a restaurant. We were a table of 6 people and the waitress just took our order by memory. I asked for a few things on the side since it was my first experience at that particular establishment and wasn’t sure about the sauces offered with my plate. I felt worried that my order may be wrong, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. When it came time to the appetizers, I received a salad instead of the soup and my steak came and turned out medium-well instead of medium-rare. In my mind, if you aren’t going to write anything down then you’d better make sure that you’ve remembered everything 100%. Sure, people make mistakes and I understand that more than anyone, but other guests may not be so forgiving. When customers see that you’re relying solely on your memory for taking orders, they have that knowledge to use against you when things go wrong and may even approach a manager about it, suggesting that you write everything down from that moment on.

CON

When taking orders, servers know that it’s best to repeat orders back to the customers as they go along to avoid any mistakes or misunderstandings. When an order comes out wrong, your manager may ask you something around the lines of “Well, what did the customer order?” Your answer may be “She definitely said she wanted the mashed potatoes, but when the plate got there she said she asked for a baked potato.” The manager might then proceed to ask what you had written down on your order sheet in order to see if you either a) punched it in wrong or b) wrote it down wrong. When you’ve done everything by memory, the manager is then just taking your word for it and may jump to the conclusion that you’re the one who made the mistake. If you’re repeating the order back to the customer and writing it down properly, he may then assume that it’s just the customer creating a problem for nothing and will be more inclined to believe you when you say you got the order right.

Remember… Everybody makes mistakes, even if you’re the type of server to write each order down on paper. The thing to keep in mind is that you’re only human, so do the best that you can no matter which order-taking process you choose to use as a server. Think about what kind of waiter you want to be and go from there.

Source : https://www.menuorderapp.com/blog/memorizing-food-orders-the-pros-and-cons/