Unique Serving Platter

As a restaurant owner, you must give value to keep current customers and gain new ones. Competition in the restaurant business is stiff. Learn how you can profit from a new menu design. A good menu design can boost sales by ten to twenty percent in one month! Assess your customer base. Are you in tune with their lifestyle and what attracts them to visit your restaurant? Restaurant dining is theater, after all, and menu design is an important aspect of the diners’ experience.

Take a critical look at your current menu design. Perhaps you’ve felt comfortable with it, but the design is dated. Give it a face lift with a new menu design. Monitor food trends to keep your menu “fresh”. For example, fatty foods are out, heart healthy is in, “energy” drinks are popular and juice smoothies are healthy and appealing across age markets. Target your market and consider changes to your menu that will bring new customers.

The visual impact of your menu design is more important than you may realize. The 8 ½ x 11 format in a menu folder lends weight to the presentation. The cover should contain your logo or a graphic fitting your theme, centered with the name of your restaurant above and your address, hours and phone below. If you offer online ordering, include that information as well. A picture of a menu item, positioned to the right on a right hand page draws the eye of the customer, and produces more sales for that item. You’d do well to picture some of your best and high profit dishes. Use the small insert sleeves to advertise your daily specials or soup of the day. The sleeve sets the item apart and also makes it seem, well, special.

Choose fonts and colors to suit your restaurants’ style. Think of your menu as a picture book of your restaurant. When you convey quality in your menu design, your customer perceives value and has a positive expectation even before the food arrives. Good copy in your food descriptions can make your customers salivate because it sounds so good. Again, increased sales are yours. Take a simple hamburger. Read two descriptions:

Bacon Burger: served with lettuce, tomatoes and onion. Your choice of fries or coleslaw.

Our Famous Bacon Burger: Grilled and piled high with bacon, Spanish onions, cheddar, garden tomatoes and crisp lettuce. Our own barbecue sauce dresses the bun, fit for a king. Choose fries or coleslaw.

Of course, your food has to measure up, but you can see that copy matters.

Order a “take one” downsized tri-fold duplicate of your new menu design. Place near the register and entry. This is low cost advertising and keeps you in your customers mind after they’ve gone home. There are design firms specializing in menu design. When you’ve sketched out your new look, give one of these pros a call. A thoughtfully designed menu pays.

Running an office can be a very stressful job. Throughout my years of service to my company I have had many great experiences, as well as some that provoked anxiety. I have learned that a good cup of coffee can be my best friend and my worst enemy. I love the energy drink, but I hate the effects on my stomach especially during times of great stress. Low acid coffee promises relief to my dilemma.

Low acid coffee serves the same energy inspiring service supplied by the traditional beans, but without the acidity. I am dependent on my morning brew, but I also don’t want to have the acidity of the beverage wreck havoc on my digestive system. Nausea and a stress filled afternoon in the office don’t make a good pair. Some people can drink coffee that tastes like mud. These individuals are looking more at the effects of the energy drink rather than the taste. I, on the other hand, really like to enjoy my morning brew. Good taste and low acid coffee do not always go hand in hand. After months of trying different low acid coffee brands I discovered two that are top notch in my book.

Helva coffee is my personal favorite brand. This low acid coffee is indistinguishable from a regular cup of java. Actually, it is better than average. This low acid coffee has the taste and smoothness that we demand in the best gourmet Arabica beans found on the market. Does Helva coffee stand up to it’s Arabica counterpart? It definitely does and I don’t have to worry about stomach upset. I usually purchase this brand online which makes it even more convenient. I have two supplies. One goes to my home and one goes to the office. My Helva low acid coffee is my favorite discovery since finding my great personal assistant. This brand is top of the line as far as taste. In addition, it is the one of the least expensive low acid coffee I have found which is another perk.

Any business person knows that it is very important to have a back up plan. This holds true even for low acid coffee. When it comes to the special blend of coffee beans, Puroast comes in a close second. This brand is not Arabica quality, but it is better than your average low acid coffee. Actually, it is better than your average regular brew as well. Helva low acid coffee is my first pick but I definitely will never turn down a cup of Puroast. Either way, I am free of the acidity of regular java and I have a new lease on my coffee enjoying life.