Success Story

Expansion and Creative Focus Boost Revenues 30% Despite Reduction in Hours of Operation

After serving both lunch and dinner for almost two years, the popular Kitchen Lingo had "a good snapshot of where our guests are spending their money with us," explains Managing Partner Lenny Fejeran. "At that time, we had an 800 square feet little restaurant with 22 seats. Our lunch was only seating one full round due to the working crowd mostly eating between 12 and 1 p.m., and parking was an issue." In addition, the average guest check for lunch was just $15, far below the $50 dinner tab.

"We realized that even with our small wine and beer list, our alcohol sales were surpassing our lunch sales," Fejeran continues. "We decided to acquire the space next door, break down the wall, and build a full bar with extra seating and a small lounge."

When Kitchen Lingo re-opened in March of last year, lunch was no longer served. "We became a happy hour and dinner restaurant, open six days a week," he says. "This turned out to be the best business decision we made for our restaurant. Our revenue with the reduced hours of operation exceeded by about 30% what we were making with our lunch and dinner services."

A key factor is Kitchen Lingo's development has been the education that its owners have received from RestaurantOwner.com.

"We really enjoy the getting Profit Tip emails from RO.com, Fejeran says. There are many lessons we have learned from just those emails themselves. One of the things that stands out to me is how there is always emphasis on taking care of the team members. We understand that we are only as good as our weakest team member. We saw how Chef Quichocho and the kitchen crew were working so hard to stay progressive. But it's hard to be creative when all you're doing is trying to keep up. By closing for lunch, the cooks are able to come in to a calm creative work space."

There are also far fewer mistakes coming from the kitchen now, he adds. "Because of the focus of the chef and the team, it's rare that we get any guests complaints or food returned."

Fejeran says he remembers reading one Profit Tip titled, Do You Know Your Key Business Drivers? "It talked about understanding how your guests view your restaurant and knowing what they expect from you. A big part of that comes from first knowing who you are and being able to describe your concept to others so they clearly understand what you have to offer."

The first two years, he recalls, "We were trying to 'find our place' in the area. We listened to what our guests expected from us, then we strategically acted on it. The results were phenomenal."

Fejeran and his partners are taking their establishment to the next level in several ways. For example, they are following the trend of craft cocktail and food pairings. "We would like to focus on educating our guests in that area. We want our guests to look at drinks as part of the tasting experience, and not just something to wash their food down with. We'll be focusing more on that this year."

They have also begun using an online reservation app. "Though common for the U.S., we are the first - and only - ones here on Guam using it. We hope to upgrade to a reservation app that integrates with a POS, which would allow us to keep much better track of our customers, their orders, their info, etc."

In addition, they are putting effort behind giving back to their community. "We started a program to feed the homeless and disabled in our village, and will also be supporting our struggling farmers and providing mentorship for culinary students."