Success Story

Managing Prime Cost Numbers Provides Smoking Pig BBQ with a Clear Path to Growth

They say you can't manage what you don't measure.

In 2016, Paul Reddick began doing a physical inventory and calculating Prime Cost every week at his Smoking Pig BBQ. As he explains it, doing so "answered the question, How are we REALLY doing?"

The need for better operating and financial metrics, Reddick reflects, had been ongoing. "The larger we got, the more details we needed in order to manage our financials. Looking at the bank account, daily sales, and tax returns not enough. You can't rely on bookkeepers to drill down for you. You've got to have your own numbers, and very frequently."

Indeed, he adds, he found managing to general rule-of-thumb metrics to be "not effective at all."

Reddick turned to RestaurantOwner.com to learn all he needed to know about using a spreadsheet for prime-cost reporting "and the instructions on what to include; for example, all payroll items, paper, etc. It taught me how to quantify and measure against the most important benchmarks."

The practical, hands-on knowledge he received from RestaurantOwner.com, Reddick explains,"Gave me the tools to see ahead to potential trouble, and to take corrective action before it became a major issue. Also, it allows me to bonus managers on prime cost."The difference has been dramatic, he notes. "We're driving with our eyes open now."

Diners certainly have their eyes open, and like what they see. Earlier this year, the prestigious Michelin Guide Review had this to say about Smoking Pig BBQ: "Identifiable by the aroma of wood smoke that surrounds it for a block in every direction, this barbecue-slinging dive is wildly popular." Read: plan on a wait in the smoker-ringed parking lot if you want to dine at prime meal times.

Accommodations are beyond basic, with tattered booths and disposable servingware, but service is friendly, and something about the lack of ambience amplifies the gustatory pleasure. Indeed, there is plenty of pleasure to be found on the combination plates, especially the signature pork ribs-smoky and well-seasoned, they fall off the bone. Order them in a combination plate of peppery brisket or juicy pulled pork, along with a cornbread muffin and tasty, smoky beans with burnt ends. This is pigging out at its finest."

Also during 2016, Reddick added his third location. Sales had been gaining traction in the second restaurant due to strong consistency in both staff and food. As he points out, "Managing prime cost gave us the time needed to work though the other issues."

This year, Reddick says, will see his company putting in more systems and managing to those systems. RestaurantOwner.com gives us great templates and suggestions for important systems to have in place. Frankly, RestaurantOwner.com overall has helped us grow to what we are now, and for much less money than a consultant would.

Reddick feels that he has not yet begun to take full enough advantage of the forums on the web site. "There's probably much more we could gain within the RestaurantOwner.com offering, but we've tended to look for the most relevant at the time." His conclusion, however, in inescapable. "A big thank you to RestaurantOwner.com, which I would recommend to any and all owners. It's a treasure trove of information and tools for anyone to operate better."

So, how is Smoking Pig BBQ doing?

Just fine.