Hansen’s Restaurant

Executive summary

The Hansen’s Hideaway and Restaurant is an all-season family-run business located in Jasper, Alberta that was started in 1952 by the Hansens. Dean Hansen and his wide Kathryn are now taking over the business from Dean’s parents. Dean, who graduated from hospitality and food management, worked in a variety of positions in hospitality management. Kathryn after attending culinary school, worked her way up in the kitchens of various types. She is experienced in menu development and recently worked in a “nose-to-tail” restaurant to master meat fabrication. Kathryn plans to be the main butcher for the restaurant.

The Hansens are looking to expand their business and the restaurant that currently offers breakfast and lunch service, is seen to have the biggest profitability. There is a steady flow of tourists in the area, who are likely to eat out multiple meals on vacation in contrast to previous generations.

As the Hansens deciding to add a dinner service they face a challenge of meat sourcing as beef has the largest potential for profit as well as loss. The options are to fabricate the meat in-house or buy ready-to-cook portion cuts. The strongest argument in favor one or the other is the total cost of ownership.

Based on the TCO analysis and other factors, such as menu flexibility, food safety, beef quality and complexity of the fabrication process, the Hansens are recommended to proceed with the make option of in-house fabrication of subprimal cuts. As a contingency plan Kathryn may choose to buy ready-to-cook portion cuts that are more expensive but are a simpler and more convenient way of fabricating meat.

For monitoring and control purposes, the KPIs suggested are: sales revenue (actual vs. forecast), customer satisfaction, brand recognition and inventory turnover.

Issue Identification

Long-term:

• Business growth

• Keeping up with the pace of the market (changing trends of vacationers)

Short-term:

• Maximize restaurant profitability by means of adding dinner service and related changes, such as:

o Cash flow and process management

o Menu development

o Sourcing of meat (in-house fabrication or buy ready-to-cook)

Environmental and Root Cause Analysis

Hansen’s Hideaway and Restaurant

SWOT

Strength Weaknesses

• Well established family business

• Hospitality industry expertise (education and experience)