It’s clear 2008 will challenge even the best restaurant owners. Prices are rising faster than operators can respond. Cost controls  are essential, but how does the restaurateur get ahead of the trends? How can you adjust menu prices before the increases hit your bottom line because you are retroactive to the suppliers’ charges?

Here are some guidelines.

• First, check our commodity trends link in restaurant resources section. Weekly visits will give you an idea of where prices for beef, pork, chicken and dairy products are headed.
• Second, many major suppliers have a Trend Report that they will release to customers. These releases report notices of price increases from processors, manufacturing representatives and other purveyors.
• Third, try to negotiate locked in prices from any suppliers you can. Many will hold pricing for items that you can anticipate usage for the next 90 days.
• Fourth, listen to stock market reports and commodity prices. If a bushel of corn has an extended upward trend, you are going to feel it. If pork bellies look like the they are making a move, you are going to see your prices going up.
• Fifth, use common sense. If wheat and flour are increasing, bread is going up. If sugar takes a jump, desserts are going to follow suit. Oil prices will effect any petroleum products used in manufacturing everything from trash bags to portion cups.

Take these five steps and review your menu every month. You can stay ahead of the game and keep those numbers in the black.

 Larry Edger, Author

The Restaurant Ebook