To: All Spice Café Groups
Objective: Growth. To be profitable, Illya says that he needs to increase revenues by 20%. He has capacity to reach this; just not the customers. He still has the other objectives that he mentioned when he originally spoke with our classes.
Objective: New take-out design. Illya would like help deciding best way to bring his product to offices. He has a take-out window.
Price: In our report, we are to specifically reference price. Illya has tried several prices and has picked his current prices so that they are competitive with the restaurants in his area. His profit margins are designed so that the entrée will have a profit margin of 10-40%. Sides are not necessarily profitable like the centerpiece dish. The average profit margins on entrees are 20%, but this just includes the ingredients. He has not compared these profit margins with industry norms and does not know how his restaurant is performing relative to other start up restaurants when it comes to financial statements.
He may email me financial statements that reference profit margin percentage per centerpiece dish. I will let you know if I receive these financials.
Financials: The café is not profitable, but is near its breakeven point. This is why increasing the revenue is so important.
Other comments/areas for growth: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday dinners are the slowest times of the day. During these times, the company loses money.
Brand positioning statement: I told Illya that his customers ultimately determine his brand. I brought up the idea of polling his customers (using a service like survey monkey to contact those who wrote Facebook reviews), and Illya was open to the idea, but he was not enthused. He would want to have some influence over the questions included. I do not personally plan to pursue this path, but would like to know the results if anyone goes this route.
1. Spice Café exists to bring creole, Caribbean, southern food to the Evansville area. It brings a unique dining experience to Evansville. Customers cannot get food like this anywhere else in the city.
2. Behavior they should perform: Repeat visits, tell friends. We each have our own target audiences for the project. Illya says that he can see all types of people coming in: affluent, upper-middle class, and lower/middle income people who want homecooked meals of their traditions.
3. Spice Café serves as a gathering place for people to come together around a meal. At places like Panera, I walk in around dinner time and see men and women sitting around by themselves, quickly eating salad while looking at their phones. At Spice Café, it is different. Here, meals are opportunities to visit with friends and family. Patrons get to try new dishes and start new conversations about culture. They can experience unique, quality cuisine in a family-friendly environment.
4. Illya is authentic. He has spent time traveling the world, eating well, and learning how to cook for years and years. He is very friendly and takes a special interest in each and every customer. I have seen him sit up by the cash register and greet customers by name. He takes a genuine interest in those who walk into his store.
This hits the high points. I recorded my entire 45 plus minute conversation with Illya and will provide it via flash drive if anyone emails me and wants to listen to it. Just let me know you want it and we can set up a time so I can lend you a flash drive.
Also, please see the additional attachments. They will be very useful when working on the project.
Jacob
PS. I spoke with Illya just to reiterate some points he originally referenced in the class. These original objectives still hold true:
1. Hire more staff
2. Thanksgiving dinners
3. In one year, only have to cook Saturdays
4. In five years, possible downtown location.