When Should You Embrace a Business-Before-Hospitality Mindset (Hint: Always)

Most managers get into the restaurant business because they’re passionate about hospitality. They want to serve people delicious food and create a welcoming, come-again atmosphere.

Gone are the expectations that being in the industry means tiny margins and minimal profits.

But the modern restaurant industry is calling for a change. Competition is on the rise… scores of new restaurants open their doors every day, sporting new dishes and new concepts that up the ante for their neighboring eateries. Food prices are going up, too. The National Restaurant Association reports a 25 percent increase in food costs over the last five years alone.

Unexplainably, though, low profits and lower margins are widely accepted by managers in the industry as “the way it’s always been.” But it doesn’t have to be this way. Although it’s important to focus on the quality of the food and the guest experience, today’s restaurant managers must embrace a business-before-hospitality mindset.

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