Chinese FoodYour restaurant is preparing for the holidays, and the boom of customers. When family comes into town, and when people need a place to get together, restaurants always experience a surplus of people ready to eat. This can be a great thing and it will certainly help you get through January and February when customers tend to stay home to save money. Those months where business is short can be really hard if you are not prepared.

Instead of waiting it out, why not take a new approach? Preparing packaged take home meals is a great way to attract all of the people who are looking to stay home and play with their new gifts. These prepackaged meals should be ready to go, and fast so that when someone comes in to pick up dinner for the family it is quick and painless. To prepare like this you first have to have the space, supplies and time.

During the holidays leading up to mid-January and February you should use up or get rid of the items taking up your walk-in and dry good space. You also need to buy good packaging and make sure their is room for its bulky shape wherever you are planning on placing the packed meals. You also need to be careful that these meals do not take up supplies or resources from your regular kitchen and menu items. You may even want to look into adding a few more skilled cooks to your kitchen staff to make up for lost time.

Though creating new take-out meals for your customers has some hurdles, the return and the extra money you will make in the slow first months of the year will help carry you until next holiday season. Restaurant Hospitality has tips to make sure you are as prepared as possible. More…