Cost Control Without Compromising the Guest

Rising costs are a reality in our industry. From labor to supply chain to utility bills, restaurant operators are feeling the pressure. Despite that Más Mex, the restaurant group behind Fat Rosie’s and Escalante’s, has decided to protect the guest experience at all costs, and we do that by managing ours more carefully than ever before.

The key is control, not cuts. We’re not slashing service or trimming the menu. Instead, we’re leveraging better forecasting, stronger vendor relationships, and a culture of accountability that helps our teams feel empowered and in control of what happens in their kitchens

We are managing costs by leveraging technology and staying hyper-focused on four key pillars: forecasting, ordering, prep, and scheduling. We get granular with our sales forecasting because that forecast is the foundation for everything else. If you miss the mark there, your labor, inventory, and prep levels are all off. And when those are off, waste and inefficiencies climb.

To encourage precision, we’ve even made it into a game. We run weekly competitions to see which managers can hit their forecasts within $500. Not only does this sharpen our accuracy, but it also builds a culture of healthy competition, recognition, and pride.

At the end of the day, cost control isn’t about major changes. It’s about being focused every single day.

We are maniacal about our prep and line levels. That level of control has helped us reduce waste by nearly 75 percent during slower periods, in addition to serving our guests the freshest food possible. It is a part of our culture and something we worked hard to achieve. Our teams also work closely with our day-on-hand targets, and we’ve successfully reduced those levels by 60–70  percent on average.

Valuable vendor relationships are everything. As we see costs rising, we can leverage our partnerships with our vendors by working with them ahead of time to address potential headwinds. We also work very hard overall to source items in advance and look at buying products that may be affected in bulk. Controlling waste and forecasting the business volumes properly are two specific areas we focus on. 

Our supply chain leader does a phenomenal job reviewing pricing trends daily and weekly, spotting curveballs, and making proactive decisions to protect our margins.

For example, when developing new LTOs (limited-time offers), we look first at what’s already in-house or seek opportunity buys to build the menu around. Recently, with beef, seafood, and chicken prices spiking, we leaned into a pork dish that offered better margins and was on trend with our brand and what our guests already love.

At the end of the day, cost control isn’t about major changes. It’s about being focused every single day. It comes down to a thousand little decisions, made by people who are empowered and able to do the right thing. If your team has the tools, the data, and the trust, you can protect your margins without ever compromising the guest experience.