Nation's Restaurant News: MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes Manages Food Costs by Cutting Waste

When it comes to managing food costs, restaurant operators focus mostly on the price of ingredients.

Calculating amounts can be tricky, and requires a solid understanding of your business.

“Our business is kind of consistent,” said Samir Wattar, vice president of operations and procurement at MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, based in Plano, Texas.

By understanding customer habits, Wattar can anticipate how much food to prepare each shift without creating waste.

“Use the [sales] trends and prep to it. Don’t close your eyes and shoot a dart and hope you’ll hit it,” he said.

Wattar said he uses the past four or five weeks of sales to predict what is needed on a given day. Since customers behave differently each day of the week, he’ll look at sales from the past four or five Mondays to prepare for the coming Monday, for example.

He added that each of MOOYAH’s 95 restaurants has a different customer base, so each location bases prep on its own sales.

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