2. Location 7240 Kingston PikeKnoxville, TN 37919(865) 588 – 2064 Directions: From I-40, take West Hills exit #380. Turn left onto Kingston Pike Turn right at the light on Kingston Pike into the Gallery Shopping Center (near Chili’s). Stir fry Café is in the back left corner.
3. Logo & Hours *Pair of chopsticks holding a red pepper. Hours: Sunday – Thursday 11 am-10 pm Friday & Saturday 11 am – 10:30 pm
4. Target Market & Pricing With their trendy ambiance and casual dining, stir fry café appeals to numerous college students and young adults that are searching for a cheaper, yet satiating dining experience. The average check for lunch is about $9 and for dinner is around $13. Clearly, stir fry café represents low-end value pricing. All items end in a 9, except the items on the sushi menu, which are whole-dollar amounts.
5. Competition Of course, there are numerous restaurants that Stir Fry Café competes with. P.F. Changs is one of their main competitors. Also, Chilis’ and Tomo’s provides competition for Stir Fry Café, because of their close proximity and their casual dining.
6. Décor *The décor of the restaurant appeals to the college student. It is laid back and casual dining. The restaurant is dimly lit but also very colorful and vibrant. There are many paintings created by local artists on the walls available for sale. There are neon lights surrounding the bar area, creating a lively atmosphere. *The restaurant seats 70 people and on the patio an additional 36 seats are available for customers.
7. Storage Space There is a dry storage area in the restaurant with an additional outside storage space. The crew fondly calls the outside storage “The Cage.” Also, the restaurant has the usual refrigerators and freezers to hold other inventory as well. On average, Stir Fry Café holds at least 100 items in inventory.
8. Food Preparation The wok is the main equipment used in the Stir Fry Café kitchen. This tool allows the servers to call up an order within minutes of serving their customers making it possible for everyone to run their own food to the tables.
9. Food Preparation Cont. In addition to the Asian Wok bowl, food is prepared using the fryer, grill, and the gas stove. The layout of the kitchen is shaped like a large L. There is one way in and one way out. The stations that make up the ‘L’ shape include the sushi, sauté, salad, grill, and to-go stations Washing station Sushi Wok Grill
10. Food Preparation Cont. Also, it is the server’s responsibility to put in the order of food and know when it is ready, because it is a small restaurant and they do not have an expediter. Moreover, Stir Fry Café proudly states that all of their food is made from scratch.
11. Suppliers US Foods is the main supplier. They buy seafood, beef, and detergent products from this company. They get deliveries once per week. Valley Produce, which is a local business that has no delivery charge, delivers the produce needed about 3-4 times per week. Sunrise Produce delivers miscellaneous items such as to-go boxes and garbage bags. They deliver 3 times per week, with next day delivery and no delivery charge. Homestead delivers chicken and make deliveries twice a week. In addition, Inland Seafood is another business that delivers seafood, mainly their supply of sushi, once per week. Beverages are ordered and delivered from the Coca-Cola Company about every two weeks.
12. Menu The restaurant caters to lunch and dinner Special menus include a Children’s, Dessert, and a Wine list for the customers. Stir Fry Café is appealing to health-conscious customers with their vegetarian menu items as well. This selection of healthy food is in response to the growing industry trend of people wanting to eat healthier food items.
13. Obviously, this menu is easy to read, with its bold print and well-organized descriptions. It has a single page, double sided layout, which makes it easy to manage and hold. There are many categories of items. The menu fits the restaurant’s theme very well with its vibrant orange color. The featured item(s) are the ‘make your own dish’ items. This can come with steamed rice and your choice of an egg roll or soup.
14. Food examples The featured item(s) are the ‘make your own dish’ items. This can come with steamed rice and your choice of an egg roll or soup.
15. Alcoholic Beverages Alcoholic beverages accounts for 8-10% in sales. Stir Fry Café offers a full-bar including: 25 types of beer, 20 kinds of wines, four draft beers, and Saki (another reason this appeals to college students :P haha) The buying price should not exceed 30% of the selling price. This is how the cost of liquor is determined. The following equation gives the formula used to determine bottle cost Bottle cost x 100% + markup % = price of bottle
16. Determining food cost Food accounts for 90% of sales. Food cost is determined using the same method as that of beverage cost, except food is 33%. The following equation determines food cost: Item food cost / food cost percentage = menu price
17. Sushi The sushi selections is a very popular, and profitable food items for the restaurant. The sushi menu was recently added two years ago and now accounts for 20% of food sales. However, it is the most technical and time-consuming job in the kitchen. Their current sushi chef went to California to learn and specialize in different types of sushi.
18. Specials This restaurant offers daily specials on both food and drinks. Each day they have a different special. Ex. There is a half-price sushi and also a wine special on Wednesday nights that really appeals to college students. The restaurant also offers a $5 coupon in numerous school coupon books, if the customer spends $25. This results in the customer spending more money than usual, in order to get the special.
19. Sales Analysis Profits in the past year have actually increased in the past year, despite the declining economical conditions. Cathleen, the general manager, believes that their lower-end pricing and large portions of food have attracted customers who may have previously chosen a higher-end restaurant. Stir Fry Café uses a POS system to keep track of sales and inventory. There has not been a price increase in about two years, but an increase is foreseen in the near future.
20. New Items Introducing new items does not happen very often at Stir Fry Café. There has not been a menu change in years at the restaurant. However, when new items are introduced, the kitchen staff and servers test the new product. Then, it is featured as a special. If the featured item does well, then the owners will decide whether or not the item should be added. The price of the new item is determined using the same pricing equation as stated earlier, where it must have at least a 70 % markup from costs incurred in preparation.
21. Strengths The have the discount coupon book that circulates in the local schools. The have a new method of advertising through text messaging, which they hope will appeal to the younger age group. They have a very loyal staff and low turnover in labor in both the kitchen and the floor. They cater. The owners are GREAT!!!
22. Weaknesses Employee turnover Limited storage space Outside appearance did not match the inside. The inside was very inviting.
23. Recommendations They should offer live entertainment, such as a live band, like the branch in Turkey Creek offers. The manager said that it brings in more business. Since they close early on weekends (10:30pm), it would benefit them to stay open at least an extra thirty minutes approximately to bring in more of the younger crowd. They should make their logo more visible so that the restaurant is more easily recognized. They do not advertise very much, so to improve this they should place ads in local newspapers, especially the Beacon. Make the outside appearance of the restaurant more inviting and lively.
