Forty years ago, Ma started her restaurant on the route 7 in Millville, by the name of Ma’s Family Restaurant. Presently, the restaurant is run by her daughter, the general manager of the restaurant, Jane Stanley. The two sources of revenue for the restaurant are the dining room and the take-out business. The profits from the dining room have significantly declined during the recent past; whereas the take-out business has done considerably well, and provided steady streams of revenue for the past 5 years. The restaurant is at a very good location, which is at the junction of two very busy streets. Jane has tried at her level to make improvements in the service, but to no significant use, and it is obvious that the restaurant is in financial trouble (Davin).
Strengths
Following are the major strengths of Ma’s Family Restaurant:
- Ma’s Family Restaurant has an already established brand name and loyal customer base due to its 40 years of service, which are of great value for any business, particularly services and hospitality sector.
- The restaurant is quite famous for its food quality and good customer service. Since, the primary offering of the restaurant is the service and the food, it is very important to have a market image of good food and service provider.
- The location of the restaurant is also a strength of the restaurant. It is at the junction of two very busy streets, which is the perfect location for a restaurant, particularly one with a take-out service.
- Lastly, the take-out unit of Ma’s Family Restaurant is also a strength of the business, because this unit is running very well, and has provided Jane with a constant stream of money for the past five years.
Weaknesses
Following are the major weaknesses of Ma’s Family Restaurant:
- Over the period of time the dining room unit has become a weakness itself, because apparently there is very less demand of such business in the market at the present time, and it is acting as a source of cost and not a source of revenue.
- Another weakness of the restaurant is its poor marketing and positioning. The food is really good, the service is great, the location is very good, but still the sales are low. This shows that the restaurant is not being promoted properly.
- The exterior of the restaurant is also very poor, even some letters are missing from the sign, this portrays a very poor image of the restaurant, especially to new customers.
- Lastly, the inexperience of Jane has also become a weakness of the restaurant. Jane has not yet learnt how to manage the clients or her own staff.
Alternatives Available
Following are some of the alternate options available to Jane:
- Jane can sell the restaurant. It is a simple option, but selling the business would mean giving up a great business opportunity, since the restaurant obviously has great prospects.
- Jane can quit the dining hall and just run the take-out. Doing this seems logical because it involves less cost, and since the take-out business is already doing well, the risk would be low, too.
- Jane can ask her mother to come back, and help her out. This is not a very professional option, but Ma has a lot of experience which can certainly be of great use to Jane.
- Jane can also hire professional managers to run the restaurant.
- Presently, Jane does not focus on marketing at all; she can run the restaurant as it is, and just add more focus to the marketing, thus trying to attract more customers.
Decision and Plan of Action
Form the given alternatives, the best option is to quit the dining hall and put additional emphasis on the take-out service. The location of the restaurant is ideal for a take-out restaurant, and this unit has already provided Jane with a high profit margin for the past five years. By doing so Jane would be able to significantly reduce the costs and increase the profits at the same time.
In order to do this, Jane would first need to consult with all the related people, for instance in case any legal requirements or permits need to be acquired. She would also need to consult architects and interior designers. Most importantly, she would need to promote this action so that everyone knows about it. Even today the biggest weakness of the restaurant is the fact that there are no promotions of it. Furthermore, Jane may need to fire some present employees and hire some new ones.
Works Cited
Davin, Katie. “Ma’s Family Restaurant.” 1996, 2006, 2010. Print.