By: Zhivko Popov, Hospitality Industry Consultant
I have over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry both in the United States and the European Union. My experience varies from working as a busboy to eventually serving as the Director of Operations overseeing multiple establishments for one of the largest country golf and business club companies in the world.
One of my achievements was as a Turn-Around Specialist hired to bring a local restaurant back to profitability. After evaluating the day to day operations, I assessed that the restaurant’s financial problems resulted from overspending, over-ordering and over-staffing by the owner, the executive chef and floor manager. Once I communicated the issues to the owner and management, we were able to seamlessly solve the problem. In about two months the restaurant was no longer reporting losses and, in three months, gained its profitability. The owner was so pleased with my problem solving skills that asked me to stay another week past my scheduled departure date in order to familiarize the staff with the new practices I had implemented to ensure profitability.
However, my commitment and passion for ensuring the success of the restaurant did not end after making it profitable: I decided to increase the restaurants clientele and revenue even further. After conducting thorough research on the area, I learned that most of the surrounding buildings were leased to a governmental agency. Knowing that this agency is one of the largest event organizer in the country, I advised the owner to lease available space in the lobby of the building where the restaurant was situated to serve as additional seating space. After negotiating for a week with the building’s management, the lessor agreed to customize the space to suit our needs and transformed it to a small conference center. During the renovation I approached the General Service Administration (GSA) and entered the restaurant into their database of approved vendors. I also hired and supervised a Federal Contract Specialist to aggressively promote the restaurant to other various governmental agencies. The owner was very satisfied with my strategy; Six months later the restaurant had its first conference with 210 attendees, following which three other agencies booked another three conferences for 180, 250, and 110 people, respectively. Only six months after acquiring the additional space in the lobby, the restaurant had increased profits by over 80% percent. As a result, the restaurant was able to expand its operations and hire a Catering Manager, Assistant Catering Manager, and several new servers.
For question, please contact me at zpopovusa@gmail.com
