How One Restaurateur Successfully Addressed Increasing Costs
Like many restaurateurs, increasing costs were putting a strain on Shaun Kanchwala’s business and finances. Shaun, the owner of Taylor Street Pizza in Carpentersville, IL, had to make a choice: switch to less expensive ingredients, accept lower profits, or increase prices and risk losing customers.
“As I thought about it, I really did not have a choice,” said Shaun. “If I lowered food quality, I would lose existing customers and fewer new customers would become regulars. If I accepted lower profits, I could eventually go out of business. I knew I had to raise our prices, but I needed to do it without losing customers.”
SpellBrite was a critical part of Shaun’s solution. SpellBrite is our "click together" LED signage system that looks like neon, but has none of the drawbacks. Shaun knew owners of other restaurants that used SpellBrite custom signs to successfully differentiate their offerings and highlight promotions. “You can’t miss these signs – they grab your attention.”
To announce that the price for two pizza slices was now $5.50, an increase from $5.00, Shaun bought the SpellBrite sign “ANY 2 SLICES $5.50”. The cost of the sign was under $400, much less than quotes for a comparable neon sign. Because the SpellBrite system is modular, if Shaun’s costs changed or if he wanted to test different promotions, Shaun could easily change the price or the entire message.
Shaun was thrilled with the results: he had feared that unit sales would drop, but they actually increased over 10%. “A bright sign with a compelling message really does pull in more customers! If I lost any customers from the price increase, it was more than made up by new customers drawn in by the SpellBrite sign. The unit sales increase of 10%+ and the price increase of 10% combined to increase slice revenue by more than 20%, and most of this went to the bottom line. The slice promotion also increased sales of other food and beverage products. The sign paid for itself within weeks. We will definitely buy SpellBrite signs for all 10 of our stores.”
Taylor Street Pizza: www.taylorstpizzacarpentersville.com