As the tennis whites come out and queues begin at Wimbledon, one locally based restaurateur preps for his busiest time of the year. Having successfully become host of the local “tennis trattoria”, owner Ghigo Berni speaks to how a small restaurant can prep for a two week, 400% increase during the world’s most renowned sporting event.
San Lorenzo has been a proud family-run small business under the Berni name since 1969. Although a local favourite year round, San Lorenzo prides itself on the two weeks a year when tennis players, agents, sports journalists, and tournament and tennis aficionados descend in droves to get their annual bite of Italian comfort food.
How to feed a 400% increase in customers
Indeed, this yearly challenge sees San Lorenzo rise to the occasion. He feeds a whopping 400% increase in customers in the short but exhilarating time that is Wimbledon. Where a small business might easily be pushed out of its comfort zone with such a dramatic increase, San Lorenzo welcomes its new arrivals with an enthusiastic smile.
A seasoned professional, Ghigo looks to manage the influx weeks ahead of the tournament. This means checking stock levels and pre-ordering the majority of their supplies well in advance in order to amortise these costs over a longer period. And much like the athletes in the the run up to Wimbledon, the restaurant makes sure it’s running at peak performance. This includes overall maintenance and handling any last minute repairs needed.
“For all of our planning and preparing ahead of the games, I use Xero. It helps keep track of our finances in busy times like Wimbledon, and in our day-to-day bookkeeping,” says Ghigo. “Because it provides me with convenient access to our cash flow in real time — whether that be on a computer, tablet or phone — it’s proven immeasurably handy when pressed for time and I need to make instant decisions.”
“It’s imperative to keep an eye on your cash flow”
Of course, it’s not just about the finances or maintenance work, at the end of the day running a restaurant is a very customer-oriented business. To help manage the increase in customer numbers and ensure the staff is fully supported, Ghigo will double up on floor staff and add at least three extra back of house kitchen staff to help prep during the lull periods. With an efficient kitchen, orders go out quickly and hungry customers coming in from the games are kept happy.
Commenting on the peaks and troughs Wimbledon brings, Ghigo says, “It’s quite easy to let your books get in a mess during a manic rush like Wimbledon. When you’ve brought on extra staff and supplies it’s imperative to keep an eye on cash flow, because all too easily payroll and outstanding invoices might overtake the increase in profits. However, when you have a reliable mechanism in place like Xero that gives you a clear picture of your finances, it’s definitely possible to set aside some of that extra money to see you through leaner weeks.”
As Ghigo prepares for this year’s Wimbledon, he looks forward to greeting familiar faces both on and off the court. While it may not be all fun and games, it’s a cherished time of the year and San Lorenzo will be well positioned to serve with Xero in their court.
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