Menu Feedback appreciated.

I'd say the menu is very ambitious. Have you listed all the ingredients you'll need to execute that menu?

Volume makes all things possible. I'd eat everything on the menu, but without lots of volume that menu will be a nightmare. You'll not have enough turnover to keep things fresh. With volume, it will still take a lot of prep space and storage area.

There are a lot of ways to approach menu design. If you're doing the volume, you can do this menu, but I'd hate to have to keep things prepped and fresh for that menu for less than 400 covers a day average. (Kind of an arbitrary number, but it's in the ball park)

From my very recent experience, I agree with Max and Todd. Awesome sounding menu with lots of items, however a nightmare on food costs. If you can't sell through nearly every item on your grocery invoice every week it ends up as waste. Waste is the killer of restaurants. The more selections, the greater chance of waste. If you can turn all the tables twice in a night, you might come out OK.

Fellows, really appreciate the comments, will keep you all posted.

I would agree with the comments the folks offered. You can always start with a lighter line-up and grow larger. Although our place is only a little 28 seat counter-serve place (that gets packed at times), I could offer the following:

1. The menu offerings looks a bit lengthy, but that depends a lot on your past experience on handling it. Like others said, waste can be the killer...I know it first hand, especially if you want 'fresh' in your wording.
2. Your item descriptions sound a bit 'upscale' - I assume you know your clients and are matching what they are looking for.
3. No ribs ?
4. I love your logo - a contemporary look and feel.
5. Your website says 'coming spring of 2013', may want to say fall.
6. With your two SM-160's, don't be bashful to cook your beans in them for smoked baked beans. It's one of our best selling side dishes.
7. Didn't notice if you were offering your sandwich platters with a no-roll option. We get requests for no roll a lot.
8. It may be worth your looking into the Gluten-Free offerings many folks have. We have a strong following (and growing) as the word got out that we have several gluten free offerings. BBQ is naturally GF for the most part. The only Gluten containing products we have are the rolls, so not hard for us to avoid cross contamination. As a restaurant,you can get the commercial/restaurant rolls from 'Udi's'. Not like the retail super market stuff - they have a nice soft large roll that ships frozen. We like the roll because it's the same size and profile of our standard roll.

Best wishes getting your place open !

Rick

Thanks Rick, appreciate the feedback.

Restaurants I do consulting with are often guilty of never taking anything off the menu once added. Then they fail to track slipping sales for different items.

With modern POS systems there is no excuse not to track individual product sales. It produces data that will guide you in the right direction, without the emotional baggage that comes from taking "Mama's" signature dish off the menu. Data driven decision making vs. off the cuff seat-of-your-pants style is what sets the big boys apart from the wanna be's.

Start reasonably small, but use daily specials and track their sales. When you're ready to tune up your menu you'll have hard data about what sells and what doesn't. And when you take item "X" off the menu and Johnboy complains and says it's his favorite item, you can pull out the sales from last month and ask him why you only sold his favorite item 3 times in a month?

Todd;
Wise advice. We will definitely be using our POS to monitor sales, along with food costs.
We also plan to test menu items by overing them on daily specials, rather then on the main menu.
Thanks Todd.

That Todd guy seems to know his stuff. I always pay attention to his advise.

A good menu, a little busy but if you can do it and make a dollar, great!btw hows your market for wild salmon from the bay of fundy?

Louie.
Thanks for the feedback. Our chef used Bay of Fundy Salmon at his previous job. We have not priced it, nor nailed down a vendor. Might be Euclid Fish out of Cleveland area, or Curtze out of Erie.

The menu is still a work in progress. While our main focus is on BBQ, we want to offer items that will be enticing for someone that (hard to believe) does not want Q, or had some last week. Burgers, Flatbreads, Salads are very popular, as are a few Vegetarian and Gluten Free offerings.

Our Goals: Excellent Food, A fun/warm inviting establishment, Enlightened Hospitality.

I'm brand new around here but have been been consulting in restaurants for the past 5 years or so. Todd was spot on with what he said. Only thing I would add is smaller is better to start out. I always recommend the following for every restaurant I work with: 5 appetizers, 3 salads, 10 entrees, 3 desserts. This provides a great selection for your customers but doesn't overwhelm them, more importantly it allows you to do about 20 items perfectly every time instead of 50-60 items average.

Any time I walk into a restaurant and have to turn more than one page on a menu I get nervous as it typically means the food will be average at best.

Looking forward to seeing the full website and if I'm ever that way I'll be sure to check it out.

Thanks Hayne. I'll post newer version in a few days.