(Nate, Mackenzie, Tony, and Syhare)

I knew going into the restaurant business that controlling costs – labour and food in particular – was a crucial part of the puzzle. In fact, I am told by people much smarter than me, that no restaurant can be profitable without being ever vigilant about labour and food.

I also know that when we opened (all of 75 days ago) that we would be heavy on staff in order to ensure that the customer experience was satisfactory in our opening weeks. We did that. In the last couple of weeks we have been working hard to making our labour cost much more efficient. Payroll has been reduced to 38% of what it was when we first opened. This is good for the business but it means that we are not able to give lots of our staff the hours that they want.

I didn’t anticipate this and I find it hard. It’s no fun to have to tell someone that they are a great employee but that I cannot give them enough hours. It’s this part of business – the ruthless part – that I am no good at.