Funky Fresh

I live in a small mountain town in Colorado and I love sushi. These two things do not always come together in the best of ways. Now, before coastal readers say that eating raw fish while inland is equivalent to gastral Hari-Kari, let me just say that I’ve had good sushi in Colorado.  

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I’ve also had amazing sushi in Japan – so I feel that I have a valid point of reference. There have been times, however, that mountain sushi has been not so good.
There was one local sushi restaurant in particular that I frequented quite often, mostly due to the close proximity to my home. The sushi had always seemed fresh and delicious – never great – but, generally tasty. As a few months of patronage at the restaurant went by I noticed that there appeared to be fewer and fewer diners coming in. The owners seemed to maintain the freshness and flavor of their product, but empty restaurants can be scary for not only owners, but diners as well. In fact, eating at an empty sushi restaurant is a lot like playing cards in an scarcely populated casino. You begin to wonder if it’s worth the gamble. The only difference is, when you lose at a casino you and your money are soon parted – when you lose at a sushi restaurant you could be recently departed. Such was my dilemma and it nearly cost me dearly.
I ordered a sushi platter to take home from the restaurant on my way home from work one night. After picking it up and arriving at home, I opened the container from the restaurant and noticed something different about the Nori. All my fish had been peppered. I had never seen ground black pepper on sushi before. I suspiciously lifted a piece of raw, peppered tuna to my nose. It smelled a bit like hot garbage wrapped in a used diaper. I threw out the sushi and never went back. Two weeks later, the restaurant had closed.
The takeaway here is that even when times get tough in your restaurant – which is unfortunately altogether possible in the current economy – you cannot compromise the quality or freshness of your product. Your regulars will notice and they will be disappointed! Yep – one surefire way to drive away even your most loyal customers is to make cuts where they will be noticed by them.
Sometimes in this business you have to take a short-term loss in order to produce long-time gains. As owners, chefs, and managers, individuals must be constantly vigilant in ensuring that corners are not cut in order to save a buck or two.
My dad always said, “watch the pennies and the dollars will follow.” That is very true, but it’s got to be done right. There are many ways to cut expenses that don’t leave your guests upset and your coffers dry. For more information on how to ensure quality during good times and bad, or to analyze your expenses to look for opportunities, please reach me at petegentzler@yahoo.com! Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Until next time…mangi bene e sia bene! Grazie!