Food Cost 101 with LeRoy and Lewis

[Troutman]

Evan LeRoy of LeRoy and Lewis BBQ has become one of my favorite barbecue restauranters in the Austin area. His style of barbecue is "reimagined" by exploring how barbecue can be celebrated traditionally but also blended with other ingredients to come up with new and exciting creations. This is where I think barbecue needs to evolve to and something I strive to do in my own kitchen. There is of course the creative side to this approach but also, from the restaurant owner's point of view, a way to increase profit margins in a highly competitive field. No longer is it easy to get by making just the Texas trinity and serving it 3-4 days a week until you're sold out. That simply churns through dollars on a never ending hamster wheel.

Over the years I've been here there have been several requests from folks looking to start a catering business by selling their barbecue. They ask the same question, just how much should I charge? I've always been told by those who do it for a living that if you double your cost, you should be competitive and make a reasonable profit for your efforts. Evan LeRoy in this video takes it a step further and explains how they approach it in their restaurant. I thought it well worth watching for anyone interested in starting their own business venture in the wide world of barbecue.

[Jerod Broussard]

Chud's BBQ mentioned that they made more off the hamburgers from the brisket trim than the actual brisket. I guess plenty items on the burger to mark up.

[Troutman]

Brett Jackson (of Brett's BBQ Katy) told me at $32/pound for sliced brisket he barely breaks even. He feels like he can't charge any more or people will stop buying it so its a lost leader. That said, the trimmings they make into hamburgers and enchiladas that make them a 30% return so they get money on the back end. Tough business.

[Johnny Booth]

I have great respect for anyone who has figured out how to be successful in the ‘casual’ BBQ business. I fantasized about my own BBQ and Catering business for years. However, Day-in, Day-out; early mornings to cook, late nights for business. I love to BBQ as a hobby, but I think I would hate it if I had to do it for a living. 🤔

[Troutman]

It's a grind for sure, was in the business as a worker many years ago. No thanks. As a hobby its great. As a side hustle it can be fun, especially if you can make a few bucks off it.

[randy.56]

Thanks for sharing, this was very informative. I never wanted to be in the BBQ business, just wanted to make great Q at home. Cannot imagine running an establishment. Making a profit, dealing with employees, customers, food supplies, marketing, non food supplies. Real estate cost, with enough parking, Taxes state and federal on and on. Then how many hours you think that guy works per week? I'm getting exhausted thinking about it.

[Donw]

Not a life for many. My next door neighbors owned and ran one of the largest restaurants in Ocean City for over 40 years. Their daily routine was so structured you could set your watch by it. Monday thru Saturday she would leave home at 5AM. He would leave at 10AM on the dot. She would return home at 7PM and he would return at 3AM. Sunday was their only day off. This was their routine 51 weeks of the year as they did take one week off for vacation.

[randy.56]

What a life, She worked 14 hours a day, he worked 15.

[Andrrr]

Wow. I don't even want to do things I like that much

[SheilaAnn]

And don’t forget, just because you are not in the store, doesn’t mean you’re not working.

[dwlacroix]

Accountant rant - I’m sure there is some good info there, but I’m screaming at the screen about the poor math.- end rant

[Uncle Bob]

If this seems complicated to some, it can be. To make it "worse", this is just a portion of what a successful business is going to monitor/control. Historically, 80% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years, mainly because barriers to entry are comparatively low, and the business entrepreneur doesn't know what they don't know. They make the mistake of thinking that running the business is all about what the sign outside says the business does. That's just a small portion of reality. The rest is about keeping the lights on, keeping your government "partners" at bay, keeping employees productive, keeping customers coming to you, figuring out how to stay competitive, and on, and on.......

[MsTwiggy]

I spent my first 15 years in and out of restaurants and what I know is that in order to stay in the black and keep pricing so that it isn’t a limiting factor total food cost must be no more than 10% of operating expense. If that sounds like it would require creativity and resourcefulness then yeah, it ain’t easy 🔥🔥🐿️

[Uncle Bob]

In your market there have been some giants of restaurant success. Bud Gould owned Anthony's and Chinooks, Ron Cohn, Metropolitan Grill and Union St. Grill among others. There are others of note since Seattle is a foodie town. Local politics has probably made their business models much more difficult to maintain I would guess.