Preparing Your Coastal Café or Restaurant For The Busy Summer Season

As the warm breezes start to blow and the beach sands beckon, coastal café and restaurant owners gear up for the busiest, most vibrant season of the year: summer. With throngs of tourists and locals alike seeking refreshing meals by the sea, it’s crucial for your business to stand out with exceptional offerings. A significant factor in this pursuit of culinary excellence is the source of your ingredients, particularly meats. This is where Melbourne Meat Merchant comes into play, a name synonymous with quality, reliability, and bespoke services among meat wholesalers across Victoria.

Preparing for the Busy Summer Season: Tips and Strategies

Here are some essential tips and strategies to ensure your establishment is well-prepared for this busy period:

1. Review and Update Your Menu
   Consider updating your menu to include summer-friendly dishes. Focus on lighter fare, fresh ingredients, and seasonal specials. Using high-quality meats from Melbourne Meat Merchant can add a unique appeal to your offerings, attracting both new and returning customers.
2. Increase Stock and Manage Inventory Efficiently
   With higher customer volumes, it’s crucial to manage your inventory effectively. Speak with reliable suppliers like Melbourne Meat Merchant to ensure consistent quality and delivery of key ingredients. They deliver all year round so getting in touch early is a great idea.
3. Train and Staff Accordingly
   Ensure your staff is well-trained and prepared for the increased pace. Consider hiring seasonal staff to manage the extra workload. Well-trained staff can significantly improve customer experience and efficiency during busy times.
4. Optimise Your Kitchen and Display Fridges for Efficiency
   A busy kitchen needs to be a well-oiled machine. Streamlining kitchen operations, perhaps by incorporating pre-prepared meats and easy-to-assemble dishes, can drastically reduce serving times and enhance kitchen productivity. Talk to your butcher about what they can deliver pre-prepared and portioned to make your kitchen operations smooth. Place pvc strips on your refrigerated display fridges, enabling easy access while keeping pesky flies out.
5. Enhance Your Outdoor Seating
   If you have outdoor seating, make the most of it. Summer is the perfect time for diners to enjoy meals outdoors. A well-set, comfortable outdoor dining area can be a major draw for customers.
6. Leverage Marketing and Social Media
   Use social media and other marketing channels to promote your summer specials and events. Engaging with customers online can increase visibility and attract more patrons to your establishment.
7. Focus on Customer Experience
   During busy periods, maintaining a high level of customer service is key. Quick service, a welcoming atmosphere, and delicious food are essential to ensure customer satisfaction and encourage repeat visits.
8. Plan for Contingencies
   Be prepared for any unexpected situations, such as sudden weather changes. Having contingency plans in place can help you navigate these challenges smoothly. Luckily, Melbourne Meat Merchant deliver during the summer months so simply contact them for a plan to manage peak periods during this time.

It goes without saying that buying in larger quantities from a wholesale butcher reduces costs for your café, restaurant, independent grocery or food service venue. Larger purchases mean a lower unit cost. And butchers often offer special bonuses for regular customers. 

Buying wholesale meat usually means that you have to buy in standard-sized packs. Look for a wholesale butcher who will package in the numbers and weights that you need – providing you with the customised meat cuts that suit your service.

It’s a great way to reduce preparation time and waste, leading to further savings.

Whether it’s pre-pressed burger patties for a beachside shack or portion-controlled steaks for a high-end restaurant, their approach is tailored to each client’s specific needs. This personalisation is not just about meeting demands but also about nurturing a partnership that helps your café or restaurant grow and thrive.

Melbourne Meat Merchant offers customised solutions by working with clients to ensure their expert butchers package in the numbers and weights that cafes and restaurants need – providing you with customised meat cuts that suit your service.

This service is not just about convenience; it’s a strategic move to help you save on kitchen wages and reduce prep time without compromising on quality.

One of the defining strengths of Melbourne Meat Merchant is their unwavering reliability. They understand the ebb and flow of the hospitality industry, especially in coastal areas. This is why they offer year-round service without minimum order requirements. Such flexibility allows small cafes and large restaurants alike to order exactly what they need, when they need it, ensuring freshness and reducing waste. Of course, if you prefer to stock additional meat you can do so by storing it on site or with additional temporary cold storage.

Melbourne Meat Merchant stands out for their ‘paddock to plate’ and ‘nose to tail’ philosophy, ensuring high-quality, ethically sourced meats. Their personalised service, tailored to each client’s specific needs, along with a commitment to reducing kitchen prep time through ready-prepared meats, sets them apart. They also continue to deliver their great service throughout the summer months ensuring your supplies are ever low.

They have a rigorous selection process for their farmers, ensuring that all meats are sourced from ethical and sustainable environments. Their close relationships with these farmers allow them to maintain a high standard of quality, from the farm to your kitchen.

Absolutely! They specialise in customising their offerings to fit the unique needs of each client, whether it’s specific cuts of meat, portion sizes, or unique preparations, like Halal. Their team works closely with clients to ensure their menu requirements are met with the highest standards.

Beyond supplying quality meats, they offer consultation on menu planning, insights on food trends, and advice on maximising kitchen efficiency. Their goal is to be more than just a supplier, but a partner in your business’s success.

One of the key benefits of Melbourne Meat Merchants is their flexibility, including no minimum order requirements. This allows businesses of all sizes to order exactly what they need, ensuring freshness and reducing waste.

Their reliable year-round service is especially beneficial during the summer. With their efficient delivery and range of ready-prepared meats, they can help streamline your kitchen operations, allowing you to focus on serving the increased number of customers efficiently.

Melbourne Meat Merchant isn’t your average meat wholesaler. Their paddock to plate approach ensures that every cut of meat comes from carefully chosen farms, where animals are raised in natural, humane conditions. This philosophy extends to their nose to tail ethos, which respects and utilises every part of the animal, reflecting their commitment to sustainability and quality.

Contact our expert butchers today