49-044 Give Hope

"Why?　You're sure they'll come, right?

Yes, they will come. But whether it will be profitable is another matter.

What?

Why?　Aella nodded her head.

Yeah, it's cute.

I'm glad I brought Natsuki.

I wouldn't have been able to say anything harsh to Aella. --No, I probably would, but it would hurt my feelings.

"This daily special is 50 rare, right?

Yes!　Yes! I'm proud of it!　I'm very proud of it! I make it with a lot of thought for color and variation of ingredients.

Yes, it's amazing. This is the first time I've seen such a dish in this city.

"Yes, it is!

Aella said happily, but her smile froze again when Natsuki spoke next.

But will it be profitable?

"If we sell a lot of ......?

She averts her gaze slightly and says something like that.

How much, exactly?

A hundred plates. But that's selling at a very low profit!　By offering only one type of food, you lower your costs and sell cheap and tasty food. The profit per dish may be small, but if you sell a lot of dishes, you can make a good profit!

Did they tell you that?

Yes!

No.

What?　Is that a lie?

No, I'm not lying. But the premise is different. You just said that you can make a profit from over 100 dishes. How many seats does this restaurant have?

How many seats does this restaurant have?" "Twenty-six, fully occupied.

The restaurant is quite spacious, with only five tables for four and six seats at the counter.

Compared to the size of the restaurant, the capacity is small.

That means we have to do at least four turns for lunch. Assuming you leave in half an hour, that's two hours. This time itself may be acceptable, but you're the only one here, aren't you, Aella?

Yes.

You may not have to spend time cooking if you've prepared the food, but you have to prepare all that food, bring it to the table, pay the bill, and clean up when the customers leave. Can you do that in less than a minute per person?

.........

When it comes to thin profit margins in restaurants, gyudon (beef bowl) restaurants and hamburger stores are the best examples, but they are only possible because they are fast food.

The faster the food is served, the shorter the time it takes to eat it, and in some cases, people take it home and don't stay in the restaurant.

This increases the turnover rate of customers, but the atmosphere of this restaurant is the exact opposite.

This is not the kind of lunch you can take home, but rather a place where you can sit back and enjoy your meal.

If they are aiming for low profit, they need to pack more tables and change the layout so that people don't want to stay long and just eat standing up.

If you want to make a profit, you need to change the layout so that people don't want to stay long.　You may be able to work in parallel to some extent, but isn't that a bit much?

Do you want to hire a ...... person to do that?

If you hire people, you need to make a profit. If it's just you, Aella, you might be able to get by without making a loss. But if you hire people, you need to make a profit. Do you sell 200 lunches?　Eight revolutions, four hours. That's a little too long for lunch. If you do, how much profit do you make?　If it's a low-margin business, the margins are pretty thin.

............

Nah, Natsuki, stop!　Aella, stop! You're making me cry!

Yeah, yeah!　I understand your point. I understand, but you have to go a little easier on her!

Aella was completely beaten up.

She's really getting teary-eyed.

He's not raising his voice, he's speaking calmly, but it hurts a lot because it's hard to argue with him. Mentally.

"Really?　If you want to improve your business condition, I don't think it makes sense to say something nice.

If it was someone who had nothing to do with this, it would have been a simple case of 'you opened a restaurant with a naive idea and crashed it,' but when it was a classmate who suggested it, coupled with Aella's appearance, the sense of guilt was overwhelming.

"Well, well, well. I understand that Aella's method is no good. I get it. You get it too, right, Aella?

"...... Guffaw. Yes, yes.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.　What is it?

I'm not sure what to say, but I'm sure you'll understand.

It's a little bit of that, but ...... it's just the shallow wisdom of a student, you know?

I'm not sure what to make of it.

I'm sure it will get better if we all think about it based on that. I believe so!

Rather, let me believe that.

I'm not the one who brought in the guards.

Put up a sign in front of the store first. That's confirmed. But you should raise the price for lunch. The taste and the atmosphere. It's obviously too cheap considering that. We should sell at least 20 dishes, preferably 10 to make a profit.

"Then you don't have to do a full rotation at lunch. You can enjoy the atmosphere of this restaurant and dine at your leisure. I think that's what we should aim for.

What do you think, Aella?

It depends on how much you want to make, but if you make it around ......100 rare, you'll have room.

I'm sure you'll be able to afford it. You can adjust it according to the turnover rate and the number of customers.

If you are selling at a low profit margin, you have to make a large quantity of food, and the profit margin will deteriorate because you expect to discard the food.

If the product is sold out, there will be no loss even if the cost ratio is high to some extent.

If you reduce the turnover rate, you can make a profit from drinks and side dishes. In general, the profit margin on drinks is high ......, isn't it?

Yes. This Musk tea is also made from good tea leaves, but the only work involved is boiling the water and making the tea, so the profit margin is high.

Oh, it's delicious, isn't it, this tea?

The tea has a black tea color, a nice aroma, and a slight sweetness.

It has no astringency or peculiarity, so it is easy to drink.

Looking at the menu, the price is 35 Reais.

It's cheaper than the coffee shop I've been to before, but more expensive than a typical diner.

Of course, ordinary restaurants do not have such good tea.

Also, you might want to rethink your menu a bit, considering your target customer base.

"Customer base? ......

Aera-san pondered over this.

You built the restaurant without giving much thought to it - or rather, you built it according to what the self-proclaimed consultant said.

What do you two think?

"I wouldn't serve alcohol at all during the day. I would not serve any alcohol at all during the day, and only a few expensive drinks at night. I'd limit the number of drinks served at night to a small number of expensive ones, and I'd set the price of the evening meal a little higher.

"Well, I don't think there are many restaurants that don't serve alcohol, why is that?

First of all, there's nothing wrong with people who drink during the day!

When I argued forcefully, Aera-san smiled as if troubled.

You know, isn't that really prejudice ......?

"Well, I don't deny that. I'm sure there are some decent ones. However, if you look at the cafeterias around here, you will see people drinking and making noise in the cafeteria in the daytime.　When people like that come in, it destroys the atmosphere of this restaurant that I spent so much money to build.

The store itself is good, even though it was built with the help of others.

I think it would be more successful to make it a relatively inexpensive restaurant where you can enjoy a classy atmosphere.

If you do the same thing as other restaurants, the interior design will be wasted.

When I explained this, Aella nodded her head in agreement.

And even if we increase the number of drinks, they will get old if they are not consumed enough, right?

"Oh, yes. Especially ale, it will deteriorate rapidly.

Also, I'm worried about you, Aella.

What?

If you serve cheap alcohol, people will inevitably get drunk, right?　I may hire someone in the future, but for now, I'm just Aella, and I think it's dangerous.

"Nao-san ......

I'm not sure what to make of this.

I think you should put up a blackboard in your restaurant and write down your menu. I think we should put up a blackboard in the restaurant and write the menu on it.

"Oh, yes, you're right. Yes, that may be true.

If the menu is not like a diner, but a little more elegant, hanging it on the wall will not destroy the atmosphere of the restaurant.

As a result of our discussions, we decided to target women and civil servants living in the area, and to limit the number of drinks to only soft drinks.

Instead, we will increase the number of high-priced snacks to ensure profit.

In the evening, it was decided that the restaurant would be open only by reservation, and would serve a fine meal for anniversaries.

Will it be okay?　I have some confidence in my skills, but when it comes to fine dining, ......

"It will be fine. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's that good at lunch, and I'm sure they'll only take reservations from those who come for lunch.

Oh. Even compared to the coffee shops on the main street, it's enough to win if people know about it.

The skill of the food itself is high enough, so as long as you can promote it, that's all that matters.

Besides, unless you want to increase the number of staff, this is the limit if you plan to run the business alone.

If you take into account the preparation of the food, you may have to work without sleep if you plan to stay open at night.

The father of a similarly sized restaurant, Kumatei, is ripe, but I think he is an exception. It is a wonder why the restaurant serves food without problems.

Hmmm, I think I'd like to target the morning crowd.　I think it's a waste of time when there are so many commuters passing by.

'If you're a commuter, maybe a takeaway lunch?　Aella, what do you have for me?

Takeaway ......, please wait a moment.

After a while, Aera-san brought me something on a plate that looked like a meat wrapped rice ball.

When I cut it and tried it, what I found inside was something like mashed potatoes.

It was like a croquette with a thin slice of meat in the batter.

It's good.

If it were sold near the inn, I'd buy one or two before going to work.

Judging from the expressions on Yuki and the others' faces, it seemed to suit their taste buds as well.

They're on a plate now, but we sell them wrapped in leaves. They cost about 10 Reais each.

"Wow, they are delicious. I've never seen them before, are they common?

I don't know. I've never seen it before. Is it common? - I don't know. In the city where I trained, there were some places that sold it. ......

I've never seen it in this city.

Not even in the neighboring city of Sarstad. I'm sure this will sell well.

Yes, I know it's a bit busy in the morning, but why don't you sell these early in the morning in front of your store?　If it's only ten rares, people might buy it just to try it out, and since it's delicious, more people might come to the store after eating it.

"I see. ...... I'll try my best!

I'll try my best!

I'm not sure what to do.　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm going to try.

The only variation ...... is to change the taste of the meat and potatoes inside. ......

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

Hmmm, if I had a thick sauce, I could make 'katsu sandwiches'.

"A thick sauce?　How about an inspirational sauce?　I don't know about pork cutlet sandwiches, but...

"Inspirational sauce?　What's that?

Oh, I don't know if you've heard of it, Yuki. It's common among elves. ...... Hey, Nao-san.

Oh, you're shouting at me now?

Of course not.

"Sorry, I don't know.

"Huh?　Is that so?　I thought most families made it. ...... Would you like to taste it?　I brought the original from my parents' house, but I used ingredients that are available around here, so it's a little different from our family's taste. Please wait a moment.

After saying that, she went back to the kitchen, but soon came back and presented us with a small palm-sized plate.