“Veggie lasagna. It’s a new recipe. Low-cal, but still tons of flavor. We’ll see, I guess, right?”
“Well, it smells delicious,” Emma said and started getting plates and silverware from the kitchen. They filled their plates and poured the wine, then settled comfortably at Grams’ dining room table.
“So,” Mandy began, “Emma, tell us everything. How was your day? What was it like? Should I be nervous about tomorrow?”
“No, don’t be nervous. Gary is a doll. He’ll walk you through everything,” Emma assured her and told them all about her day, ending with the realization that they may have been visited by a food critic.
“Do you remember his name?” Mandy asked.
“Why, are you up on who the local food critics are?” Jill asked, and Emma chuckled. She’d been wondering the same thing.
“I may recognize the name.” She seemed serious, so Emma tried to recall the name. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
“I don’t remember his first name. Last name may have been Connor.”
“I don’t think he’s a food critic.” Mandy chewed her bottom lip for a moment, then continued.
“He may be a consultant that Cory hired. I just didn’t think he’d start so soon.”
“Start what? Why would Cory hire a consultant to eat a bunch of food at our restaurant?” Jill demanded, her tone a mix of annoyance at Cory’s interference and curiosity to know what he was up to.
Mandy helped herself to another slice of lasagna before settling back into her seat and beginning to fill them in on news that she knew they wouldn’t be happy about. “Well, you know how we brought the financials home to look through? I took the initial look and was concerned enough to ask Cory to review everything and advise us on what we should do.”
“What’s wrong?” Emma asked.
“Well, I was planning to tell you all this over dinner anyway, so here’s the scoop. Mimi’s Place is barely breaking even. For the past seven years, profits and overall revenues have been steadily decreasing from year to year and expenses have gone up. Not a good combination.”
“But nothing seems to have changed,” Jill said. “Every time I’ve been there it’s been busy.”
“Well, think about when we usually go there,” Mandy pointed out. “Almost always for a special occasion, which means a busy Saturday night, which is their best night.”
“You’re right.” Emma had a thoughtful look on her face. “It’s funny you mention that about nothing changing. It’s like time has stood still there. The menu hasn’t changed much over the years. I also noticed earlier today that while the room still has that cozy atmosphere, the carpet is looking a bit worn, and overall it just feels a little faded.”
“So, what did Cory suggest?” Jill asked as she reached for more salad.
“The Gordon Ramsay approach. You know that show of his? Not the chef competition, the other one where he evaluates and fixes restaurants that aren’t working?”
Emma smiled. “Kitchen Nightmares. It’s a great show. Peter and I used to love watching it.”
“That’s it! So Cory did something similar. He knows a great restaurant consultant, someone his old company used when they were thinking of investing in a restaurant chain. He hired him to make a series of visits, try the food, see how the place operates, and then put together a recovery plan. Ideas we can implement to turn things around.”
“That sounds expensive.” Emma’s voice had a note of worry. “Where will the money come from?”
“Well, as Cory says, you have to spend money to make money. This will be investing in the business.” Mandy could see the others were less enthused.
“Yes, but Emma has a good point, where does the money come from for this?” Jill asked.
“Cory is paying for the consultant. But he also discovered that Mimi’s Place has a line of credit that has barely been touched, and that’s what we can tap into for any money we need to put into the restaurant changes.”
“Oh good.” Emma seemed relieved.
“Do we have any idea what we’ve gotten ourselves into?” Jill said.
“Well, let’s look at it like an adventure.” Mandy smiled as she reached for her wine.
“You always did look on the bright side,” Emma commented as she topped off her wine glass and without asking, refilled Mandy’s and Jill’s as well. “I admit, I did enjoy today at the restaurant. I loved the energy and the overall atmosphere and of course, the food.”