Holland, Mich. (WZZM) -- It came as good news to workers and loyal customers. Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant in Holland announced it will not have to close its doors for part of the year like it did in 2009.
Last year the economy and the winter slow-down forced owners to shut down in the months of february and march, temporarily laying off 50 people.
Operating Partner Chris Hart says the restaurant learned a difficult but very valuable lesson, in an economy like this you either adapt or die.
Well unfortunately the economy like, the rest of Michigan hit us hard last year and we were forced after the end of last year, December, to take a look at our year and it was pretty evident that the volume wasn't coming in, said Hart.
The restaurant, Which sits right on lake Macatawa, gets the bulk of it's business, about 1,000 people a day, during the summer months. Despite having some loyal customers who frequent the place, winter puts a deep freeze on their profits, generating about half the business, and last year was the worst.
Absolutely. We have over 200 seats outside. So we have the majority of our seating outside in the summer time. So they are not coming outside to sit on the patio in the winter time unfortunately, he said. We had tried a lot of promotional things, pricing deals and that really didn't work for us and we were unfortunately forced to close for 2 months to regroup."
Regrouping meant brainstorming to find the best places to trim costs during rest of the year so they could keep doors open in February and March.
Hart says, we looked literally at everything. Literally every single line our profit loss statement we looked at and we looked at ways we could reduce costs and make us more efficient."
He said one of the first things they looked at was their meal periods. During the winter months the restaurant does not draw a big crowd large enough to cover costs during the lunch hours. Hart says they also examined the which days were the slowest of the week.
The restaurant restructured its days and hours of operation, closing during the lunch hours and on Monday and Tuesday.
It was a simple move that made a big difference.
It made us a lot more effective and efficient the rest of the week and our guests got used to the schedule, said Hart. We dropped our costs probably 40% from what we did the previous year. The other thing that really helped us out was our banquet and catering business. We had a great year last year. I think word has finally gotten out. We've been marketing it and working it hard.
He says their effort is indicative of how businesses must adapt to an ever changing environment to keep the doors open.
The other part we are fortunate to have is our staff. When we closed last year, this is a great story, I was afraid we were going to lose all of our staff. Every one of our employees came back which is unbelievable, from hourly people to our managing people all came back and hung with us all year, Hart said.
He says the employees appreciate their hard work to survive the economy and so do the customers.
Hart said, literally 4 people pulled me aside in the dining room tonight thanking us for staying open and said how wonderful it was we were going to be able to stay open and it thank them. Obviously they are the reason we are able to stay open but that is the loyalty of the guests that are here.
For more information on their hours visit Boatwerks website at www.boatwerksrestaurant.com
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