SFSU ID #: 910853871
Sandwich Shop Business Plan The Sandwich Shop is a simple idea with a strong backbone. Simple should mean easy to follow through with. On the contrary, many businesses have lost sight of this simple concept and by focusing on one thing we will come out on top. We will summarize and concisely illustrate our target audience, location strategies, customers, day to day operations, and much more. After reading this business plan, you will gain knowledge to our mission statement, ideas, and goals. Mission Statement At the Sandwich Shop, we know people are tired of hearing “made fresh daily” only to be let down. We strive to perfect a single concept, which is to provide ready to make sandwiches with ingredients procured from the local community. We want our customers to have 100 % confidence the food we offer is truly made fresh everyday. Concept We always hear guarantees from other food establishments that promise how fresh their ingredients are. Subway, for example, has exploded in popularity with their allure of fresh sandwiches made to order can also help people lose weight without sacrificing their taste buds (Wong, 2013). But, anyone who has ordered and ate from Subway can attest that their lettuce, olives, guacamole, and meats are prepackaged and shipped to each franchise store. Sandwiches in their ads always outshine the real product which appears to be smushed up and wilted (Consumer Reports, 2014). Sure, it is not rotten or rancid but it sure is not “fresh” in all definitions of the word. With the rise of health conscious consumers rising rapidly, the demand 1
SFSU ID #: 910853871
for a quick, easy, delicious, and most importantly fresh foods to eat is rising as well (Blanc, 2014). By narrowing our focus to one specific concept such as providing fresh ingredients and pushing through with it, will give our customers incentive to purchase from our shop rather than the competitors who get their produce pre­portioned in a plastic bag. Location and Customers A popular area for people who want a quick and healthy bite to eat would be in a city’s downtown. Workers in high rise office buildings would be our ideal customer base. These workers will want something quick, fresh, and delicious within walking distance from their workplace. Surveys have noted that office workers are taking less time for lunch on average and some workers forgo lunch entirely (Hooten, 1996). These people have limited time for lunch and would appreciate a sandwich shop that is close to their workplace. Many of the reasons office workers choose to skip lunch is because of the pressure to finish work on time. Many employees do not have the leisure to wait to be seated at a restaurant continuing to wait for their lunch to be cooked. Which gives more incentive to have a sandwich shop in the vicinity. Settling on a location in San Francisco’s mission or financial district, which is filled with office workers in all hours of the day, would produce the most optimum results in reaching our target consumer (​
www.sanfranciscodays.com​
). We are hoping to serve around 150­200 people per day. Ideally, since the area is densely compacted by several high rise buildings, any location within a 5­10 minute walk would be perfect (Calvert, 2014). We will have a deli style set up for the cured meats and have produce in the walk in fridge. We will only cut the vegetables when an order is made, ensuring that the quality of the ingredients. While this will undoubtedly take more 2
SFSU ID #: 910853871
time to make a sandwich, it will make all the difference in quality. We will wrap the sandwiches in plain brown wax paper and multiple sandwiches will be stacked in brown bags with the sandwich shop’s name on the bag, address and phone number. We will serve primarily at lunch hours so from 10­4 pm as to attract all possible customers. The main focus will be the office workers and since they are all clustered into a small area then we would not be missing out of other customers in the surrounding area. We will have two­to­four small tables outside of the shop but will primarily be a to­go shop. Food Preparation Even though we will be open for six hours, employees will work for a full 8 hours a day. They will be coming in two hours early to prepare the bread for the sandwiches and also make soup stock and soup for the two soups of the day. Stock takes many hours to prepare so workers will be preparing soup stock for the future dates.We will source from local farms, delis, and markets to secure fresh local ingredients. Most of the time for preparation would be taken away since we would do most of the cutting/slicing of vegetables when a customer orders a sandwich. This is also to preserve flavor and nutrition within the vegetables. Produce loses and expires at a faster rate when cut than when in their original state (Gardner, 2014). They lose their vibrant colors, oxygen increases the rate of decomposition which in turn cuts down the flavor as well (Gardner, 2014). Deli meats will be cut with a slicer as per sandwich order so they will stay in their whole state. Cured meats can be kept for a long time without risk of going bad. 3
SFSU ID #: 910853871
Only slicing off a piece when necessary will lessen the surface area for contamination (faculty.weber.edu). Menu The menu for our sandwich shop will be selective because ingredients are generally the same besides the meat. We will offer a variety of deli sandwiches that will be made to order such as turkey, ham, roast beef, bologna, and chicken. Customer will be able to choose any of the sandwiches and side selections of either a made to order salad or soup. Our salads will be chopped by order and tossed with a either a caesar, balsamic vinaigrette, or sesame soy dressings. Soup will have two options every day with some alternating two­three times a week. Some staple soups will be tomato bisque, french onion, and minestrone. Because we will have the same menu year round, some customers would feel bored but sticking to the basics is our strong point and though customers will stray, our goal is to make them crave the familiar tastes eventually returning to us. We will be keeping track of statistics and changing trends to improve or further strengthen on social media sites such as yelp. Depending on the popularity of our shop, we may move onto partnering up with grubhub, a online/mobile delivery system partnered with many restaurants, for delivery options for our customers who want to eat but can not physically leave the office. Handing out comment cards or even asking repeat customers what they like or dislike about the shop will provide valuable information. Conclusion 4
SFSU ID #: 910853871
The most important concept of the Sandwich Shop is our strong base in being true to our mission of providing fresh foods. With new and upcoming shops, the old trends and values such as convenience over health are starting to die out. But one thing that will never go out of style is fresh food. With the ever changing consumer base, we will strive to stay true to our mission statement of giving our customers a truly fresh product that is familiar to them and at the same time doing all we can to ensure customer satisfaction.
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SFSU ID #: 910853871
References Hooten, K., Wilhite, G., & Laws, J. (1996). Fewer U.S. workers do lunch, survey finds. Occupational Health & Safety, 65​
(7), 12. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/221046962?accountid=13802 Wong, V. (2013, April 18). Subway Tops McDonald's as No. 1 Worker Lunch Spot. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013­04­18/subway­tops­mcdonalds­as­no­dot­1­worker­
lunch­spot Fast food fare isn't picture­perfect. (2014, February 1). Retrieved October 8, 2014, from http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/02/fast­food­not­as­pictured/index.htm Blanc, M. (2014, May 12). Implications Of Growing Consumer Health Awareness In the US. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from http://www.bidnessetc.com/21787­mcdonalds­corporation­nyse­mcd­news­analysis­implications
­of­rising­consumer­health­awareness­in­the­us/ Downtown/Financial District. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2014, from http://www.sanfranciscodays.com/financial­district/ Calvert, K. (n.d.). The Financial District in San Francisco. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from Downtown/Financial District. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2014, from http://www.sanfranciscodays.com/financial­district/ Gardner, A. (n.d.). Keeping Vegetables at Their Prime. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/icooks/article9­1­02.html Microorganisms and Food Spoilage. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2014, from http://faculty.weber.edu/coberg/class/3853/3853 MOs and Food Spoilage notes.htm 6