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Ready to Serve: The Business of Wimbledon

Ready to Serve: The Business of Wimbledon

As the tennis whites come out and queues begin at Wimbledon, one locally based restaurateur preps for his busiest time of the year. Having successfully become host of the local “tennis trattoria“, owner Ghigo Berni speaks to how a small restaurant can prep for a 400% increase in business for the two weeks a year they host one of the world’s most renowned sporting events.

San Lorenzo has been a proud family-run small business under the Berni name since 1969. Although a local favourite year round, San Lorenzo prides itself on the two weeks a year when tennis players, agents, sports journalists, tournament and tennis aficionados descend in droves to get their annual bit of Italian comfort food.

How to feed a 400% increase in customers

Indeed, this yearly challenge sees San Lorenzo rise to the occasion, feeding a whopping 400% increase in customers in the short but exhilarating time that is Wimbledon. Where a small business might easily be pushed out of its comfort zone with such a dramatic increase in custom, San Lorenzo merely welcomes its arrival with familiar smile.

A seasoned professional, Ghigo looks to manage the influx weeks ahead of the tournament. This means checking stock levels and pre-ordering the majority of their supplies well in advance in order to amortise these costs over a longer period. Additionally, the run up to Wimbledon sees the restaurant engaging in many repairs and overall maintenance to ensure it’s running at peak performance level – not unlike the athletes themselves.

“For all of our planning and preparing ahead of the games, I use a cloud accounting software called Xero. It helps keep track of our finances in busy times like Wimbledon and in our day-to-day bookkeeping,” says Ghigo. “Because it provides me with convenient access to our cash flow in real time – whether that be on a computer, tablet or phone – it’s proven immeasurably handy when pressed for time and I need to make of the moment decisions.”

“It’s imperative to keep an eye on your cash flow“

Of course, it’s not just about the finances or maintenance work, at the end of the day running a restaurant is a very customer-oriented business. To help manage the increase in customer numbers and ensure the staff is fully supported, Ghigo will double up on floor staff and add at least 3 extra back of house kitchen staff to help prep during the lull periods. With an efficient kitchen, orders go out quickly and hungry customers coming in from the games are kept happy.

Commenting on the peaks and troughs Wimbledon brings Ghigo says, “It’s quite easy to let your books get in a mess during a manic rush like Wimbledon. When you’ve brought on extra staff and supplies it’s imperative to keep an eye on cash flow because all too easily payroll and outstanding invoices might overtake the increase in profits. However, when you have a reliable mechanism in place like Xero that gives you a clear picture of your finances, it’s definitely possible to set aside some of that extra money to see you through leaner weeks.”

As Wimbledon 2016 gets underway, Ghigo looks forward to greeting familiar faces both on and off the court. While it may not be all fun and games, it’s a cherished time of the year and one the staff at the “tennis trattoria” will be well positioned to meet (and serve).

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Xero .