Needs to write Leadership Portfolio

Our vision is for everyone in the world to know the joy of healthy homestyle Russian cuisine. To create a space for people to feel at home and cozy, even when they are out for their busy day or travelling faraway for an adventure near our location.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to bring the highest quality meals in a home style setting through traditional Russian cuisine. We are committed to joining fresh, locally grown produce and organically sourced meats to create the freshest dishes for our customers. Our Russian bistro & café offers a large variety of poultry, beef, goat, and lamb dishes that are served in Russian family recipes. Our mission begins with ingredients and ends with complete customer satisfaction.

Core Competencies

Podsolnuh Kitchen will have several core competencies in different areas. I have broken them down into 5 categories.

· Supply Chain

- All our ingredients are locally sourced through strategic and reliable sources that are difficult or impossible to replicate. These include, vegetables, herbs, poultry, beef, lamb, and goat.

· POS system

– We use a state-of-the-art POS system Touch Bistro which is designed specifically for restaurants which allows us to streamline our ordering and payment system. It also allows our customers multiple payment methods to choose from.

· Food

– Our recipes are authentic and created by a hand selected Russian families that are long-time friends of the owner. The people and recipes were chosen for their family historic family traditions and dedication to Family cuisine – and of course… the taste! This is combined with our fresh ingredients to create dishes that are impossible to replicate

· Staff

- Our staff is broken up into 3 competencies.

· Our Service staff will be selected for their outgoing and friendly personalities, and will be trained to perform the front-of-house operations in an efficient manner as possible. This will allow them more time to communicate with customers and ensure they get the great experience they deserve.

· Kitchen staff and management will undergo strict training with our head Chef to ensure the highest quality and most authentic Russian meals possible.

· Payment - In order to keep our staff at a high retention rate we will not use a low-wage + tips payment model. We will pay above industry average, as well as offer bonuses based on restaurant profits per period. This instills ownership with our employees as well as bigger opportunities for our employees that they will not find at other restaurants.

· Branding

– Being the only Russian restaurant in the area gives our restaurant a unique position in the market. While most restaurants are branding to create an image, we are branding to project the truth and honesty of our food. This is coupled by our fierce social media campaign, local events attendance, and participation in online sales promotions gives us visibility and opportunity to market our brand.

· Sustainability

- We are all about home and safety, and that includes sustainability of our food and environment. This is why all our ingredients are locally sourced and organic. We compost all food waste and donate it back to our suppliers. This is also why we have a progressive payment model for employees. We want to give back to the community that we live in and supports our business.

Competition

Our competition in Del Mar, San Diego will be fierce when considering the number of cafes and restaurants in the area; however, the closest Russian restaurant is 20 miles from our location. Also, most restaurants in our area do not offer locally-sourced and organic foods. This helps to differentiate our business. Our biggest competition will be from other restaurants offering unique or rare foods that attract a similar customer base. There will also be difficulty in pulling in foot-traffic customers as there are many signs and businesses nearby that are advertising. This is a big part of attracting the tourism crowd in the area.

Strengths:

Unique casual theme for customers

Well trained and enthusiastic staff

Affordable prices

Fast and easy point of sales system

Weaknesses

Many people are not used to Russian foods

New and unknown brand

Unique sunflower theme may not appeal to all customers

High turnover rate in restaurant industry

Opportunities

Health Conscious trend

High exposure location

No restaurants with similar food near location

Can attract multitude of locals with Russian heritage

Threats

Other low cost options

Competitors have better view or tourist attraction

Competitors are located nearby

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