Better Quality Foods = More Profit

Some Family Fun Centers are still hindering their profit margin because they’re not opening up a better dining experience for their guests. Thankfully, most of us know how much our profits increase with good food and beverage sales. Today, let's talk about high-quality food and what that can mean for your bottom line. 

If you are still operating with only a vending machine or perhaps a counter providing limited poor-quality food items, you might want to pay attention to these valuable tips. You are missing out on a substantial monetary increase.

Good restaurants with superior food and customer service find it easy to turn guests into fans! That's because good restaurants tend to set a high standard for not only the quality of their food but their customer service experience too. This helps your restaurant develop a good reputation and creates the crave-able food that guests will want to return to eat.

Using higher quality ingredients is very important to create those crave-able dishes. When your family entertainment business takes the needs of your guests to heart and creates meals that they will want to return for, it is great for business and will secure increased revenue. 

Family entertainment businesses come in all sizes. If you ever have visited the larger companies that have an enormous following, you will notice that one of the most memorable experiences the guest comes away with is the food and other dining experiences.

It really isn't that difficult or expensive to create a higher quality menu and superior standard in the food and beverage customer service department. All it takes is a dedication to serving the needs of your guests and the willingness to go that extra mile to capture their loyalty.

Many of the smaller family entertainment centers could be making a lot more money if they would upgrade from a vending machine or frozen pizza. No one wants to pay $15 for a poor-quality frozen pizza that they can buy at the dollar store for $4. 

These family entertainment businesses think that they are making a profit on the handful of people that maybe aren't aware of the low-quality food and so they take a chance on the company, try the food and then vow to never to do it again. Unfortunately, this happens all too often and the negative results linger for years.

So, what happens to the guests that decide they will never give the same chance twice to the company? It's simple. They make sure that they only go to the family entertainment center for the “fun and games” but leave when they get hungry for a quality meal at a nearby restaurant. That is money walking out the door! Why not just improve your food and keep the guests happy? They can either spend the money elsewhere or they can stay and spend their money with you. The choice is yours!

It’s not rocket science, the longer a guest stays in your establishment the longer they play and the more they spend. The chances of a guest returning after they go out to another restaurant for a meal is slim to none. You have not only lost the loyalty and interests of your guests but you’ve also lost a lot of revenue that could have added up to a significant amount. 

Have you read an article I’ve published here on LinkedIn and want to talk about the topic a little more? If you’d like to book a call with me regarding the Family Entertainment Industry or Private Equity, please feel free. I enjoy connecting & collaborating with others in the same professional space.

Tim Murphy is CEO of APX Operating Company, dba Boomers Parks, under the ownership of Cerberus private equity ($60B assets). Boomers Parks owns six family entertainment centers and two water parks with locations in California, Florida, and New Jersey.

As CEO of Boomers Parks since 2020, Tim took these eight parks from bankruptcy to profitability in just a year – in the middle of a global pandemic. When Boomers acquired these parks, they were operating at a $10 million loss. Tim transformed the customer experience and added new revenue streams to generate a 180% increase in revenue in 2021 and on a similar trajectory in 2022.

Tim launched his 35+ year career at Walt Disney World and has since served more than 150 entertainment, restaurant, and food & beverage brands across more than 10,000 locations in C-suite and senior positions.

Additionally, Tim is a Board Director with Coney Park & Happy City - Family Entertainment & Amusement Parks, part of The Carlyle Group ($276B assets), a private equity firm that operates 150+ family entertainment centers and amusement parks in Latin America. 

Tim has worked with top-tier entertainment and restaurant brands including Disney, Rebounderz Trampoline Parks, Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, etc.), Red Lobster, Jimmy John’s, Applebee’s, Sonny’s Bar-B-Q, Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, Hardee’s, Golden Corral, and Firehouse Subs.

Tim has overseen more than 35 purchase transactions involving over 1,200 restaurants, stores, and park locations.  With extensive experience in buying and selling businesses, handling negotiations with buyers and sellers, and creating strategic partnerships to build strong brands, Tim has facilitated deals ranging from $11 million to $350 million+.

Tim is a member of International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA), California Attractions and Parks Association (CAPA), Florida Attractions Association (FAA), American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA), National Restaurant Association (NRA), California Restaurant Association (CRA), World Waterpark Association (WWA) and International Franchising Association (IFA). He is a licensed commercial real estate broker in the State of Florida. Tim earned a BS/BA in Accounting from the University of Central Florida and an MBA in Finance from Orlando College.