{"id":16511,"date":"2026-05-22T13:20:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dineplan.com\/blog\/?p=16511"},"modified":"2026-05-26T22:24:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:24:26","slug":"10-things-smart-restaurateurs-do-in-winter-to-win-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dineplan.com\/blog\/10-things-smart-restaurateurs-do-in-winter-to-win-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things smart restaurateurs do in winter to win summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In This Article:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Clean up your menu<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Lock in your best people<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Use quieter services to train<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Fix what broke last summer<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Tighten your reservations system<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Build your guest database<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Go after function and group bookings<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Create a winter revenue stream<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Do a proper financial review<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. Set clear summer targets<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

    South Africa\u2019s restaurant industry runs on seasons \u2013 you feel it in your covers, your cash flow, and your team.<\/p>\n

    Winter can be slower, but the restaurants that come out swinging in summer aren\u2019t starting from scratch in November. They\u2019ve already done the work.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s what that looks like in practice.<\/p>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”1. Clean up your menu (properly)” module_id=”menu-cleanup” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Content” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

    1. Clean up your menu (properly)<\/h3>\n
    \n

    Pull your sales data from last season and be honest about it. If a dish isn\u2019t selling \u2013 or isn\u2019t profitable \u2013 it\u2019s costing you. Winter is the time to:<\/p>\n