As the owner since 2011 of Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks, California, Angela Marsden said she’s never been less certain about the future of the restaurant industry. “I used to look at last year’s receipts for the same month and be able to know what this year would look like, but I can’t do that anymore,” she explains.
Working with Nextbite’s virtual brands gives Marsden a degree of control and flexibility that she needs as she navigates managing the full bar and restaurant. She credits Nextbite with allowing her to staff her kitchen and compensate her cooks an hourly rate that is critical in a competitive Southern California market, as well as try a new daypart for her business.
“We’ve done breakfast during football season before,” she said, “But with Nextbite’s Hatch House, we were able to depend on a certain amount of revenue from delivery orders, that made it possible to hire one new cook and have breakfast at the restaurant make economic sense this season.” While she’s likely to close the restaurant for breakfast now until next fall, she’s keeping the virtual brands around.
After launching her own virtual brand and trying to work with another company, Marsden appreciates what Nextbite offers restaurants who want to earn some extra revenue through delivery. “Nextbite offers exceptional training with great videos, provides helpful build charts for the kitchen, and brand stickers too,” she explains. “I realized how nice it is to have them do the marketing and drive the orders after seeing how much of a headache it was to manage my own virtual menu on the delivery platforms.”
She also appreciates how Nextbite partners with her to ensure the virtual brand business is profitable by allowing her to set prices and deliver the quality of food that will bring back customers. “I had to add a bunch of SKU’s to offer breakfast and I wanted the quality to stand out,” she said. “I needed to set the menu prices so I can still make money delivering a great tasting product. With food prices and overhead so unpredictable, it’s critical that I have that control.”
She has also experimented with adding her own drinks to the Nextbite virtual menu with strong results. “We have La Colombe canned coffee and brew our own Nitro Coffee that we put on the menu that do really well,” Marsden touts.
Given the constant change of her business, Marsden is looking to add a second breakfast brand, experiment with new breakfast packages, and try new brands that can help her sustain her late night hours.