Brian Will, founder and CEO of Will Restaurants Investment Group, describes the impact of inflation on his companies.
Inflation, a driving force behind many of the challenges businesses face today, has led to one restaurant owner charging nearly $16 for a BLT sandwich due to rising costs.
Brian Will, founder and CEO of Will Restaurants Investment Group, explained his monthly expenses during an appearance on Varney & Co. after a friend confronted him about the price of his $16 BLT sandwich.
The wholesale cost of the popular sandwich is just $5, according to Will, but the need to cover operational costs has meant that the meal, which once cost $12.99 three years ago, is now $15.99 -Dollar costs.
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Will detailed his monthly expenses, provided insight into the business side of running a restaurant, and justified the rising price of meals.
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Will spends $20,000 a month renting space to house one of his restaurants in a “new mixed-use complex,” arguing that it is “very expensive” due to the location.
“My additional costs [are] $6,000 a month. My contractions in December [was] “$60,000, which means the day I open the doors on January 1st I have $86,000 in base costs,” Will explained.
“You’re looking at 32% of the cost of food. I have $11 gross profit in this sandwich. You take all my costs divided by $11 gross profit, and I [have] “I have to sell 93,000 sandwiches just to get to zero before I can make money,” he continued.
Will Restaurants Investment Group was founded in 2010. The leading restaurant management company owns and operates brands such as Central City Tavern, The Tavern House, The Derby Sports Bar and Cantina Loca.
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Will told Fox Business that he's “dealing with a different economy now” than when he first signed the lease for the eatery's location.
“We signed our rental agreement before the Corona crisis with fixed annual increases. And I have a personal guarantee so my rent won't go down. It increases every year forever,” he emphasized.
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“My sales per store have decreased by about $350,000 per store, while my rent has increased, labor has increased by 30%, insurance has increased by 40% and rents have increased by 10%,” the restaurateur emphasized .
“It’s unbelievable how my costs have increased over the last three years.”
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