Keeping OK at Kay’s

“The times they are a changing”, the iconic line from the song could perhaps be no more apt than when we look at the hospitality/restaurant sector in the face of the recent economic downturn. A refocus in the catering industry is central to riding the economic storm and the propensity in the good times towards “anything will do” is no longer acceptable to consumers, who are demanding real value and quality in all areas when handing over cash from much slimmer wallets.

Maintaining the basic values of good quality and good value are central to surviving the challenges facing the sector according to Bart Glover, the owner of the Shopping Centre Restaurant Chain - Kay’s Restaurants. Kay’s made national headlines when the chain flew in the face of food sector trends by investing in a major new FoodHall in The Blanchardstown Centre in October of 2008. The state of the art 5000 sq ft Foodhall at The Blanchardstown Centre, came at a cost of €1 million.

The investment came at a time when the Restaurant Association of Ireland stated that more than 80 per cent of restaurants were losing money. Bart says they have found the key to making it through challenging economic times, it’s to focus on quality before price. “Then, you must cater for your customer at a price level that is acceptable to them.” “The catering industry must be innovative and provide variety & new value offerings to attract customers. It is a consumer’s market now and we must strive to meet the demands of that market.”

“It is a very tough industry and there is no simple solution to make it work. There are a number of vital ingredients we have found crucial to getting it right since my mother, the original Kay, opened the first-ever Kay’s Café 30 years ago. These are variety, quality, value and a willingness to embrace change.” “Everything is cooked by our chefs and served on the same day. We don’t use freezers. We have been developing the Food Hall concept for some years now. We want the customer to experience good Irish produce cooked by professional chefs at a price that suits their daily budget. Being in shopping centres gives us the required footfall; the downside is that we MUST compete with fast food outlets.” Glover and his wife, Bernie run two food chains - Kay’s Restaurants and Maple Moose.

Glover says the new Food Hall was a huge investment for Kay’s and he and his team have been developing the Food Hall concept for a number of years. “The decision to develop the Food Hall in Blanchardstown Centre resulted from our well established knowledge and experience of the Centre over the years, in addition to a good working relationship with a progressive Landlord, Green Property. The development provides both parties with the opportunity to give the customer an updated, upmarket facility in strained economic circumstances.”

As a family-run business Kay’s succeeds in maintaining its core values - Both Bart’s wife Bernie and his daughter, Ciara work full-time in the business. Stephen Reilly, Kay’s Head Chef provides the culinary expertise and a disciplined purchasing regime. There are 11 full time chefs employed to produce an extensive array of menus. “You can have nine different hot main courses here every day. I don’t know of anywhere in Europe that is doing roast beef in a shopping centre - but it’s done in Kay’s.”

“The variety of people who come in to Kay’s is incredible - we get older people, younger people, mothers and children. This is something special in daytime catering.” In addition to Kay’s Food Hall, Bart has a second Kay’s Cafe in Blanchardstown Centre; Kay’s restaurant in Donaghmede Shopping Centre and also one in Clare Hall Shopping Centre. Kay’s also runs The Roastery restaurant at the Java Republic, Coffee Company’s HQ in Ballycoolin, Blanchardstown. Last year Bart joined forces with North-South Retail and The Pop Company to form and operate Maple Moose, a quality Crepes and Ice Cream offer.

Glover insists on continuing to upskill, regardless of the downturn, which he says is vital to staying competitive. “We had some terribly tough times in the eighties and again when the recession hit in 2008,” he concedes, “but we survived.” “We did it by getting better and better at the things we do. From the very beginning, we developed a philosophy of upskilling”. “While the whole industry was deskilling - getting rid of chefs and wait staff, we actually went the opposite direction. We used skill to get us out of trouble. Others were going down the road of letting accountants into the kitchen, which inevitably affected the quality of the food.

“I made an agreement with the chefs that if the figures were down at the end of the month, I would only go as far as the kitchen door to let them know - I wouldn’t storm in and demand them to get rid of this and only use that and so on. It was up to the chefs to use their skills to stay competitive and that worked.” This philosophy has permeated all aspects of the business.

“Then I decided if upskilling is going to happen in the kitchen, it’s going to happen everywhere,” he adds. “So if there was equipment to be bought, we went with the best as opposed to the cheapest. Be it the office, the restaurant floor or kitchen, wherever we could up the ante - we did.” It’s not the only area in which the restaurant is defying convention to get the edge in the ultra-competitive area of catering. Stephen Reilly & Bart Glover also developed a hand-held IT system for orders, invoices, payments, HACCP & routine maintenance to eliminate paperwork.

“If you go into any other restaurant in the world, the computer technology starts at the front door and works its way back to the kitchen - ours starts in the kitchen and works its way out to the front door. And Kay’s niche daytime catering product has brought Kay’s restaurant to the attention of other developers hoping it can get tummies rumbling in their centres too. “We have a lot more interest in our offer from other shopping centres reveals Mr Glover. “Of course, we have loans to pay. But I will say this, in good times and bad we’ve never missed a rent or loan payment yet.

“We’ve grown a lot in recent years and increased turnover in times when things were bad. Very shortly, we’ll be in a position to grow again and there is ample opportunity for us to do that.”