Labor in the restaurant industry has evolved quite drastically over the past couple of years and continues to be a hot topic amongst brands and restaurant owners with 567,000 jobs still below pre-pandemic levels. At Sarpino’s USA, we’ve developed a resilient and sustainable pizza delivery focus and operational model that allows us to keep labor costs down while driving efficiencies and profitability – no matter the economic climate or state of the labor market.
Pizza Delivery Focus
Sarpino’s USA has always been a pizza delivery and carryout-focused concept, committed to providing our customers with a standout off-premises dining experience. During the pandemic, while many restaurants struggled to figure out third-party delivery and scrambled to meet consumer expectations, off-premises had been the foundation of our operational model for nearly 20 years. It was a method we had already mastered and refined, which led to our brand’s strong performance during the rush to convenience. We’ve experienced increases in sales in the past few years and our systemwide AUV is almost $1.1 million.
Because of our focus on off-premises-dining, we require a minimal footprint of only 1,200 square feet for our stores. This not only allows us to secure the best real estate for the best price, but also enables us to keep costs down for our franchisees. Quite simply, our franchisees don’t have to stress about maintaining exorbitant overhead in their restaurants.
With our small footprint and reduced overhead costs, our franchisees can focus on maximizing their money and dedicating their time and energy to the things that matter – people and quality of food and service.
Technology Driven
An integral piece of our proven operational model is the technology systems we have in place, which alleviate the need to have people performing jobs where it’s not as impactful for the overall business. For example, we leverage technology to manage inventory to make it easy for our franchisees to run their business. This cuts the need to hire a designated person to manage inventory or can alleviate the responsibilities of an employee performing other functions in the store.
Sarpino’s USA leverages technology in several areas of our operations – from online ordering to back-of-house logistics to our pizza delivery model. We boast a technological infrastructure that helps streamline operations and maximize profitability for our franchisees.
In summary, eliminating the need for people to perform nonessential functions by leveraging technology is a key component of how we help our franchisees keep their labor costs down. In fact, despite the breadth of our relevant and inclusive menu, our systemwide labor costs are maintained at 27%, with the top 50% of our system averaging 24%!
People Committed
The efficiency of our operational model gives Sarpino’s USA franchisees the freedom to focus more on their people, which is more important than ever in today’s tight labor market. The cost of turnover is extremely high – an average of $1,500 for hourly workers per employee. That’s money we don’t want our franchisees wasting.
Employee retention is a primary focus in our company – ensuring our franchisees’ employees feel taken care of and have growth and development opportunities – because one of the main causes of employee turnover is lack of growth and progression.
Sarpino’s USA’s hyper-efficient systems allow our franchisees’ employees to make a greater impact in other areas of the business, cutting out menial tasks that tend to lead to stagnancy and frustration. Instead, many are given the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the business’ operations and develop lifelong transferable skills that will benefit them no matter where life takes them.
We are so proud that several our franchisees’ employees have gone on to become franchise owners of their own, such as Kateryna Tserkovniuk, who will be opening two Sarpino’s USA stores in South Florida in the near future, as well as Said Demirovski, who will be bringing the very first Sarpino’s USA location to the Denver metro area next year.
Franchise Information
Are you ready to learn more about what makes Sarpino’s USA an advantageous franchise opportunity? Fill out our request form or give us a call at 773-673-8295.
