The objective of this assignment is to comprehend the meaning of a SWOT analysis and know how to apply it to a company and recommend an event that they can host to help the company grow. The company that I have decided to analyze for this assignment is a small woman owned restaurant called, FOODE which is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Fredericksburg City is home to over 28,469 residents according to The U.S. Census Bureau (2018). FOODE was born in 2011 which started off in a small alley way which was very famous for it’s “umbrella roof” which lined the alley with tables that would sit under a spray of umbrellas above. In 2016 they relocated to the old Historic National Bank Building just down the street from its original location. I will be conducting a SWOT analysis to display the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths of FOODE.
Strengths
The company has gained a lot of strengths over the years. They provide breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and a full bar. They have a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan options, as well as using fresh seasonal ingredients. They also will provide to customers who have food allergies. Having vegetarian and vegan options creates an advantage for the restaurant because it is not very common in the Fredericksburg area to offer these options on their menu. FOODE creates all of their dishes with the farm to table experience. The advantage to using your own ingredients is that you are able to be creative with the dishes and create your own recipes. Moving into a larger location, this has given the restaurant strength in sales and offering more seating for guests at one time. Another strength that this restaurant has is that they opened up a second location called Mercantile just 4 blocks away which is gives them the advantage of sales over other one location restaurants in the city. This also allows larger groups to join FOODE. Their mission from the beginning, ” a simple concept: find the best ingredients the region has to offer, hire the most talented team our pockets could afford, cook the kinds of foods that make up the threads of our best memories, and most importantly, do it with love--day in and day out.” (2018)
Weaknesses
There are also a few weaknesses to this restaurant as well, just like any other company. According to the Virginia Health Department there has been comments on a routine inspection, which were small violations such as not following the bread restriction and leaving the dumpster lid open. FOODE does want to keep these violations low and continue to follow the Health Department regulations so their customers and clients will feel comfortable eating at their location. Fredericksburg is a small city, and the restaurant competition has grown over the years and they do not want their business to go to other competing restaurants. Another weakness is that this company does not have outdoor seating for guests. This has been an issue since COVID-19 has been in effect since most guests feel more comfortable dinning outside. Another weakness that this restaurant might have is their menu items are a little bit on the pricey side for a lot of people who would like to have a budget friendly breakfast or lunch.
Opportunities
FOODE has a couple of opportunities for their restaurant such as the two locations in the same city four blocks away keeping the brand and business model the same along with bringing in double income from the two. The made from scratch items gives them the opportunity to easily switch up the menu items and keep things fresh and new for customers to keep coming back. FOODE is located in a unique building keeping the bank atmosphere inside where they actually have tables inside the volt this attracts a lot of visitors who come to see historic Fredericksburg since this building is considered a historic building from the visitors center.
Threats
Other Restaurants in Fredericksburg City simply represent a threat to FOODE. When visitors or locals in the area are not dining at FOODE or the sister restaurant, they are dining at the other competitors. Other restaurants will have food options that FOODE does not such as pasta or pizza or a cultural cuisine that the customer is looking for. Additionally, competitors may offer similar or lower prices with similar kinds of food. Customers might prefer to eat at these restaurants instead.
Event Recommendation
I would recommend that FOODE and their sister restaurant host a dual event every first Monday of the month where they have a local live band or poetry night where customers can come and have a drink or order dinner. Most restaurants in Fredericksburg are closed on Mondays so this would give them the advantage or gaining new and old customers to keep coming back.
References
U.S. Census Bureau (2018). American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://censusreporter.org/profiles/05000US51630-fredericksburg-city-va/
FOODE. (J&B Joint Ventures, 2019) Retrieved from https://www.foodefredericksburg.com/about
My Health Department (n.d). Retrieved from http://3.216.17.214/va-rappahannock/inspection/?inspectionID=10AC287A-5B4D-421E-B863-DE2AD7BE2FE6