What's on the menu? Six ways to maximize your menu for profit.(Bottom Line)

At first glance, developing a food and beverage menu may seem a simple task. After all, how difficult can it be to press a few pinned letters and numbers into a menu board and hang it on the wall?

Well, not too difficult if all you want to do is treat your food and beverage concession as a loss leader or, at best, a break-even proposition. If, on the other hand, you wish to treat your concession as a profit center, try these six tips:

1 "Cost out" your menu.

The term "plate cost" refers to determining exactly how much a certain menu item is costing you. Don't forget to include your nonedible items such as paper plates, plastic cutlery, napkins, cups, condiment packets and foam container products.

By knowing your costs, you can calculate the selling price for a given item. For example, say you know that a hamburger costs you 72 cents and you want to achieve a 25 percent food cost on that item. Your selling price would be $2.88 ($0.72 / .25 = $2.88). Of course, you would round up this number to the nearest nickel or dime increment. Keep in mind, however, that we have not accounted for any applicable sales tax, which should be omitted from any food cost calculation.

2 Place what you want to sell at the top left side of the menu.

This is the most prominent position for ally type of menu. You should therefore consider using this prime real estate for high-margin items with broad appeal. Traditional beverages such as soft drinks and bottled water should be positioned near or at the bottom of the board.