Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | January 8, 2018 | wbjournal.com BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Hudson's Rail Trail Flatbread Co. opens up its books to workers to help reduce waste and foster employee buy-in Open-book restaurant A ustin Bonnell, an 18-year- old busboy at Rail Trail Flatbread Co., noticed the other day he was throw- ing away a lot of fries. Several dishes at the Hudson eatery come with fries, so he figured the com- pany was losing money with each fry thrown into the trash. He noticed the same thing with salads. He told a man- ager, who relayed that to the owners. Now, the restaurant is portioning less of each. Every Rail Trail employee at the res- taurant – and soon two others across the street owned and operated by the same group – is taught the economics of running a restaurant, and to a great- er extent, their own life, thanks to an open-book management style. The restaurant is working under a program developed by Boston-based Rethink Restaurants, a consulting firm bringing open-book management to popular restaurants, including seven in Massachusetts, according to its website. The program is expensive – even after a $75,000 state workforce training grant – but in spite of those costs, Rail Trail is on track to realize a profit margin of more than 20 percent in 2017. Financial impact of jobs The open-book management style gives employees the information they need to do their job as effectively as they can with the knowledge of the financial impact of their every move, said Jason Kleinerman, an operational partner at Rail Trail. The restaurant's financials are dis- played on a wall in a classroom and storage room next door where quasi- business classes for employees are held routinely. The philosophy has created a symbi- otic work environment in which employees work more like a team rather than independent contractors hoping for a big tip, said Kleinerman. "The main focus is to teach them how to understand revenue, profit, cogs, overheads and how to calculate those things," Kleinerman said. "Things you'd learn in general business courses." If financial goals are met, each employee gets a nice little payday at the end of the year. Server Jenny Webb said the restaurant made its goal last year by a mere $80 - probably made possible by a few extra beers or cocktails sold. "Every little thing we're doing counts," she said. Sarah O'Malley, another server, said she's now very much aware napkins cost money, and her table doesn't really need a stack of napkins. Good profit The strict attention to detail, however, doesn't compromise on quality or guest experience. In the same room next to the financials, hang posters of the com- pany's core values: good profit, continu- ous improvement and guest advocacy. Good profit, said Kleinerman, means profit coming from sound, ethical busi- ness decisions taking into consideration guests, staff, the environment, the com- munity and vendors. "If a vendor was having a bad year and we could squeeze him to get a product at a lower cost, we wouldn't do that," he said. "That's not good profit." Source: Rail Trail Rail Trail Flatbread Co., by the numbers n Location: 33 Main St., Hudson, Ma. n Opened: December 2012 n Sister companies: New City Microcreamery, Less Than Greater Than n Employees: 80+ n Cost of main dishes/flatbreads: $13-$25 n Number of craft beers: 20 n Principals: Karim El-Gamal (equity part- ner), Michael Kasseris (equity partner), Jason Kleinerman (operational partner) Rail Trail employees helped the company meet its financial goals by a paper-thin $80 last year.

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