Abstract

Fat Angelos was a well-established and renowned family style Italian restaurant chain in Hong Kong. Its popularity, however, created challenges. One daily example was the queues the restaurants encountered during their peak dinner periods. Long waits resulted in dissatisfied or even lost customers. On the other hand, during non-peak hours the restaurants was at less than full capacity, meaning lost revenue opportunities. To help bring in additional customers during off-peak hours, the company was considering various measures, including early bird discounts and a new promotional opportunity with online voucher company Groupon.

Learning Objectives

The case can be used on conceptual topics in restaurant management and operations management in general. Concepts covered include cycle times, waiting line theory and queue management decision making. Students will gain an appreciation of real world operations dynamics in managing a restaurant chain, including food preparation and service table turnover and enhancing the dining experience. Given the inherent challenges in the daily operations of a restaurant, the case can also be used to educate students about the revenue consequences of decisions made in such operations.