Page 19 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #9)

“It is.” She smiled. “Vivian Owens runs it, and she’s my best friend.

She and her family are wonderful people, and they know how to run a good business, that’s for sure.

So what’s this about you wanting to get to know the town better?

Does that mean you’re planning on staying?

” She held her breath as she waited for his response, although she was barely aware that she was doing so.

“What made you think I wasn’t staying? Do you often get long-term tourists in the dead of winter?”

“Not often, but sometimes. So you’re staying, then? You didn’t strike me as someone who would want to move here.”

He dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his seat. “Why?”

“You do stand out as the sort of man who would think that there was more to life than living in a small town like this. You’ve, uh, seemed a little discontent with our home-spun ways.”

“You’re not wrong.” Oscar nodded. “I just came here from New York City, and I am definitely used to a very different way of life. But I have to admit that I’m starting to like it here.

At first the quiet seemed deafening, if you know what I mean, but I’ve learned that the silence makes it that much easier to hear myself think.

And it’s all starting to feel comfortable now. The quiet, I mean.”

She smiled at him, wondering if other things were starting to become more comfortable to him too, such as being nice to people.

“It’s a great place here,” she told him. “You picked a good one.”

His lips parted, and he looked as though he was about to say something, but then he stopped himself. “Do you have a moment?” he asked her after a few seconds. “Maybe we could sit and chat about my ideas for improving your buying methods.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Sally said, sliding into the seat opposite his without hesitation.

“Wonderful,” Oscar repeated, looking slightly flushed and somewhat frazzled, as if he was distracted all of a sudden. He pulled a notebook out of his pocket and opened it. He looked up at her and frowned slightly. “I would suggest taking notes during all of this.”

“Ah.” Sally smiled and pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Sounds good to me. I’ve got this. Smart phone.” She tapped the side of her nose and winked.

Oscar blinked at her, as if he didn’t understand her cheerful sense of humor.

He cleared his throat again and tapped on his notebook page.

“The first thing is a question I have for you,” he told her.

“What’s your ordering history like? Do you always order the same amounts every time?

Does it fluctuate? Do you try other suppliers? ”

“I have been trying other suppliers,” Sally said with a sigh.

“Other people have better prices and lesser products. I got a shipment of avocados in a couple of weeks ago that were just—” She shook her head, almost shuddering at the memory.

“I had to turn them all into guacamole, I’ll just say that.

Although we did end up creating a stellar chicken sandwich with guacamole on it. ”

“So—you haven’t been consistent with your orders?”

“No, is that a problem?”

“Not at all. But if you’re willing to change that, I think you could cut a deal with the distributor.”

Sally’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah? What do you mean?” she asked with interest.

“Businesses are always looking for reliability and consistency in their numbers. They’re willing to cut deals as long as those deals benefit them—and if you gave them a guarantee that you would buy the same amounts of food every month—or every week, depending on what your schedule is—I think they’d be more than happy to give you a discount.

You might need to strategize more on your end and only promise to buy items that you could freeze or store long-term if you ended up not needing all of it.

That way you save a lot of money, you don’t lose any food, and the business is happy to keep their sale numbers consistent. ”

“Oscar, that’s brilliant!” Sally hadn’t written down a thing he’d said because she was too excited.

And she knew she didn’t need to write it down, anyway.

She was sure to remember all of it. “That could really work. There are all kinds of things we could freeze, either cooked or uncooked. That would probably help with our workload too, and the way customers don’t ever seem to order the same things consistently.

I’d need to buy another freezer, but I can afford it.

It would be more than worth it for the money we’d save in the long run. ”

Oscar, who had been looking down at his notebook the entire time he was telling her his idea, looked back down at the table and coughed, his ears bright pink.

“I’m glad you like it. And it wouldn’t hurt for you to politely point out to them that you’ve been trying out other distributers.

They’ll see that on your records—that you’ve stopped ordering from them as much.

See how low of a discount you can get from them.

Don’t commit to anything, and don’t act excited about what they’re offering you, even if you love it.

Act like it’s not enough and try to get them to go even lower. ”

“Oh, I don’t think I could do that. I don’t want to cheat them, they’re a business too.”

Oscar shook his head. “They’re a big business.

Their CEO can stand to not buy himself another boat this year.

I know not being nice is probably hard for you, but try to hold out on your enthusiasm until you’re absolutely sure they won’t go any lower with their price.

Make it clear to them that you’re more than willing to take your business elsewhere. ”

“But I’m not, not really, and I don’t want to be dishonest. They’ve offered me quality food for years, and I don’t want my café’s ingredients to suffer just because I’m trying not to spend so much money.”

Oscar shook his head. “You aren’t set on staying with them, though, are you? If something better came along, you’d go to that business instead, right?”

“Oh, certainly.”

“Well, there you go. You’re not lying to them.

You’re letting them know that you aren’t satisfied with their new prices and that you have other options, but you’re willing to cut a deal with them.

If they lose you, they’re losing out on a lot of money.

And I can guarantee you that they’ve already lost some customers because of this price raise.

They’re not going to want to lose any more, and I think they’ll be very open to a deal they can count on, even if it’s at a reduced price. ”

“You’re right—these are wonderful insights.” Sally jotted down notes quickly on her phone, a plan already forming in her mind. “Thank you so much, Oscar.”

“Happy to be of service,” he said, and smiled as if it truly did make him happy.

“Did you have any other suggestions for me?” she asked. “I’d be more than willing to listen to any ideas you have, even if they’re just half-baked.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I have another fully-baked idea, if you’re interested.

What about rotating your menu more often?

Offer fewer selections, but have more specials.

That way, people may be more likely to come to the café if they know you’ve got their favorite sandwich on the menu, but you don’t have to order in as many expensive ingredients all the time.

For example, instead of offering avocados all the time, only offer recipes that call for them on certain days.

You could even come up with a menu that rotates the same way every week—so people will know what menu they’re getting every day.

Tourists will see it on the website or when they come in for the first time, and locals will know when to come to your café to get whatever items they’re craving. ”

Sally tapped her finger against her lips, considering it.

It was a great idea. It had some drawbacks, and she’d always prided herself on how wide of a variety of options her café offered, but this was a good strategy that was sure to save her a great deal of money and potentially bring in more business.

“I think I like it,” she said slowly. “We’ve got a lot of creatures of habit out here in town, and having a rotating schedule like this is smart.

If people come in a few weeks in a row for their favorite sandwich that’s only here on Tuesdays, before long they’re going to be coming here every Tuesday.

And I can keep our most popular items on the menu all the time, so no one gets really disappointed by the plan. ”

Oscar nodded. “Do you have a social media for your account? You can hype up the change online. It’s news-worthy, and it will get people’s attention.

Attention is almost always good for business.

I would recommend adding more menu items to this rotation, so that it looks more like you’re offering people more than before, instead of less.

But in reality, it’ll be easier for you to order fewer expensive ingredients and it’ll be easier on your cooks and your wait staff, I’m guessing. ”

“Huh.” Sally stared into space, smiling.

“Yes, we do have a social media. I don’t really run it myself, but the girls could help me.

I do like the idea of adding more menu items to these rotation lists.

There are a few recipes I’ve been wanting to add to our menu, but I knew we just couldn’t sustain it. ”

Oscar smiled. “I think it’ll serve you well in the long run. If people know they can get a different meal here every day of the week, they’ll be more likely to come back and try something new.”

“Mm, true.” Sally nodded excitedly as she jotted down more notes in her phone. She looked up with a radiant smile. “You’re a wonder, Oscar. Thank you so much for offering to help me out here. I really think this is going to be a game-changer for me. What did you say your line of work is?”