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Spoke, Wave have record-setting years

It’s official – The Spoke and Wave are back on top. The final numbers are still being tallied, but early figures show both University Students’ Council-owned eateries had record-breaking profits last month.

By Feb. 28, the year-to-date profit for the Spoke alone was nearly $30,000. While a statement of earnings for March wasn’t ready by press time, USC officials say it was the eatery’s most profitable month ever.

Ely Rygier, vice-president finance for the USC, is projecting The Spoke’s year-end profit for 2011 will be upwards of $50,000.

“The Wave also had its best month ever — of all time — in March,” Rygier added.

Though final numbers aren’t in, USC food and beverage manager Jeff Armour said The Wave’s profits this year are up 10 per cent from three years ago, back when Rick McGhie nights were still held there.

The spike in profits represents a wind of change for both University Community Centre eateries, which for years have suffered from fluctuating and uncertain revenues. Last year, profits took a dip due to a combination of factors.

“Last year we had the recession, H1N1, bus strike, renovation — a perfect storm of terribleness,” Armour said. “In restaurant industry, it’s the worst thing that can happen to you, to not be open in September.”

The Spoke was in the red last year and had actually lost $211,575 by February 2010.

This year’s record profits are the result of various changes to increase efficiency in both establishments — with a main focus on The Spoke’s menu.

One element of increasing sales was trying out new menu items on a temporary, rotating basis to see which ones fared the best. By not putting new items permanently on the menu, Armour saved printing costs.

Rygier said the entire menu actually changed from last year, which also provided a big sales boost.

“[We] took off a bunch of menu items that were very hard to produce [and] didn’t have quick turnaround time,” he said, adding they were replaced with quicker options like grilled cheese sandwiches, which proved popular.

“What we’ve got down there right now is, after a couple of combinations and permutations, a menu that works,” Rygier said.

The USC also pushed for consistent programming. Rygier said cutting expensive, unpopular events made room for the current lineup — live band karaoke on Tuesdays, Rick McGhie on Wednesdays and Wired Fridays.

During March, only two days of the entire month weren’t booked for events or USC programming.

On the heels of this year’s success, the USC is looking to the future.

Rygier said debit machines in The Spoke are becoming a reality. The USC is installing machines this summer that are also capable of handling credit cards down the road.

“We’re going to finish the year strong,” Rygier said.

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