We had a power outage for about three days, which really threw us off. It was out of our hands, and we lost a lot of inventory in both the walk-in cooler and on the make line. After power comes back, it’ll probably take another couple of days before we can open—gotta prep dough and wait for new shipments to come in. Experience Company is helping by replacing the food we lost, but they can’t cover the sales we missed. Stuff like this just shows how unexpected problems can really mess with how things run.
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Business Lesson Learned: Developing contingency plans for all scenarios is essential. Previously, we lacked a strategy for addressing power outages; however, we have since implemented measures such as partnering with local restaurants, including Panera Bread, to utilize their walk-in refrigeration facilities. Additionally, we have identified companies that can provide temporary refrigeration units as needed.