Let's start a hot dog stall, just you and me. All we need is:
1) A griddle on a cart
2) Sausages.
3) Hot Dog buns.
4) Mustard and Ketchup.
5) A box of special Coney Island sauce to add a touch of class.
5) Paper wrappers
An order comes in for a hot dog; no problem we'll just fire up the griddle, pop a sausage on it and bob's your uncle.
Business is booming. Let's add cheeseburgers to the mix.
We'll need:
1) Burger patties
2) Burger buns
3) Tomato slices
4) Lettuce
5) Cheese slices
6) Eggs for the discerning customer.
7) Pepper
That's an extra 7 items we'll need to stock, but it's still manageable. Plus, we'll be able to fry everything up on the griddle. Bonus!
We're doing a brisk trade in hot dogs and burgers, but now there's a LOT of people asking for Doener kebabs. Screw it, let's do it.
We'll need:
1) Lamb
2) Pita bread
3) Olive oil
4) Parsley
5) Garlic
6) Cinnamon
7) Coriander
8) Lemons
9) Mint
10) Fresh yogurt
11) Salt
Man, that's a lot of new ingredients we'll need to stock. What's more, we'll need to buy a rotisserie, a slicer, and a kebab pan. But between the two of us, we can hack it, no worries.
The kebabs are a hit! But requests are rolling in for Fish and Chips. Simple enough innit? After all, it's we just need to fry up some fish and potatoes and we're golden. Let's go for it.
We'll need:
1) Fresh Haddock and Cod fillets
2) Flour
3) Baking soda
4) Beer, lager, for the use of
5) More lemon
6) More salt and pepper
7) Vinegar
8) Potatoes
9) Cooking fat
10) Newpapers for the wrapper
High five!
But hang on, we'll also need to purchase a deep fat fryer, an extra prep table or two, a mixing bowl for the batter, a whisk, a freezer for the fish, plus we'll also need to peel and cut the potatoes, mix the batter, watch the fryer yada yada yada.
We'll need to hire someone. We'll need to train him/her as well. We'll also need to sort out the requisite HR paperwork, calculate the salary and tax deductions, set up payroll, calculate vacation days, schedule shifts etc. etc.
Sounds bewildering? That's just 4 items on the menu. It gets worse from there.
So why don't restaurants have hundreds or even thousands of menu items?
- Lack of space
- Exponential complexity per item added, leading to quality control, supply chain, and production issues.
- Labor limitations
- Equipment limitations