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SMART MONEY Continued from page 49 you have to stop searching around because your time is worth something too," she says. "I get in enough comparison without overwhelming myself." Houdek says it's imperative to make sure product similarities are legitimate when comparison shopping. After all, not all paper towels, syrups and straws are created equal. "What might appear to be a great deal from one vendor may not be the best product for your store," he says. "Make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Sometimes it makes more sense to take on a bit more cost or accept slimmer margins if it means distinguishing yourself in the marketplace." INVESTIGATE LOCAL VENDORS While national distributors can be valuable partners, Houdek urges operators to investigate small, local vendors, particularly for dairy and paper products. "Sometimes they can be more competitive than you'd imagine, even to the point of matching or beating the prices of a larger vendor," he says. In fact, Houdek switched one of Jitters' most purchased items— milk—from a large-scale vendor to a local dairy. "They were hungry to shoot me prices that made it cost-effective," he says. As a side benefit to earning a lower cost, Houdek says the move also positioned Jitters to promote its relationship with the local company, which led to good vibes among customers. "Our dairy and baked goods both come from local sources, and we've found a lot of people gravitating to us because of that local angle," he says. ASK QUESTIONS Don't ask, don't get, right? At Cabin Coffee, Barber was buying cases of coffee cake from a local manufacturer. He asked his foodservice provider about carrying the coffee cake, which the provider subsequently arranged. Though Barber's price didn't change, he's now writing one less check and has simultaneously heightened his value to that foodservice provider. "It's a win-win," he says. BUY IN BULK—WHEN IT MAKES SENSE When a discount arises, Foster of The Grind says she "buys in bulk like crazy," particularly on paper products and other nonperishable items that she can easily store in her home's garage. "If I see a special, I'll stock up," she says, adding that she'll occasionally haggle with a store to see if it might be willing to lower the price further if she buys in an even higher quantity. If the product is shelf stable, Houdek similarly embraces bulk purchasing, though he admits storage becomes an issue. "Bulk isn't always better," he says. "A smart bulk purchase is relative to the size of your business, the available storage space and your ability to push that product out the door." With only a few exceptions, Barber follows a simple rule regarding bulk purchases at Cabin Coffee: If the store cannot sell 50 COFFEE ALMANAC • June 2013