The Situation
MPANADAS Founded in 2022, MPANADAS has managed to carve out a niche with their craveable, llama-stamped empanadas, handcrafted drinks, and warm, casual atmosphere. Despite the odds—including major construction disrupting foot traffic—MPANADAS has become a neighborhood staple for both locals and office lunch regulars in Arlington, Virginia. But behind the scenes, running a small restaurant with limited visibility into costs and profitability is no easy feat.
The Challenge
Too Many Unknowns and Not Enough Time
Shortly after launching, MPANADAS was hit with a major operational challenge: a multi-year construction project that significantly limited parking, foot traffic, and accessibility to the storefront. At the same time, the restaurant struggled with a common pain point among small food businesses—fragmented systems and manual processes that made it nearly impossible to get a clear picture of performance or cost structure.
As a growing business with a small team, there wasn’t time to run deep financial analysis or test out different pricing strategies. MPANADAS needed help understanding their margins, optimizing their menu, and doing more with the resources they had—without hiring an entire finance team.
The Solution
MRGN’s Menu Optimization & Pricing Strategy
The MRGN platform connected with MPANADAS’ sales data to run a deep dive into their last 60 days of sales. From there, MRGN delivered actionable, high-impact pricing recommendations that were easy to implement and projected to add:
- $1,655 in additional projected monthly revenue
- $19,858 in additional annual revenue
The recommendations were not about massive overhauls—they were specific pricing recommendations across MPANADAS’ most popular items. Using real-time sales data analysis, MRGN Insights ensured alignment with their customer demands and market trends.
