Missed the End-of-Year count? Don't sweat it. Here is how to organize your walk-in, fix your food costs, and prep your bar for a profitable Q1.

The holiday slam is finally over. You survived the private parties, the NYE toast, and the chaos of the rush.

If you are like most chefs, GMs, or bar managers, you barely had time to breathe in December, let alone perform a perfect "End-of-Year" (EOY) inventory audit.

And that is okay.

In the hospitality industry, January is the "Golden Hour" for operations. It’s the one time of year when traffic slows down (hello, Dry January), giving you the breathing room to fix your food costs, organize the liquor room, and reset your kitchen for the year ahead.

Ready to turn that post-holiday hangover into Q1 profit? Here is your ultimate checklist to reset, reconcile, and optimize your inventory for 2026.

📋 The "TL;DR" Cheat Sheet

(In the weeds? Here is the rapid-fire version for the line check.)

1. Purge the Walk-In: Throw out post-holiday spoilage and consolidate containers.

2. Update Recipe Costs: Suppliers likely raised prices on Jan 1. Update your inventory system to reflect current COGS.

3. The "Dead Bottle" Audit: Identify liquor/beer that hasn't moved in 60 days and run a special to clear it.

4. Menu Engineering: Review Q4 sales mix; 86 the dishes that cost high but sell low.

5. Check the Scales: Calibrate your kitchen scales and bar pouring tools to ensure portion accuracy.

1. The Walk-In & Dry Storage Purge

December service is about speed, which usually means organization goes out the window. Boxes get shoved wherever they fit.

The Checklist:

• Consolidate and Label: Combine those three half-empty containers of cambros into one. Ensure every single item has a fresh date label.

• The "Freezer Burn" Hunt: Check the deep freeze. If that backup case of shrimp from November is icing over, cook it off for a staff family meal or toss it. It’s dead money.

• First-In, First-Out (FIFO) Reset: Re-organize shelves so the oldest product is actually at the front. The holiday rush often messes up this flow.

2. The "Dead Bottle" Liquidation

Look at your back bar and your beer cooler. You likely ordered specific spirits or seasonal beers for holiday parties that didn't sell out.

If you are sitting on 12 bottles of "Pumpkin Spice Liqueur" or "Winter Ale" in January, you are losing money on shelf space.

The Checklist:

• Identify Slow Movers: Run a usage report. If a bottle hasn't been poured in 60 days, it’s dead stock.

• Run a "Blue Light Special": create a specific "Winter Clearance" cocktail or beer bucket special to sell through this stock at a discount. Get the cash back so you can buy what actually sells.

• Bin It: If it’s an open bottle of wine or vermouth from December? It’s likely oxidized. Pour it out. Quality control matters more than saving $10.

3. The COGS Reality Check: Supplier Price Updates

This is the most critical step for profitability. Suppliers traditionally increase prices in January.

If you are still calculating your food cost percentage based on November invoice prices, your math is wrong, and you are likely undercharging.

The Checklist:

• Audit Recent Invoices: Grab the first invoice of January from Sysco, US Foods, or your liquor rep. Compare line items to December.

• Update Your POS/IMS: Enter these new costs into your Inventory Management System (IMS).

• Recalculate Plate Costs: Did the price of beef go up 10%? You might need to raise the price of your burger or cut the portion size by an ounce to maintain your margin.

4. Hardware Health: Scales and Scanners

Precision is the enemy of waste. In a restaurant, "eye-balling it" costs thousands of dollars a year.

The Checklist:

• Calibrate Kitchen Scales: A scale that is off by even a few grams adds up over thousands of covers. Test them with a known weight.

• Check Bar Jiggers: Are your bartenders using beat-up jiggers? Ensure your pour tools are accurate to keep liquor costs (Pour Cost) in check.

• Fix the Printer: That kitchen chit printer that jams every Friday night? Fix it now while it's slow.

5. Menu Engineering: The "Stars" vs. The "Dogs"

Use your inventory data to influence your menu. You have a full year of data from 2025—use it.

The Checklist:

• Identify the "Dogs": These are items with low profitability and low popularity. Take them off the menu.

• Identify the "Plowhorses": High popularity but low profitability. Can you swap a cheaper ingredient without lowering quality?

• Plan for "Dry January": If liquor sales drop in January, inventory heavier on Mocktail ingredients (fancy sodas, non-alcoholic spirits) to keep the check average up.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How often should restaurants do inventory?

A: While counting food should happen weekly (often Sunday nights or Monday mornings) to track perishables, a full audit of china, glass, silver, and slow-moving dry goods should happen at the Beginning of the Year (Q1) to reset assets.

Q: What is a good food cost percentage for 2026?

A: Generally, a profitable restaurant aims for a food cost between 28-32% and a liquor cost between 18-24%. However, with rising inflation in 2026, tracking specific ingredient price hikes in January is vital to maintaining these margins.

Q: How do I handle inventory for "Dry January"?

A: Reduce your par levels for beer and wine in January to prevent tying up cash. Shift that budget toward non-alcoholic inventory (mixers, N/A beers) as demand for these products typically spikes by 30%+ in Q1.

Final Thoughts: Mise en Place for Your Business

In the kitchen, Mise en Place means "everything in its place." You wouldn't start dinner service without your station prepped. You shouldn't start the business year without your inventory prepped, either.

Use the slower days of January to dig into the walk-in, update your recipe costs, and clear out the dead stock. A clean inventory today means a higher profit margin tomorrow.

Order up!