There’s no doubt that the choice of the menu and the painstaking effort that goes into preparing it to fit the pace of a business is a crucial part of running a restaurant. But anyone with experience in the industry will tell you that it is never enough. A restaurant is more than a place to eat. For most people, it is a destination.
The scene
A restaurant is a location so that location has to have an appeal all on its own. Your style is up to you, though finding a visual niche is always a good idea. What is important is that you don’t make any mistakes in the design that can put people off the food. Cheap furniture makes it look like few standards are put into the business, which leads people to assume the same can go for the food. Music that’s too loud or too lyrical is distracting from the food. Bad lighting makes it hard to appreciate the visual aspect of the meal.
The brand
The branding of a restaurant will go hand-in-hand with the food and the scene. They serve as good inspiration, but you also need to think about how you disseminate that brand. A restaurant needs to make a name for itself to succeed. The guide from Consolidated Foodservice recommends diversifying that brand to reach as many as possible and stick in their minds for as long as possible. Social media, the website, email marketing can cover the online. But you also need to think about building a certain visual memorability to the brand. It needs to appear in the real world through print advertising in the right places, flyers and business cards, and even printed on the menus themselves.
The people
Restaurants are a service industry as much as they are a food industry. You’re selling hospitality, so you need staff to be hospitable. The single best way to guarantee that is to find people who can handle the pressures of the job (which are not inconsiderable) and treat them well. Without investing in your team, they have less reason to care about how much effort they invest in the business. Keep people warm to the business to ensure a warm reception.
The price
This will get the hairs of some would-be restaurant owners rising. For a quality experience, you need to pay for quality, that is true. But eating out can be expensive and pushing your prices too far beyond the value of the meal itself will have your customers spending less because they think they can afford less. There is a reason that Michelin awards include the Bib Gourmands. At the end of the day, people want businesses that can provide more value for their buck.
Care must go into every aspect of your restaurant. It’s image, in front of you and in its marketing, adds flavor. The service of the staff adds convenience. And value adds good reason for customers to be there. Make sure your restaurant isn’t lacking any of the ingredients that can make the meal all the more enjoyable.