The restaurant business, owners chime in?

[eamon]

Hey guys

So I'm looking to remodel a restaurant (breakfast-lunch only), but am having a hard time locating where to buy my furnishings while remaining cost-effective. I need new booths, chairs, tables, glassware, ceiling, tiles/carpet.

I'm looking to really make a change and even revisit my menu to update to new items and prices.

This is the design that I found online that inspired me
Do you guys have any advice or pointers on how to really up my customer traffic? It used to do very well, and I think the touch up will be a major boost. It is located a few miles away from nightlife restaurants, and is located off a major street in the middle of a few streets of a lot of other misc businesses.
Also, do you think creating a website is necessary?

Appreciate the input

[TrevorM3]

interesting thread. i always think of the restaurant business as a very challenging one.

good luck to you on your endeavors. I however, have no useful input unfortunately. lol

[nevin]

Website is pretty important. If you have a lot of competition then you need one! People need to see the menu and hrs of operation and address. If they don't get that info these days they will move on. My website has been down for a while (about a year) and it's a major pain. I can't get the guy who built it to fix it.

I get designer cards and designer discounts from a few places online. All you need is a $2500 order from some furniture distributors to get 20% off. I buy some stuff from pier one and get about 20% with my designer card.

I buy a lot of shit from amazon with subscribe and save. Like cleaning supplies. It's cheaper then the food distributors and its not generic crap like you will get from sysco or us foods.

If you only do breakfast and lunch you can try to cater lunches to the local businesses if they are office jobs.

[dreamingat30fps]

I don't know anything about this business, but I will second that if a restaurant doesn't have a website, I probably wont go there.

[richardbb85]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

interesting thread. i always think of the restaurant business as a very challenging one.

good luck to you on your endeavors. I however, have no useful input unfortunately. lol

it sure is, it pays the bills but then it takes away all your time. when business is slow, you need to find ways to bring in customers. when it's busy, it usually bring problems as well

[NemesisX]

Oh wow you don't have a website? That's the number one thing you need to do IMO. I don't go to any restaurant without checking the menu first online.

The only exception is when I'm on vacation in another city/state/etc

[NemesisX]

Also you should focus on 3 or 4 signature menu items that are really spectacular. Usually this involves a lot of low and slow cooking (possibly overnight?). You want people to say "oh yeah X is the place with the killer braised short ribs"

Most restaurants fail because the food is mediocre. It's not offensive but it provides no incentive for people to be repeat customers and/or recommend the place to their friends.

[NemesisX]

Here's an interesting technique you can try. You should give customers anonymous review cards and give them a voucher for a free appetizer on their subsequent visit. When you collect them be sure to bring a giant box with you so the customers feel that the reviews are truly anonymous.

This way you entice them to be repeat customers (free app) and you get direct feedback.

Another common marketing technique for struggling restaurants is to use groupon. Check that out as well.

[NemesisX]

Or maybe do half off appetizers or something. You'll have to iron out the details yourself.

[xtac]

I know many places who have no web presence and do very well.


Don't forget this one rule - If your food is good, people will come. I don't just mean hitting the status quo in terms of overall experience, your food needs to be consistent and delicious for the niche you are servicing. Simple but difficult to do

[Biorin]

In my mom's restaurant, they opted to skip spending money on advertising and instead spend that money directly on the customer. Instead of offering coupons or deals, they do little things like bring out free desserts, or an extra dish for frequent customers. For holidays, they will do things like bring out a colorful dessert with a little "happy new year" or relevant thing in it (think the decor you stick in cakes, etc) for every table. They are enormously successful. Sometimes it's the small details that make a difference.

Have something that you focus on, be it a theme or idea. They offer quality, generally organic food at a fairly reasonable price, and this is a big hit in their health-conscious area, and is what they are known for and why they are recommended.

Run a very tight ship. If you can, be on site personally to manage people. If your workers see that you are very laid back, they will be as well, and service and performance will suffer. Be clear that you have very high expectations, but reward them for their service. Her restaurant does an annual holiday party where they order crab, pizza, beer, and whatever the staff want, and they give away lots of fun little gifts and play gambling games where you can win things like an iPad.

Edit: I guess I didn't realized that you have been in the business a while, so I hope I'm not being redundant! However, we were discussing their success earlier and these all came up as important points. Good service is a big deal!

[My335iTT]

Originally Posted by nevin

Website is pretty important. If you have a lot of competition then you need one! People need to see the menu and hrs of operation and address. If they don't get that info these days they will move on. My website has been down for a while (about a year) and it's a major pain. I can't get the guy who built it to fix it.

I get designer cards and designer discounts from a few places online. All you need is a $2500 order from some furniture distributors to get 20% off. I buy some stuff from pier one and get about 20% with my designer card.

I buy a lot of shit from amazon with subscribe and save. Like cleaning supplies. It's cheaper then the food distributors and its not generic crap like you will get from sysco or us foods.

If you only do breakfast and lunch you can try to cater lunches to the local businesses if they are office jobs.

x2 on the website and this is just for me if I cant find a new places website there is a 50% chance I wont be going there. I will just find somewhere else to go.