8 Tips for Getting the Most out of Restaurant Design

Owning a restaurant can be a stressful job, let alone facing the prospect of restaurant design. In an effort to help lighten the burden, we’ve developed eight tips to assist you in getting the most out of restaurant design.

1) Design your Concept Around Three Words

By taking the concept for your restaurant design and breaking it down into three easily digestible words, you give yourself some room to explore ideas while at the same time giving your design focus towards a set of specific goals. Words like fresh, fast, affordable, or fancy are all evocative phrases that can help give your amorphous idea a solid structure to build upon.

2) Separate Personal Preferences from Customer Preferences

Unless your restaurant is themed around you, it’s a good idea to leave any personal preferences behind when constructing your dream restaurant. You want the design to be reflective of your personality, but ultimately be about the consumer’s wants and needs.

3) Don't be Afraid to Seek Outside Help

As previously mentioned, owning and managing a restaurant can be stressful enough on its own. Having to work at the restaurant’s design as well can be a daunting task. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to hire a professional restaurant designer to help take care of aspects that you can’t be bothered with. Aside from some of the more inconsequential details, professional designers can also help with the important parts that you might otherwise not be knowledgeable in, such as the materials and specs for restaurant spaces.

4) Search for Inspirational Images

The internet is an unlimited resource for finding images online that you find to be representative of your restaurant’s design. Don’t just look for other restaurants to imitate though, be open about the type of images you find inspirational and collect them into a collage to provide your restaurant designer. This will help immensely when it comes to them turning your vision into a reality.

5) Be Specific and Communicative

Along a similar vein, be sure to keep constant communication with your restaurant designer to ensure they’re always on the right path. Don’t make them guess at your goals as that will only result in disappointment on either or both ends.

6) Keep an Open Mind

While it’s a good idea to be vocal about what you do and don’t want from your restaurant design, keep in mind that any professionals you hire are considered professional for a reason. Before rejecting any ideas, take a step back and try to see the problem from your restaurant designer’s point of view.

7) Pay Attention to Your Budget

Attempting to design a restaurant without setting up a budget in advance is a surefire recipe for future disaster. Always keep your budgets in the back of your mind when making decisions concerning the look of your restaurant. This way, you avoid any future disappointments when you realize the dream restaurant your building can’t be completed due to a lack of funds.

8) Study Available Timelines

Product delays and reselection can seriously impact the construction stage of restaurant design. Know the timelines for the furniture and other details you wish to include in the restaurant to avoid these inefficient and preventable costs from piling up.

Now it’s your turn. Any more design tips? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system for controlling food cost IdealStockControl

Is Your Restaurant Website Mobile Friendly?

Consider the needs of the consumer, and your product will generate strong brand loyalty. This bit of solid advice finds application in every aspect of business, but especially in a restaurant’s website. The Internet has unarguably replaced the telephone directory as the primary source of commonly sought information. Customers visiting a restaurant’s website are seeking specific information. The customer needs you to tell them what they want to know without having to hunt for it. You need to reward your customer for taking the time to visit your restaurant’s website.

Factors to Consider:

Restaurant websites rank among the top categories visited on a mobile device. Customers want to know where, when, and how to find a restaurant. Mobile site design needs to bear these factors in mind, and give the customer clear information as quickly and efficiently as possible. Mobile browsing applications don’t always correctly render complex formatting or animated objects; simple designs load more quickly and accurately, allowing the customer direct access to information. Frequently accessed information should be placed prominently on the page; customers should never have to search for the restaurant’s operating hours, telephone number for reservations or carry-out orders, or location. It’s okay to put complex information like maps and menus behind a link, but make those links prominent. Menu imagery and visual presentation is important, but search engines cannot index image files that aren’t correctly tagged with metadata.

Content to Consider:

Customers browsing the restaurant website have placed themselves in an ideal position from which to be reached by the marketer. This is the best time to provide the customer with information immediately relevant to their decision but which they didn’t even know they needed. Specific restaurant ads such as featured menu items, limited-time offers, and specialty services must be actively brought to the customer’s attention. Customers who have taken the time to visit your restaurant’s website want to know about you; they just don’t always know which questions to ask. The best design practices place these important but secondary elements of the site either behind a prominent link or “below the fold” where the customer has to scroll to see them.

After the customer has discovered new information about your restaurant it’s time to reward him for taking time to visit. Website-exclusive promotions can result in immediate conversion of undecided consumers. A mobile reservation system can cut wait times or deter customers when a restaurant is in the weeds;  helping the customer avoid a negative experience is just as important as generating a positive one. Customers can browse the menu while they travel, and discover related businesses. Every restaurant exists within a community of businesses; taking time to direct interested consumers to them builds consumer rapport and can generate back-links. An interactive feedback option lets a restaurant gather valuable information about the customer’s experience.

In Conclusion:

Mobile website design requirements share many commonalities, which may be customized to the needs of a restaurant. Visual designs should use high-contrast text areas and be vertically aligned. Large images present loading and display problems; animated and interactive objects require specific software support not always available for mobile displays. The site should be easy to navigate, present the customer with important information not commonly sought, and reward the customer for time spent visiting.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system for controlling food cost IdealStockControl

March 2013 Issue of Ideal Software's Niche Notes, our FoodService industry newsletter.

IDEALSOFTWARENICHENOTESMARCH2013