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

Less Is More: A Case for Fewer Menu Items

While it may be tempting to offer your customers a large selection of menu items, it is actually far more profitable for your business to limit your menu. Read on for insight into why less is more when it comes to menus.

Fewer Items, Fresher Food

By reducing the number of items on your menu, you can focus on sourcing fewer ingredients. This guarantess fresher items for your customers, especially if you focus on getting in-season, local ingredients to guide your menu items. Consider reducing your menu to a small stable of easily sourced items, then allow for a number of rotating items informed by whatever is available in your area during that season. This will give your menu the benefit of appearing current, whilst still offering customer favourites to inspire loyalty and repeat visits.

Rethink Specials

One way to reduce the number of menu items while still offering your customers variety is to begin using daily or weekly specials. Look critically at the menu items that are ordered most frequently. These are the dishes that should make up your regular menu because they have been proven to be successful. Frequent orders means less waste and less loss of profit. Once you’ve narrowed down your menu to the sure-fire winners, take a look at some of the higher-priced menu items. Consider offering these more expensive, exotic items on an occasional basis. This allows you to order a very small quantity of a more expensive ingredient, like lobster, and simply list it as a special until you sell every portion. Train your service staff to highlight the scarcity of these special menu items, which should increase their value in the customer’s eye and lead to higher sales and swifter movement of your inventory.

Consider the Price

As you work to limit the number of items available on your menu, take a hard look at your menu pricing. Are you charging a reasonable price for the items presented? Pricing too low means you may risk your own profits at the sake of high turnover. Pricing too high means alienating potential repeat customers. Strive to offer a range of dishes on your menu to allow customers the chance to splurge or eat within their budget. A good time to reassess your pricing is after a full menu overhaul, including a redesign of the physical menus. This way your repeat customers will see that you are working to improve your service and inventory, not just raise prices.

Portion Variety

One way to add variety to a small menu and cut costs is to offer variety in the portion size of your dishes. Many restaurants offer small and large versions of each dish, which allows customers to pay for only what they know they’ll be able to consume. This can help you better manage your portion control in the kitchen by giving you an opportunity to think about what you’re offering on the plate per dollar spent. Portion variety is a great way to have a menu with several different choices without going overboard on a huge inventory. You can even offer combinations with several small portions of a few dishes for customers looking to sample new dishes, while still offering traditional sizes for repeat customers craving their favorite meals.

What are your thoughts on fewer menu items? Leave a comment below.

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

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

IDEALSOFTWARENICHENOTESFebruary2013

13 Food Cost Tips in 2013

It’s not cheap to run a restaurant, but food is one of the biggest costs associated with it. It is therefore of utmost importance to keep your food costs within an acceptable percentage to avoid financial hardship and prevent having to pass on the costs to your customers. Here are 13 tips on how you can achieve this:

1) Take Inventory Regularly

Making note consistently and regularly of your food and supply inventories will enable you to maintain better control of the overall use and the costs that come with it. This is particularly important for high-cost products like meat and alcoholic beverages.

2) Price Your Menu Items Accordingly

It is important that you charge a reasonable amount of money for the items on your menu. If you do this, customers will be more likely to return or recommend you to their friends and family, helping you to maintain a generous profit. Charging too little will give you a high turnover but very little profit.

3) Control Portion Sizes

It cannot be stressed enough that you should make sure to serve foods in reasonable portions. Over-filling plates means customers are likely not to finish the food, and that excess food ends up being wasted.

4) Follow Proper Food Handling Procedures

Make sure that you keep all foods at their recommended temperatures and cook them properly to prevent contamination and avoid waste.

5) Reconsider Garnishes

Garnishes may look good but aren’t usually eaten. Choose garnishes that are less expensive or avoid using them entirely.

6) Record Food Waste

On a chart, write down foods that were made improperly, spilled or thrown out. This helps you keep better track of inventory and makes it easier to monitor costs.

7) Be Consistent

Making inventory purchases consistently helps you to keep your costs steady and keeps you well-supplied.

8) Build Supplier Relationships

Building a rapport with your supplier’s means that they’ll become familiar with your regular orders and you’ll have a better idea of the cost. Regular communication can also help you find out about food quality issues or price changes.

9) Teach Employees to Care

Once employees see how your profits can affect their paychecks, they’re more likely to take waste, portioning and food quality seriously.

10) Buy Local and In-Season

Purchasing locally produced, in-season goods doesn’t just support the local economy. It can also save you money on your bottom line by avoiding the massive costs of cross-country or international shipping.

11) Shop Around

If you don’t like the prices of one supplier, it’s good to look around for a better deal. Buying wholesale whenever possible can also help.

12) Avoid All You Can Eat

While the availability of unlimited food for a flat rate can draw in customers, it can also result in a massive amount of waste.

13) Set Menu Limits

It’s great to have exotic or classy menu items. However, offering them all the time can significantly increase your costs. Consider offering pricier items only on certain days of the week.

Do you have any other food cost tips for us all? Leave a comment below.

Let us help you control your food cost with Ideal Software’s Inventory Management System,IdealStockControl. Contact us Now!

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

IdealSoftwareNicheNotesJanuary2013