Tips To Grow Your Restaurant Business

Every day, people around the world are romanced by the dream of opening their own restaurant. The story goes something like this: “We’ll open our own restaurant, cook the food that we like, hang out with our friends, franchise it and make lots of money.”

The reality is that it takes a great deal of hard work, lots of money and business acumen to initially get a business off the ground and even more to keep it growing.

The following are my top ten tips to help you grow your restaurant business:

 Know The Customer. Take the time to get to know what makes yours customers tick. The best restaurateurs can recall first and last names, spouse’s name, where they live, work, play, what car they drive and most importantly, what they like to eat and drink. Knowing your guests personal favourites also allows you the ability to “up-sell”

Create Signature Items. In large cities there are thousands of places to eat, so give customers a reason to pick yours on a consistent basis. Become famous for just one or two items and ensure that these key items are premium quality, easily produced and profitable. 

Treat Your Customers Like Gold. There’s an old expression in the restaurant business: “If you have a great dining experience you may tell your close family and maybe a couple of people at work that you had a great dinner last night. If you have a bad meal/service/experience you will make a point of telling everyone you know how bad it was.”

Continually Train Your Staff To Excel. Restaurant employees are generally happier when they are learning something new and subsequently give better service to your customers. By providing better service, they also make better tips – which make up the majority of their income. Their jobs can become repetitive so train them constantly to learn their job to the highest standard and the jobs of everyone else. Cross-training allows you to be able cover the various tasks in your business and can help you create a build a team of future management candidates.

 Listen To Customer Complaints And Do Something About What They Say.  It’s easy to assume that you know more about food and drinks than your customers do. However, if your customers take the time and effort to let you know that something isn’t right or could be better listen to their comments, thank them for their feedback and bring it up with the management and implement changes as needed.

Keep Your Menu Current. The menu is the key element from which all other details revolve. Research other restaurants in your style of cuisine in all markets to see what they’re doing, study menus, trade magazine and hire consultants to help your restaurant become a leader, not a follower.

Promote Your Team. If your chef, manager or staff members come with a great idea, make sure you reward them and recognize their achievements not only internally but in marketing you create.

 Create A Welcoming And Clean Environment. The average life span of the dining area of a restaurant is 7 to 10 years, so buy the best quality you can afford and keep it repaired, painted and polished. As your customers wait for dinner to arrive, many look at your decorations, artwork etc. Chipped paint or dirty baseboards stand out and can taint the overall experience and why they will or will not return to your restaurant. Many women choose their restaurant based on how clean the washroom is, so make sure you have a plan to service this area on a regular basis. 

Keep On Doing It And Love What You Do. Don’t sit back and think that now that you have a good business that your work is done and it’s time to retire . Keep your finger on the pulse of your business, encourage your teams to excel and you will reap the long-term rewards.

Building a great restaurant takes years of blood, sweat and tears and the financial rewards are generally smaller than most people imagine. If you don’t love the food business and all that it entails, don’t get into it. It’s a vocation, not a vacation.

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