The restaurant sector is pretty successful and it can rake in millions in profits every other year. Of course, except for this year. It is safe to say that 2020 has not been a great year for most businesses, but out of all of the businesses, the restaurant and service sectors have suffered the most. Restaurants were forced to close their dine-in spaces as early as March and they have been one of the last places to open even now. Restaurants had to rely heavily on takeaway and delivery during this time, and of course, a lot of restaurants were not able to survive. A lot of small, locally-owned restaurants had to shut down because they were not earning enough money, and that is a sad reality. The restaurant industry is currently still trying to get up on its feet, and if you want to help them out, start supporting your local restaurants and order in, buy their products, promote them, and so on. It is the least we can do to support people that are struggling so much during this pandemic.
The restaurant industry used to have room for new-comers but given globalization and cultures assimilating everywhere, you will find almost every kind of restaurant in your city. If you want to eat Indian, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese food, etc. it is all probably already there. This is where restaurants then started creating specialized menu items, fusion menu items, and so on to stand out, and that has worked for a lot of them, but not everyone. This variety is part of the reason why the restaurant industry has become too competitive and cut-throat. It is now pretty difficult to open a new restaurant because the amount of time it might take for you to build a customer base might not be enough and in the worst-case scenario, you might end up having to close within the same year you open up, and that is a more common occurrence than you would like to think it is.
If you are currently planning on entering the restaurant business yourself, then it important that you know that you have a lot of work cut out for you. It is going to get tough, especially in the beginning so you want to have some extra money on hand so that you can get by in the beginning. No restaurant is immediately popular, and those viral restaurant videos only work for a select minority. That does not mean you should not have a social media following, and if anything social media marketing is very important since it lets people find you. So you will have to put in the work there as well. You can choose to be your own social media marketing manager, or you can hire someone to do it for you. However, this article will not be focusing on the business side of things as much. We will now be drawing our attention towards the design and aesthetic side of things. So if you want to learn about setups, layouts, restaurant furniture, and so on, you can keep on reading below.
Consistency is key when it comes to running a restaurant. Consistency does not mean you get boring, but consistency means that you manage to provide the same quality, service, and experience every single time, and it sounds simple, but this is where most restaurants slip up. Consistency in layout, theme, and design is important as well. Having an idea of what you want your restaurant to look like is important because it helps you when you are out shopping for supplies. A good restaurant should have consistency in their concept and design or else things will clash against each other and it will look weird. For instance having a modern, upscale design but choosing to get retro-styled furniture. This is an example of just one kind of clash. You could also have an 80s themed restaurant but then have pictures from the 70s and Woodstock. These small details end up creating a big difference once everyone has been set up and complete, so always make sure that you are being consistent with your theme, or else people notice and something generally seems off about the place, even if customers are not able to identify the exact inconsistency, they can still sense that something might not be right.
This same principle applies to furniture, a diner-style restaurant gets diner-style tables and chairs, a grab-and-go should have stools, and so on. So your theme and concept must carry onto your furniture. When it comes to restaurant furniture, you have to find the sweet spot between comfort and design. Compromising too much on either one of them either does not reflect well on your restaurant, so do not be afraid to cruise through different stores and places before you finalize your furniture.
You also want the furniture to go with your restaurant setup, for instance, a long table with multiple bar stools are great for utilizing windowed walls since people enjoy a view and a long bar table allows for different people to grab a spot in a more popular spot in the restaurant. Similarly, tables or chairs that are fixed to the walls work well for spaces that have a small and boxy layout. These details can seem irrelevant at times, and you might be tempted to gloss them over and just get things over it, but your furniture style and setup affect your restaurant’s style and setup, and you want to make sure that your furniture is set in a manner that allows for more diners to come at a time, but at the same time does not disrupt the flow of movement around the tables as this is important for your waiting staff. At the end of the day, the devil is in the details and you cannot reap any rewards if you are not putting in enough effort on your end. Running a restaurant will not be easy, and if you can make it past the initial slump, your prospects will be good.