Is your restaurant looking tired? How would you know? You are in the restaurant every day, so you may be blinded by what you have come to accept. What is the litmus test? A thorough review of the facility.
The checklist is as follows. Grade each item from 1 to 5:
- needs no improvement
- needs some improvement to bring up to speed
- needs significant improvement
- needs major improvement
- a disaster
Most restaurants who are a 1 have been remodeled in the last year, 2 is within two to three years, 3 is three to five years, 4 is over five years and 5 is over five years with no maintenance.
Consider the following areas when evaluating your facility. Note: Be sure to leave space on the checklist for comments in each area:
- Exterior: paint, signage, landscaping, front door
- Patio: seating, tables, service area, landscaping, decking
- Foyer: flooring, walls, theme, lighting, front desk, merchandise displays, waiting seating
- Bar: finish of bar fixture, back bar display, equipment and refrigeration, flooring, tables, seating, wall finish, lighting
- Dining Room: flooring, seating, tables, service area, wall finish, lighting
- Rest Rooms: flooring, vanity, mirrors, stalls, urinals, walls, lighting
- Storage: flooring, walls, lighting, shelving, refrigeration
- Kitchen: equipment, counters, work space, flooring, walls, lighting
When the grading is being done it is better to be overly critical. This will get the most candid and honest look at the facility. Have some of your staff do grading as well independently of you. Have some valued guests do the same. The results will be quite enlightening.
OK. Now you have the grading and let’s say your facility grades at a 3 or more. Now what? Well you need some time of remodeling, refurbishing and repair. And what is your win to expend this money. The list is short but most impactful:
- Increased sales
- Increased staff morale
- Increased repeat business
Most restaurants we see have a downward sales curve rate in the 3-4 range. Their places look tired and worn. The employees and even the guests can look tired and worn. Visit other restaurants in your community to see which ones are doing well and which ones are not and go through the above checklist. It will be surprising how well sales correlate to the state of the facility.
For free checkup please contact us.