HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL RESTAURANT BUSINESS

A storyline just like yours is playing out across the country. Your business has cheated death. It has stretched past the five-year mortality marker that, according to the National Restaurant Association, claims 70% of restaurants.

But there is no sigh of relief from you – only fear stoked by rising restaurant food costs, slim profit margins and government uncertainty surrounding immigrants who are the backbone of the industry. Competition is increasing which means millennials, the largest demographic since baby boomers, will need a compelling reason to revisit your restaurant when new ones seem to be opening all the time.

Is it even possible for today’s restaurants to reach a decade milestone, let alone a quarter-century one? Longtime operators and industry experts nod yes, but unlike in the past, it requires the multifaceted approach outlined in this survival guide of restaurant management tips. 

RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT TIPS

1.  IMPROVE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

Social media is a push-pull medium, so collect as much information as you dispense. That information could be key in figuring out how to run a restaurant successfully.

Consider Spoons Bar & Grill in Santa Ana, California, which puts its social media audience to work. In one instance, the restaurant provided 10%-off deals to any customer who shared a mobile number. When nights are slow, the restaurant sends alerts on specials. The tactic has turned slow shifts into profitable ones and has incentivized regulars to tap into social media, resulting in a 400% jump in Instagram followers and an improved social media presence.

Gina Stefani, scion of Stefani Restaurant Group in Chicago, makes it a priority to personally respond to posts about her restaurant, Mad Social, to boost its social media presence. Followers appreciate the effort and feel a personal connection, which she views as the social media equivalent of visiting a customer’s table. “I could pay someone to do it,” says Stefani, “but I want them to know it’s me responding.”

Regular Instagram-worthy dishes can generate buzz instantly, but if your photos aren’t resonating, change social media tactics. Enlist staff to be the eyes and ears on your social media presence. Managers at Houston-based Peli Peli restaurants are responsible for reading customer reviews online. They look for patterns of complaints on social media, just as they do when surveying diners on the floor, owner Thomas Nguyen says.

2. CREATE A POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE

Too many operators fail to consider the importance of a positive atmosphere and the social aspects of dining. Use it to attract customers, say Jonathan Segal and Celeste Fierro, the leadership behind New York-based The One Group, a lifestyle hospitality company with a global portfolio of restaurants.

For example, build or refocus your restaurant around the bar where the atmosphere is contagious. Small alterations can also yield dividends. Swap out the set playlist for a DJ who will read the room and play music appropriate for that night’s customers. Seemingly small changes will see big results and lead to restaurant success.

Playing up the positive atmosphere translates into higher bar tabs and check averages. Even changing the lighting can make a difference to establish an energetic mood. “You want customers to tell their friends that they had more than great food,” says Segal. “You want them to say they had an amazing experience. Guests will come back to places that they associate with special memories.”

Working the room, however, only works if staff is trained to identify the right approach. A couple on a date should be treated differently than a group of women on a night out.

3. SEE YOUR FUTURE. UPDATE YOUR KIDS MENU

Teens with their friends and kids with parents in tow are your future customers, which means it’s vital to treat children like “princes and princesses,” says Andrea Anthony, owner of Lobster Roll Restaurant in Amagansett, New York. Anthony believes catering to young appetites is a beneficial move for restaurant owners.

“Seriously update your kids menu with healthier options that impress parents, little ones and your future customers,” says Anthony. “Go with global flavors, such as Japanese crispy chicken instead of chicken tenders or protein-charged grains like quinoa as sides instead of mashed potatoes. Set aside marketing dollars for better kids menu items and meaningful freebies, not just crayons and coloring placemats.”

4. BE SMART ABOUT COST SAVINGS

Stop resisting digital inventory management tools, which can fit all types of operations, including mom and pop restaurants and help with cost savings. Depending on the software, food inventory, procurement, menu planning, accounting and other needs are consolidated into one system and linked to suppliers. When inventory levels wane, alerts pop up with the option for one-click ordering.

Cost savings can be significant. Operators can expect a 52% drop in restaurant food waste and an 87% decrease in purchasing errors, according to BlueCart, a Washington, D.C.-based inventory software company.

With slim margins, even the smallest changes make a difference, says Ken Halberg, owner and managing partner of H2 Hospitality in New York, which include Harding’s. Keeping the circulation of flatware to a minimum can, for instance, pay dividends in cost savings. When flatware is abundant in the dining room, pieces tend to get lost. But when the amount is reduced, and servers are responsible for it, they monitor tables vigilantly and return the flatware to the kitchen at more regular intervals. As a result, fewer pieces are lost, Halberg says. Cost savings also can be found in cleaning supplies, he says, which should not cost over 1% of revenue. 

5. GET A NEW LOOK

Some of the country’s most celebrated and long-standing successful restaurants have remodeled for a new look, including the French Laundry in Yountville, California, and the Union Square Cafe in New York City. Operators agree that upping your game while you’re on top is a smart preemptive strike, but changes don’t need to be multimillion dollar undertakings.

In the restaurant business, room presentation is just as important as food presentation. Refinishing floors, repainting walls and refurbishing bathrooms can pay dividends in attitude alone. Renovations can be packaged with menu promotions to alert regulars to see your new look and attract new customers to help quickly recoup costs.

Before scanning your dining room for a potential new look, think about the current setup.

If you offer views into a disorganized or messy kitchen, block off the area or you’ll turn off customers, says Eric McBride of the McBride Company, a restaurant design firm.

Renovations that invite walk-ins during warmer seasons can work magic, McBride says. Replacing the facade of your restaurant with folding windows that turn the area into a patio will attract customers. Sometimes, a successful new look is just a matter of opening windows or strategically placing televisions to face the street. “Often operators, especially independents, should think less in terms of themes and more in terms of lifestyles,” says McBride. “The key question is, ‘What kind of lifestyle do you want your space to project?’ ”

6. EXTEND OPEN HOURS

Since you’re paying rent and utilities whether the business is open or closed, it makes sense that more dinner-only restaurants should extend open hours.

Operators should look for ways to keep the door open every minute of the day, says Josh Wolkon, owner of the Secret Sauce restaurant group in Denver. Consider offering restaurant buyouts and private events to extend open hours, as well as dedicating staff and space for catering.

7. GET BACK TO BASICS

Getting back to the basics continuously is a crucial part of how to run a successful restaurant, says John T. Bettin, CEO of Tavistock Restaurant Collection. As elementary as it sounds, the importance of “hot food hot, cold food cold, served in a timely manner,” matters as well as the ABCs of service, such as genuine greetings and farewells.

Bettin expects his managers to do the basics, walk and monitor the floor and interact with guests while supporting their staff. Staff members are trained to know the menu basics inside and out, so that they can drive up check averages with appropriate recommendations. He lives by the mantra: “Hire slowly, fire quickly.” Hire on personality, he says, and you can train the rest.

8. BE A NEWS JUNKIE

Staying on top of hospitality happenings and food trends can help you stay ahead of the curve and avoid possible operational hiccups. For example, reports of lower sales among chains in the first quarter of 2017 might entice you to take a closer look at your own traffic and sales projections for upcoming months.

If you have limited or no time to scour the news, subscribe to newsletters from the National Restaurant Association, publications specializing in foodservice and updates from online sites such as Eater which cover the country’s best food cities. The news is often presented in smaller, easily digestible formats. You’ll see menu trends emerge that might entice specials but also new technology and the latest ideas to help improve operations.

9. WORK YOUR BRAIN TRUST

One of the best restaurant management tips is also the simplest: Never think you’re the smartest person in the room. The industry is made up of creative people, so make it a part of your routine to ask for input and comments on all facets of the restaurant, from service and food to promotions and overall operations.

Pete Cich, partner at the Duck Dive, Miss B’s Coconut Club, Park 101 and others in Southern California, keeps open lines of communication with his staff.

“You never want to waste good ideas or forget tasks,” he says, which is why he trains staff to use shared note apps such as Evernote or Google Keep, so that new ideas circulate inside the restaurant.

Also consider starting or joining local gatherings of your contemporaries, even informally. Meeting after work for drinks or hosting a monthly dinner on Monday nights when many restaurant staff are off can be a productive way to discuss challenges and opportunities for everyone.

About the Author: Peter Gianopulos is an adjunct professor and critic for Chicago Magazine. He has reported on the restaurant industry for more than 15 years.


Photography by Frank Lawlor