Starting a restaurant takes a fair amount of time, effort, and resources. From purchasing restaurant equipment to hiring an experienced team, it can be difficult to get all your pieces in place. On top of that, simply offering fast delivery and great prices doesn’t always mean a restaurant will succeed.
Ultimately, you’ll need to follow some useful tips if you want your restaurant to succeed. From rethinking your hiring process to finding the best restaurant supply store, here’s what you can do to get a leg up on the competition.
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1. Choose an assortment of restaurant supplies.
While it may be an easy selection to choose a single piece of equipment, finding all of the supplies you need will take time. On top of that, the restaurant supply industry is also competitive so it takes time to find the highest-quality equipment. Luckily, companies like GoFoodservice, a modern commercial restaurant supply team, handle wholesale restaurant supply as well as carry innovative products that can improve your commercial kitchen. Instead of relying on local stores, you can handle an order of restaurant kitchen equipment on the GoFoodservice website. It’s a simple equipment solution that can help you snag the best products all with a stress-free shopping experience.
2. Focus on the staff.
The hospitality industry is hyper-focused on providing a high level of customer care. Success hinges on passionate staff to make restaurants work. For many restaurants, knowledgeable staff is the heart of their operations. That’s why you need to avoid complacency when you’re making staffing decisions. You need to be able to support your staff members every step of the way to ensure that you’re boosting team morale and investing in a team that can showcase your brand effectively. This means focusing on environmental health and adaptable solutions for staff happiness.
3. Narrow down the “big three.”
Many restaurateurs often talk about the big three: a great chef, a stellar location, and an innovative concept. Starting a restaurant is like completing a series of large jobs. This is why you need to refine your product line, choose effective real estate, and ensure you’ve chosen a chef that can execute your vision. Whether you’re starting a pizzeria or a fusion concept, you need to ensure each of the big three is in place before you fire up operations. Given how quickly the restaurant industry changes, it’s a wonder that these three have stayed so essential.
4. Don’t cheap out on your guests.
Since your guests are your source of revenue, it’s important that you focus on quality from the kitchen to customer support. Everything that touches a guest or comes across their table needs to be of high quality. Guests can sense when you’re trying to do things the cheap way or cut corners. It can add to a bad experience. While this is true for a wide range of industries, it’s especially important in the commercial kitchen industry. Choose quality items from your wholesale restaurant supply, set fair, affordable prices, and offer special discounts for loyalty programs and rewards if need be.
5. Always overestimate your financial needs.
Whether you’re getting custom quotes for kitchen equipment or you’re factoring in your lease on a space, pad in extra money. Since profits are often razor-thin in the industry, it’s important that you have enough money to ensure operations run smoothly. A good rule of thumb is to have six-to-nine months of general operating capital on hand before you open your doors. It takes a while for customers to latch on but it takes much less time to rack up costs.
Opening a killer restaurant can be done if you’re smart about the decisions you make. Follow some key tips to ensure that you’re staying ahead of the curve and always focus on your clientele. You’d be surprised by what you can accomplish in doing so.
