What makes a restaurant a success?

Two restaurants within ten minutes from each other compete for the same business. They are both located off the beaten track, but along major town thoroughfares. They both about the same size, seat approximately the same number of customers, serve nearly the same fare and the meal prices are close. Even their customer demographics are almost identical. One of them does a booming business with a continuous line for an empty table and has expanded to multiple locations. The other? Barely surviving.

There's a relatively simple reason why one restaurant is doing better than the other. Restaurant "A" invests more in what its customers want: Value for their money. Mind you, hard-working folk frequent this restaurant. They don't have a lot of extra dollars lining their wallets, but they do appreciate good food. But no matter what the income bracket, good value tops the list of consumer priorities.

What about Restaurant "B"? The quality of the food is cheap, the meat is generally overcooked, and the bread would be better thrown away than eaten. The menu prices are rock bottom -- one can't imagine how the owner can charge so little and still survive -- but there's no value in the product. Those same hard-working folks would rather spend more at Restaurant "A" than pay good money at Restaurant "B." They view it as the same as throwing it away.

Good food for a good value are only two of many reasons a restaurant may succeed. Atmosphere, decor, service and location are also factors. Knowing your demographic is important. But often a restaurant's failure boils down to a simple oversight of a key element. Fixing that one problem -- or two or three -- can be enough to make all the difference. Of course, some fixes are easier than others. For example, if your restaurant is in a low-traffic area, you might have to compensate. Perhaps the rent is low, which is why the location was chosen to begin with, but then by necessity, you will have  to invest in a heavy advertising campaign in order to spread the word. 

Good restaurants are in high demand. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, Americans spend nearly half of their food budget away from home. In the last few decades, eating out has increasingly become a form of entertainment as well as a time-saver for busy families and individuals. Yet restaurants notoriously have a high failure rate. Hmmmm. 

If your business is doing less than your expectation, then it behooves you to make your own comparisons. Take a look at a successful restaurant you know well. Analyze the elements that make it work and see how your own operation stacks up against it. Are there aspects to your operation you can modify? Can you compensate for the parts you can't? Are you flexible in your thinking so you can shift your priorities and even re-allocate resources, if necessary? 

Let go of your vision long enough to see your reality. This may be the most important first step you can take toward making the two one in the same.


~ Ellen Ritscher Sackett, for Good Taste Buds