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Restaurant Redecorating with Personalized Style

Feb 07
Posted by Daniel in bar tips and advice, Restaurant Furniture, restaurant layout, restaurant tips and advice

restaurant interior designCheap methods for restaurant redecorating can create excitement for owners and patrons. Designing an overall decorating theme that can be enhanced with accents.

Just as with your home, restaurant redecorating can be tastefully accomplished without breaking the bank. It may increase business as customers return more often to see the latest changes. Develop your personalized style and theme, and then create an overall plan. Some restaurant owners may prefer to implement their scheme gradually, while others prefer a one-time transformation. Seasonal accents are always popular and can be designed using inexpensive accents from nature. Regardless of how it is accomplished, restaurant redecorating cheaply will allow you to create new scenery that customers will appreciate.

Understanding where to scrimp and where to spend the majority of your budget will help create an overall plan for restaurant redecorating. The most important aspect of a restaurant is ensuring that customers are comfortably seated in sturdy durable restaurant chairs with ample space at their tables. This is important visually, for the comfort of patrons and from a liability aspect. This should be where the largest quantity of your decorating fund is spent. Determining the theme and the décor that you want to project with the restaurant, whether French provincial, Southwest, family dining, or any other, will dictate the style of furnishings purchased. Chairs are available in a variety of styles to match any décor and table. The tables themselves can be large or small, round or square, tall or low. Glass covered, wood, tile, wrought iron or covered with wood grain are all popular alternatives that will complement the theme. Benches and dining booths may be used to replace tables and chairs, particularly in small areas where they provide a more efficient use of space. (more…)

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Go Eco-Friendly to Save Money and Gain Customers

Jan 29
Posted by Daniel in bar tips and advice, restaurant tips and advice

 There are many business owners today who are taking the principles of going green at home and applying them in the form of restaurant advice in order to become eco-friendly, save money, and gain more customers in the process. The following tips should spark some ideas on what you can do to create a greener dining establishment.

Start reducing energy costs by saving water in the kitchen – Installing boiler-less steamers, energy-efficient dishwashers, and pre-rinse spray valves in the kitchen will save water and lower monthly energy costs.

Go green when redecorating – One piece of restaurant advice that is overlooked is that finishes and paints with low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions should be used when redecorating.

Install energy-efficient lighting – If incandescent light bulbs are being used, start switching them over to energy-efficient lights and compact fluorescent bulbs. For accent lighting, use energy-efficient LED fixtures whenever possible. According to the EPA, energy costs can be reduced up to 20% by doing this, which in turn could mean an additional 33% in profitability.

Go greener in bathrooms – Convert sinks, toilets, and urinals to high-efficiency models. Be sure that the fixtures that are purchased and installed exceed efficiency levels mandated by the federal government.

Use caution with cleaning products – Look for cleaning products containing a reduced amount of harmful chemicals. Paper towels and plastic products that are being used should be made from recycled materials. Be sure to replace those older, noisy hand dryers with newer models that operate at high velocity.

Install renewable flooring – One of the best pieces of restaurant advice to consider involves the types of flooring materials used. Bamboo is highly recommended because it exhibits the durability of most hardwoods while at the same time being renewable. It can be grown sustainably and can easily regenerate within a few years. Additionally, always look for flooring materials that are formaldehyde-free.

Increase recycling efforts – Rather than just throwing away those things that would normally get tossed in the garbage, consider recycling by:

o Bundle up recyclable metals along with paper and plastic containers
o Collect burned out fluorescent light bulbs and spent batteries
o Compost food products

Not only is this better for the environment, it will increase the restaurant’s revenue stream.

Replace counter tops – One of the more overlooked tidbits of restaurant advice involves the replacement of counter tops. Materials such as recycled glass and paper are oftentimes used to manufacture some very attractive and durable counter tops. When the time comes, consider replacing those old counter tops with ones made from recycled materials.

Practice greener grounds management – If the restaurant has a lawn area, work on reducing the size of it as well as the chemicals that are being used on it and the irrigation used to water it. Consider adding native plants and planting an organic kitchen garden.

The final bit of restaurant advice could generate additional customer traffic. On the back of the menus, print how the restaurant has taken the necessary steps to become eco-friendly and help to preserve the environment. This is sound advice for customers to take home and apply there as well.

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Restaurant Management Secrets – Overcoming Economic Hurdles

Jan 20
Posted by Daniel in Restaurant, restaurant tips and advice

Restaurant management during tough economic times is challenging. Every customer is likely to be more critical of the food service establishment where hard-earned discretionary income is being spent. The staff is probably stressed about losing their job and/or they may be working more hours or jobs to overcome financial shortages. The owners are may be financially hypercritical. Finally, the suppliers could be less willing to offer discounts.

However, anyone who has been in the food service business is painfully aware that nothing ever easy for the administration of an eating establishment, even in the best of times. Consider saying, “I better put in some additional overtime this week,” when 65 hours is already your normal workweek. This concept basically defines restaurant management parameters. Accomplished restaurant managers are essentially married to the place, unless they have become enlightened to alternative methods of restaurant management. This can be accomplished by training in a manner that “transforms good intentions into great performance”. By educating in a way that says all employees are honest, dedicated and highly respected, the workload is evenly distributed and success assured.

 What Else Besides Location, Location, Location?

If there was a restaurant management bible hidden in a pyramid or vault, it must have stated: “Rule #1: location, location, location.” Making that statement surely comes through experiences over a long period of time. That is the only restaurant management advice I have consistently heard for 40 years.

Admittedly, I love the story of an exceptional man who was determined to become wealthy selling food. In the 1970s, he rented a 10-foot-by-10-foot corner storefront in what might be called a “red light district.” It was also a popular place for buying and selling marijuana. The man installed a bank cashier’s style bulletproof window with a one-way drawer under the cash slot. As the location was a corner, he installed exhaust fans blowing out into either side street. His sign read, “Fresh Donut Holes – 10pm to 6am – Seven Days a Week.” The first night he made his tiny donuts, there was a line around the block. This location was one factor making it possible for him to retire in two years. However, location was not the only factor in his food service success. (more…)

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Customer Service is the key to Successful Restaurant Management

Dec 19
Posted by Daniel in Restaurant, restaurant tips and advice

Restaurant management can be very difficult in these economic times. Here are several ways to not only weather the storm but actually grow your customer base.

The first piece of advice financial advisors give clients is to boost savings by cutting back on discretionary spending. To be more specific, financial advisors usually recommend limiting restaurant meals in times of economic difficulty. With the US mired in ongoing financial hardships for the foreseeable future, how can restaurant management successfully turn a profit when customers are clutching their wallets so tightly?
 Startling Statistics for the Restaurant Industry

The numbers are depressing. The research group NDP reports that restaurant visits declined from 62.7 billion visits in 2008 to 60.6 billion visits in 2011. Chain restaurants have weathered the tough economic times better than independent restaurants, but the restaurant industry as a whole is serving fewer customers. As long as unemployment remains high and consumer confidence stays low, customers will continue to spend cautiously. With U.S. unemployment at 8.1% and news of economic turmoil spanning the globe, restaurant owners and managers should expect more tough times.

 Can a Restaurant Really Grow in Tough Economic Times? (more…)

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Proper money management

Nov 27
Posted by Daniel in restaurant tips and advice

Proper money management has become a critical issue for most business owners based on the current economy.  Here are some suggestions for better money management.

The Importance of Money Management

Money management is a key concern of most people today because of the instability of the economy over the past three or four years. This has made it necessary for many individuals to become a lot more disciplined with how they budget their money. Improper money management and not living within your means in the current economy may result in some dire financial consequences later on in life.

5 Steps to Better Money Management

There are numerous ways for an individual to manage their money wisely in order to prepare themselves for the future. Here are 5 steps to better money management that you should consider:

Create and develop a budget – preparing a budget is easy. Sticking to it is oftentimes another story and that is the most vital part of money management. The basis for creating and developing a budget is knowing exactly how much money is coming in and being spent each month. To start living within your means, this step is a must before going any further.

Make a thorough list of regular monthly expenses – start by accounting for every dollar that is spent on autos, food, maintenance, wages and utilities. Next, include related expenses such as dry cleaning, credit card payments, entertainment, insurance, loan payments, savings, and taxes.

List all monthly income – this includes investment income, income tax refunds and any other source of income or revenue that is earned.

Subtract the total expenses from the total income – this creates an overall picture of income versus outgo and helps the consumer improve on the ability to live within their financial means.

Are all the expenses covered? This is the first question to answer after budgets have been prepared and the four prior steps above have been followed to the letter. If all expenses have been covered, then the budget is working. If not, additional money management steps have to be taken to either earn more or spend less.

Additional Precautions and Suggestions

Preparing a budget is an essential component of proper money management and requires being realistic while the goal is to live within one’s means while at the same time preparing for the future. Once that budget is set in stone, stick to it without wavering.

Balance all bank and financial statements down to the last cent. Clean out all unused items in the storage and have a sale. Pay a bill or two with the money that is earned or just save it and put it in an account at the bank. Finally, start saving change by just throwing it in an empty coffee can or jar. It’s amazing how much will have accumulated once that can or jar is filled.

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3 Tips for Maximizing Restaurant Business During Summer

Oct 25
Posted by Daniel in bar tips and advice, Restaurant, Restaurant Furniture, restaurant tips and advice, Table Tops

With peaks and valleys in business throughout the year, restaurant owners must find a way to maximize earning power during their busiest months in order to cover tougher periods in which they lose money.

As a general rule in North America, restaurants are far busier in the summertime than in the wintertime. This is mainly due to winter weather conditions discouraging people from going out and partly due to the holiday season encouraging people to stay home with loved ones. While marketing and promotions to encourage people to frequent a restaurant during winter can have a small impact on changing this trend, the money put into such campaigns does not always justify itself. Some habits, such as staying home during the wintertime, are just too deeply culturally ingrained in us, and advertising’s effects on changing them tends to be limited.

Rather than trying to squeeze more out of the winter months, restaurant owners might be better served trying to take advantage of the busy summer months. So, here are a few tips on maximizing your business during summer:

1) People tend to venture out to eat far more in summer than in winter. Children are out of school, tourism increases and more daylight can mean longer business days for restaurants that cater to a daytime crowd. With that in mind, there are three groups to target with promotions during the summer months – families with children, tourists, and the twilight happy hour crowd. By coming up with your marketing campaigns with these groups in mind during the summer, you will find that your advertising is much more focused and effective. (more…)

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