Risk and reward comes standard to restaurant owners who may have to change up their menu, service, or ambiance to attract more customers. Whatever the risks of change, the rewards prove plentiful: the National Restaurant Association reported that the one million restaurants in the US pulled in some $660 billion in sales, accounting for nearly 5 percent of America’s gross domestic product. In the event that you want your restaurant or bar to capitalize on the dining rewards of 2014, what should you look out for?
Minimal Menus
Although people love to have the ability to pick and choose their drinks, appetizers, entrees, side dishes, and desserts, too much of a good thing can adversely affect your restaurant’s performance. When you want more customers and better retention of your regulars, less is more. The Guardian reports that the psychology of too many menu choices can be disconcerting to diners — more than a dozen or so menu items cause a person to feel overwhelmed. Trim back on your offerings and you’ll save money on orders, waste, and preparation costs.
E-Solutions
The days of having to negotiate a schedule with a dozen wait staff and pander to their needs instead of the restaurant’s needs may soon come to a close. Applebee’s announced plans in 2013 to put tablets at each table so that customers get their food without needing a waiter. You may prefer the human touch for your customers, but consider converting your business model (if not your employees) to digital in 2014. Cloud storage allows you to keep financial data secure without the need for a hard drive, and the top 10 cloud storage companies can assist a restaurant in putting everything from inventory to payroll on a secure platform. Once you have a cloud storage platform, furthermore, you can start integrating it into customer service, allowing return customers to review and compare their upcoming meal with meals they’ve enjoyed before.
Do-It-Yourself
You may not be able to let customers back into the kitchen to chop their own vegetables and heat their own souffle, but DIY restaurants have become a big factor in food and entertainment. Buffet-style choices at restaurants like BD’s Mongolian Grill let customers determine what they want for dinner, then watch as it gets served up on a plate. Order a product like a SodaStream for your customers, and they’ll be able to make their own fizzy drinks instead of waiting on a bartender. Encourage customers to bring creativity and originality to the dining table in 2014, instead of giving them the status quo.
All Natural
The biggest word in the food industry for 2014 will be organic. The Organic NewsRoom reports that eight in ten parents purchase organic food for their families in order to eliminate the pesticides and hormones farmers use to make their crops and livestock grow huge. Go green and be eco-conscious in 2014 by offering diners the options for organic, vegan, and carbon-neutral meals in order to capitalize on the growing concern over factory farming and genetically-modified meals.
