Two tips for first-time restauranteurs

If you're a first-time restauranteur and are in the midst of setting up a restaurant, here are two tips to follow.

Dedicate as much time as you can to finding excellent wait staff

Many new restauranteurs go to great lengths to find the perfect restaurant premises and to headhunt the most talented chef they can afford to hire, but then make the error of being careless when it comes to hiring their wait staff.

If you want your restaurant business to get off to a good start, you must avoid making this error by dedicating as much time as you can to choosing the best wait staff. The reason for this is that in a restaurant, the wait staff are the only employees who will continually interact with the customers throughout the hour or two during which the customers have their meals.

As such, if they are, for example, unable to recall details about the restaurant's daily specials when asked about them by customers, if they are slow to collect their customer's empty plates and serve them the subsequent course, or if they give customers the wrong meals, this will result in you struggling to build a base of returning customers, even if the food your chef prepares is spectacular. By taking the time to find experienced, personable and efficient wait staff, your restaurant will stand a good chance of being a success.

Consider the location when creating the menu

It's important not to create the menu without first considering the location of the restaurant, as certain types of restaurant food are more popular in some locations than others. For example, if your premises is by the coast and in a place with a hot climate, you would probably find that seafood dishes and lighter meals, like chilled soups and fresh salads, will be more popular with your customers than spicy, hearty curries or roast dinners, as when dining in seaside restaurants on hot days, people tend to crave lighter foods.

Likewise, if your restaurant is on a street populated with high-end bars and luxury boutiques, you may need to offer gourmet dishes that feature the best ingredients as well as creative flavour combinations, as the people who can afford to visit the high-end businesses on this street may expect a luxurious and interesting dining experience. In this environment, a restaurant that served generic versions of dishes like pizza and burgers would probably not do well, even if these foods were prepared with great care.

For more information, contact a restaurant near you.