Techniques That Enable You To Improve Your Restaurant Design
I can remember good food. What I don’t remember is eating good food in a restaurant whose sense of style isn’t even the least appetizing. But maybe it’s because I don’t eat in those restaurants.
Here are five restaurant design tips that will help you recreate a cozy and inviting dining environment.
1. Speak to all five senses
Diane Chiasson says,
When done properly, food merchandising encompasses everything your customer feels, sees, smells and hears. It not only creates greater eye appeal but also increases the perceived value of a product, therefore achieving higher sales.
A general rule in effective restaurant design is to establish a mood that fires up all the senses. Foodservice is more than just trying to sell a product–you’re also selling a social experience. Such an environment serves to complement the main attraction.
2. Location, location
Opening a take-out joint in Bel-Air or a fine dining place in a slum neighborhood is a proven recipe for financial suicide.
Good restaurant design is about knowing your neighborhood’s eating habits and serving them what they want. Design your interior based on what you think jives well with the community outside. You might need to hire a restaurant consultant for this one.
3. The importance of food color
Colors have psychological effects on your customers and, most importantly, their appetites.
Lots of red and oranges are ideal if you serve hot and spicy foods, very Mexican. Neutral colors are good for a more traditional feel. On the other hand, black and gray colors are reserved for fine dining and high brow establishments.
4. Be flattering with the lighting
Never underestimate the power of natural lighting. Use natural lighting as much as possible, whenever possible, and avoid dark spots and corners in your dining area. Good lighting makes all the colors–and flavors–of the food stand out.
5. You must have personality
Above all else, your restaurant design/theme must have personality. The restaurant design is your first attempt at communicating with your customer (food only comes second). So okay. Your menu may be exquisite. But what will really set you apart from other restaurants is, you guessed it, having a great personality.
A consistent restaurant design, good food, and a friendly group of staff are the keys to a successful restaurant business venture.
These are simply general guidelines on how to pull off a successful restaurant design. I suddenly remembered this quote from American Beauty,
…in order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times.
Perfect. The same goes for running a restaurant business. If you want customers to come eat at your place, show them a successful restaurant operator – show them a respectable and dignified restaurant design.