Four Sure-Fire Tips For Your Restaurant To Stay On Top In 2010

This year, 2009, was a so-so year for restaurants. People cutting back in the face of recession, it was still an okay year for restaurants, but it could’ve been better. Thing is, new studies by Mintel show that next year, 2010, has the potential to bring the fire back on our empty stoves. Finally some good news after a year of bad ones.

Back to basics.

In 2010, Mintel predicted that most restaurants are going back to the basics. After a year of cutting back, we’ll be seeing more value served at the tables. No more low-cost value deals. No more $1 burgers. Wait, is there?

The following trends are expected to hit restaurants as soon as the New Year rolls around.

1.    Simple is everything
The concept of “simplicity” applies more to the foodservice industry than anywhere else. Over the year chefs have discovered that, simply put, “simplicity” simply sells.

The American holy trinity of burgers, shakes and fries is a prime example. In 2010, restaurant entrepreneurs should stop beating around the bush and go back to the tried-and-true formula of good-tasting food served from simple ingredients, ample preparations, and classic food combinations.

2.    Home-grown ingredients
Here’s something the foodservice industry would be bringing over from 2009.

When the New Year fireworks are over, customers are still going to look for locally-sourced ingredients. No one wants to eat a lettuce that’s been packaged, thrown and flown all the way from Tibet. As a restaurant owner, find a way to get your hands on some fresh home-grown ingredients as early as now.

3.    On the move
Customers are still going to be cutting back on going to actual restaurants, even in 2010. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be eating your food at home. Mintel has noticed a drastic increase in restaurant franchise efforts to improve their online-ordering platforms, which only makes a lot of sense.

Some months ago Pizza Hut won two awards for developing a smart-phone ordering application, which Pizza Hut claims accounted for $1 million in sales last year.

Don’t you think it’s about time you start reaching out to your local customers, too?

4.    Delicious food from the roots
Mintel’s study discovered that four in every five Americans had eaten ethnic cuisine at a restaurant in the past couple months.

There’s the usual Italian pasta, Mexican tacos and Chinese dimsum, but those are old stories. If you want to stand out, as a restaurant operator, you need to dig a little deeper into the culture of a specific region, such as the unique style of barbecue they have up in North Carolina.

Study experts are seeing these as the top restaurant trends in 2010. This 2009 focused on adding more value to restaurant food. But restaurant operators, such as yourself, are expected to redefine that next year when more customers start to eat out again after, finally, leaving a bad year behind them.

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