Running a successful restaurant is a challenge and an adventure. While no single factor can guarantee success, any number of factors can stand between you and success. Even if you do everything right, the economy or the market or a competitor or a run of horrible weather can all stack up against you and your restaurant, to ruinous effect. While there’s no secret recipe to success, some would say one of best ways to build towards it would be to make each customer feel like your guest.
Success in the restaurant industry relies heavily on repeat business. A special or a coupon can drive people in once, but if you don’t manage to secure your community as choosing to dine with you regularly you will never build the regular business necessary to thrive. Americans are also all couponed out. While most Americans will gladly redeem a coupon to a restaurant they already enjoy, fewer and fewer will make a special trip for a seemingly “run of the mill” offer to a restaurant they know nothing about.
Curiosity can help somewhat in increasing the chances of them choosing to dine with you, but what will hold the most weight is if they’ve at least heard great things about your restaurant. Of course, if people are raving about your food you’ve got a strong foundation from which to build. This is, for many, the most important factor. But in terms of making sure people choose to dine with you time and again, another key ingredient in success is making them feel at home in your restaurant.
A restaurant succeeds because people want to go there. One heavy draw is of course the food. But studies have shown that even if Americans are not blown away by the food, the detail that will win in the long run is whether they feel at home at the restaurant. If your customers feel like guests, if they feel welcome and happy to be back, odds are they will keep coming back.
A big consideration in how your customers feel in your restaurant comes down to the furniture. For restaurants, particularly smaller self-run establishments that need the option of easily setting out more seating, plastic banquet tables may at times be a good fit. But a plastic banquet table is not the ideal furniture for restaurants that are looking to have more of a homey feel, nor is it ideal for an upscale restaurant. Furnitures and décor have a great deal of influence on the way your customers will feel when dining at your establishment.
When setting the tone of your restaurant, it’s important to select the right furniture. Restaurant ownership and management is a challenging undertaking, so don’t be afraid to try something as long as you’re prepared to quickly learn from any mistakes. There’s always plenty of restaurant furniture for sale, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble changing out your restaurant’s style if need be.