Jack Johnson

Starting a new restaurant? If so, good on you! Opening a restaurant is fun, as it is challenging, and many decisions have to be made in order for things to go right. Many factors take effect for what kinds of food and what theme will mesh well with the community that your eating establishment is located in. Allow us to explain.

If you love to cook, you are capable of offering many possible menu items to your customers. But don’t just cook any kind of dish that you know or are fond of. You need all your dishes to have something in common and for them to take like they came from the same restaurant.

Nobody will stop you, should you decide to put Popcorn Shrimp, a Filet Mignon, and Chicken Alfredo Pasta on your menu, but the more specific your menu items are, the more creativity you need to tie them all together for it to make sense to offer them all on your menu.

Not only is the selection of food important, but the furniture and décor inside your restaurant is equally important. If you are opening an Italian restaurant, eat in another local Italian restaurant around your area and see what their interior looks like. See what kind of chairs and tables they have. Look at what kinds of wallpaper and paintings they display. Take note of all these options they went with and proceed to observe the interior and features at similar restaurants.

You may need to end up searching for restaurant tables and chairs to match your theme. However, do purchase new furniture without being set on the walls and floors of your restaurant first. Chances are you have bought an establishment that used to be a store or different restaurant. Remodeling is necessary for your restaurant to actually feel like a restaurant with care put into it as well as cohesion.

Do not put in just any new walls or restaurant floors. Consider that you have a choice in what you want your interior to look like, so experiment with interior designers with what combination of walls and floors would go great together in your mind that would also go with your theme. The installation of new floors may take a while. While you wait for your new floors and wallpaper or paint to be put in, you can continue searching for restaurant tables and chairs for that combination of attractive flair.

You cannot expect a broad audience of customers to eat at your restaurant. Your theme might determine what kinds of customers your restaurant will attract, but so will the location. Is it in an urban area? Rural area? Downtown? Beachside? All of these locations will have different kinds of people, and not all of them will interest tourists, if any.

Take in to account what kinds of people around the area will make it most likely for your restaurant to be successful. What is attractive to white collar workers might not be attractive to blue collar workers. Your audience is capable of determining what kind of restaurant you could have, if you have no set ideas on theme, or your current theme is not attracting much business. If you are attracting older, blue collar customers, they would like to eat at a diner, dive bar, or tap house. If you’re set on a family restaurant, consider moving it to a neighborhood that has more families in it. The success on your restaurant really depends on theme, location, and kinds of customers.