One of your greatest assets in a restaurant is the mood or atmosphere. Nail that, and you can count on repeat business for years to come. If you fail, however, you’ll encourage people to never do business with you ever again. Here’s how to set the mood perfectly.
Get Great Lighting
Lighting can sometimes make or break a place. If it’s too dark, it will turn people off. If you can’t see your plate in front of you, it makes your restaurant look seedy. Most restaurants benefit from more ambient lighting, and then accent lighting at the tables.
But, beyond that, what else can you do? Can you work lighting fixtures into the walls, and compliment the design of the building or the theme of your restaurant? For example, if you run a relaxed spanish or mexican restaurant, you might want to think about accent lighting that’s romantic and intimate (Spanish) or vibrant and exciting (Mexican).
If you run a bar, dim lighting is preferred. If you’re a family restaurant, then you want mostly bright lighting.
Match The Color To The Theme Of The Building
What color are your walls? Perhaps the most important decision you’ll make concerning the decor is the color of your walls, trim, and accents.
make sure your colors are in-line with the restaurant’s concept or theme. If you have rich wood tones, you’ll want warm colors. If you are serving caribbean fare, you’ll want lighter colors. Mexican – pastels.
Keep in mind the style of the building too. Some buildings sort of dictate what you can get away with, design-wise. If your restaurant is in an old gothic building, you’re not going to want to paint with modern color schemes. If you’re in a modern building, you can’t really get away with a country theme.
Make Sure Everything Is Clean And In Good Working Order
One other thing to think about is the condition of your tables, chairs, carpet, lighting fixtures, and the general condition of everything in the dining area. Are your tables wobbly? Maybe you need a good set of new table legs.
When was the last time your lights and lamp shades were dusted?
What about your carpets? When were they last cleaned? Do they have holes in them? Does it look dated or distracting?
Dishware And Napkins
These are finer details, but will make you stand out from the crowd. Almost all restaurants looking to save money cut corners on the dishware because they don’t think it’s that important. Wrong.
People notice this stuff, and dishware that looks cheap leaves a strange impression on your customers. Think about it. If you serve a juicy steak on a paper plate, what does that say about the quality of your food? People will wonder why you didn’t spring for more expensive or fancy dishes. Maybe you’re cheaping out on the steak, or getting cheaper cuts and trying to pass them off as expensive.
Don’t do it.
Get good napkins. Get good forks. Get plates that are respectful of the food you’re serving.
Jade Anderson works as a marketing consultant for restaurant’s and eateries. She shares her knowledge by writing articles which mostly appear on business blogs in the hopes of helping the small businesses flourish.
