JeremyIn this video Jeremy talks about some major mistakes he sees restaurants making and some steps we take with our clients. Watch the whole video below or read the transcription to learn more!
Hey, this is Jeremy Turner. I’m the founder and managing director of EPIC Mission, and today we’re going to talk about restaurants. When it comes to restaurants, one of the greatest mistakes that I see again and again, and you can see this mistake if you watch any of the restaurant takeover shows on TV, is a restaurant that has no real defined personality. Who is this restaurant? What is this restaurant? What is their specialty? What is their focus? Too many times restaurants have eight, ten, twelve page menus that have a plethora of different types of foods on there, and really none of them are particularly good unfortunately. Instead, restaurants that tend to do really well have a few things they do, and they do them exceedingly well. It’s a simpler way to operate, and it creates a focus so that when a patron visits your restaurant, they know exactly who you are and what you do and what your specialty is. Where your specialties are. So, I would recommend streamline your menu, streamline your concept, get super focused, find a few things and do them exceedingly well. A really common mistake that I see again and again in restaurants is this: Its business owners that don’t treat their restaurant like a business. They are mistaken into thinking that because they can operate one facet of the restaurant really well – Maybe they’re great marketers, but the food is terrible or they are great cooks, but they aren’t good leaders of people, and they don’t have good management skills. When business owners don’t understand that the restaurant industry is really tough. It’s way more difficult than people realize, and so knowing that your restaurant has these multiple facets that you have to look at beyond just food or just the marketing or just the management of people – just the financials. A great restaurant takes into account all of these things and great restaurant managers – great restaurant owners and leaders are able to manage all these different aspects, and they do them really well. So, if you are considering starting a restaurant, or if you currently have a restaurant, I would highly encourage you to get intimately familiar with the various aspects of what it takes to operate a great restaurant. Those restaurant owners that are really concerned about sustainability. Now in today’s world this is a huge concern with COVID with Coronavirus and then how its disrupted our world. And so when we have tough times such as we’re experiencing now, it’s extremely important for business owners of all types to get creative about how it is that they do what they do. How do they solve problems for their desired market? And how do they deliver on their brand promise again and again. Outside of these crazy times as we’re experiencing now, sustainability in restaurants can be tied to a couple of things. One is restaurants that do well tend to be engaged in their community. They do more than just open the doors and feed people. They get involved in what’s going on in the community around them. They treat their people exceptionally well. It’s more than employee becomes a family of sorts. A great culture that supports these individuals and their lives however they can outside of the traditional working hours. And the third thing that these great restaurants do is they maintain a focus on delivering amazing quality and delivering great value again, and again and again. Not skimping or cutting corners. When times get tough, don’t cut corners. Don’t cut the recipes. Don’t skimp on how much cheese goes on something. These are really important details, and your customers notice when you start skimping, when the recipes change, when you’re charging more and delivering less. If you’re a restaurant looking to increase sales, there are two things that I’m going to tell you about that I think can absolutely help you out quite a lot. The first is if you look in the community around you at what’s nearby within walking distance or within a short drive of you, there are likely a lot of other businesses. And these other businesses have human beings that have to eat. So, what I would encourage you to do is to take the time to map out who’s around you, and then do some very purposeful visits to these businesses around you and take them samples of some of your best items. This introduces these individuals to your restaurant, lets them taste firsthand what it is that you do, and can help you begin to develop relationships with these individuals and with these businesses. The second thing is catering. Catering is something that so many restaurants completely overlook, and it can be an absolute goldmine. So what I would encourage is come up with a very simple catering menu that contains a number of items that you can absolutely execute on again and again and again, and then have also been tested and will travel well. Not every piece of food that you can make will travel well, or is good to be created in your restaurant and then taken off site and heated up. And so make sure that you’re aware of what it is you’re putting on your catering menu. But if you can do these two things, if you can get out, go into the community, meet people, take them a sample of some of your best items, you can also take a catering menu with you and drop it off, give it to these individuals. The next time they have a catering need, they will have tasted your food first hand, and they’ll have the menu in front of them. They’re more likely reach out and connect with you. That’s all I’ve got for you today on the topic of restaurants. I hope you found the information helpful. If you have questions that we didn’t address today, you can absolutely reach out anytime. I’d be happy to chat with you. In the meantime, thank you so much for tuning in, and I look forward to seeing you next time. Take care and best wishes in the meantime.