Running a restaurant is a hectic balance of good food, quality service, and an atmosphere that sits well with customers. If you only have 1 or 2 of these things, it might not work in your favour.
That last piece on the list, that quality atmosphere, often takes the most work. What you need to make it shine is a good restaurant fit out.
What kind of items goes into a restaurant fit out? What do you need to consider to get the most out of your redesign?
Let’s go over some of the basic tips.
1. Cleaning Away Health Hazards
Health hazards are always an item you need to consider. Keeping your restaurant clean and hazard free comes no matter if you redesign or not.
What a restaurant fit out can do is help make cleaning easier. Hard to reach places and awkward design can leave you with places that are hard to clean, letting grime fester in the cracks.
2. Focus on Comfortable Dining Space
No matter how good the food and service is, if your dining space is not comfortable to be in, it will be a heavy mark against you. What does a comfortable dining space mean?
The first aspect should be enough room. Customers don’t want to feel packed in so give them room to breathe.
The other aspects cover things like comfortable seats, sturdy tables, and enough variety of types of seats to give options.
3. Refurbish The Older Pieces
During a restaurant fit out, you might feel the urge to toss out the old and start over. It’s not a bad idea, but consider what you might be able to salvage.
This works best with the atmosphere. If there are items that help define your brand, you can try and incorporate them into your new design. As well, never throw out an appliance if it still works for your kitchen or dining area.
4. Update Energy Usage
A major cost of a restaurant is energy usage. The lights are on all day, the kitchen is running on full steam for most of it, and this can all add up to major energy bills.
The simple solution is to check into technical updates to save money. Energy-saving bulbs are the big ones. As well, new energy-efficient kitchen appliances can be worth the initial investment cost.
5. Make Room in the Kitchen
A huge ding against great service is the time it takes to get there. A lot of time gets thrown out the window with traffic jams in the kitchen or even dining area.
A new floor plan to help plot out a clear path of traffic in your kitchen can do wonders. Cramped spaces around hot ovens and fryers can also be dangerous.
6. Brand Image, Front and Centre
Now that the technical details are out of the way, the big reason a restaurant fit out can turn around your restaurant business is the brand image.
Your brand image is the items and details people recognize you with. This can be a popular logo, a style of scenery, or a mascot or slogan. The layout of your restaurant needs to sell this idea.
Are you a seafood restaurant with a nautical theme? That needs to show in your furniture and layout and design. No matter the style or concept, you should play it up, front and centre.
7. Pleasing Atmosphere
A pleasing atmosphere can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. There are some universal truths, but understanding the type of people you plan to sell to can be a big deal.
Avoiding very loud dining areas is a great start. Most people want to talk and enjoy their meal, so keep the intense music and background noise to a minimum.
The lighting should be bright enough to get around in, but not blinding. You don’t need fluorescent lights beaming onto your guests. Make some mood lighting, something dim and relaxing.
A lot of this will tie into your brand image, so the details will alter with your ideas and drives.
Getting Started on Your Restaurant Fit Out
A quality restaurant fit out will streamline your restaurant into a comfortable and efficient atmosphere that is eager to please. Your customers will see the difference.
When you are ready to start, we here at Spoke Building and Interiors are here to help you out! We have the skills and experience to get you what you need. Contact us today for more information.