Operating a restaurant is a brutal undertaking filled with uncertainty, tough reality, highs and lows, and sometimes unwanted reckoning. If you are already running a restaurant, you fully understand this and if you hope to operate a restaurant you have likely been told this but you choose to ignore what so many others have experienced.

But some do succeed and do extraordinarily well. Why is it that a few exceed expectations and many fall short? Well, there are hundreds of books on the shelves of your local Barnes and Noble that will pitch their “way to the top” formula and they are all correct. Unfortunately, all these words to the wise are only effective if you listen, commit to change, and act. So, I’m going to sift through all the power ideas and distill it into the EIGHT POINTS OF P:

[]       PLACE:

Yes, this still holds true – location is important. Locating your restaurant in a space that is highly visible, connected to other attractions, easily accessible, with ample parking, and blessed with a view will check a number of boxes that lead to success. But location without a plan on how to use PLACE to your advantage will never provide opportunities for long-term success. Does place drive product, service style, and excitement? If not, why are you wasting this valuable asset?

[]       PRODUCT:

Never underestimate the importance of a stellar product, consistently produced, uniquely yours, geared towards your market, and priced to sell. Walk through your entire menu and ask a simple question: “Why would anyone buy this?” Start with viewing excellence as the price of admission. If you serve a burger, make sure it is the absolute, hands down, no question, best burger to be found on the planet. Otherwise, it is a commodity that any other restaurant can make better than you. If you serve ketchup or hot sauce with that burger – why not make your own and promote the hell out of it as better than Heinz, the most unique, knock your socks off ketchup or hot sauce to be found within 100 miles? The same should be true of your fish fry, braised short ribs, roast chicken, linguini and clam sauce, Wagyu steak, butter, margueritas, iced tea or house coffee. The product matters and your commitment to making it better than any other will be a customer draw. Product will convince people to wait in line, in the elements, waving their money without asking price. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!

[]       PROCESS:

The way that your restaurant is organized, from the ease of making reservations to parking their cars; from the greeting when they arrive to how the menu is presented; from the flow of service without gaps to the line of communication with the kitchen; and from the hospitality that is consistently provided to the way the check is presented and credit cards processed – process counts. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!

[]       PEOPLE:

I know, I know, I know – you can’t find employees and those who start are rarely dependable. This is a topic worthy of serious discussion and wholesale change ON YOUR PART. But for now, let’s just acknowledge that hiring anybody who walks through the door is NEVER an answer. Most job seekers are more concerned with what’s in it for them versus what’s in it for the restaurant. That’s reality, so work with it! The bookends of an experience are what counts and people are your assets at both ends. Hire caring people, teach them technique, reward them by stating what’s in it for them, and watch them create the experiences that bring customer back. TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUSLY.

[]       PRINCIPLES:

Whomever thought that business must be void of beliefs and stakes in the ground were simply WRONG. Stay true to what you believe in, hire people who find your principles interesting, and connect with a customer base that shares in those ideals. There is such a thing as a Principles Ecosystem (OWNER-EMPLOYEE-CUSTOMER-PRINCIPLES).

[]       PERSONALITY:

In the not-too-distant-past, the restaurateur was the centerstage performer in the restaurant experience. Sometime in the 80’s that shifted to the chef, but here’s the thing…not every chef is comfortable with the role of a hospitality ambassador, peacekeeper, and crowd pleaser. The role of the HOST is critical to the long-term success of a restaurant. Return guests don’t continue to support a restaurant, they support Jake or Melissa’s Restaurant. The host and the restaurants persona are tied to an individual who goes out of his or her way to exceed guest expectations. Every successful restaurant HAS A PERSONALITY present in the dining room. TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!

[]       PROMOTION:

It was Doctor Scholl who said the formula for business success is: “Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Work Like Hell, and Advertise.” Now, advertising and promotion has changed in the past few decades, but the need to be in touch with your guests has never been more important. We may not rely so much on newspaper or magazine ads, but your website must be action based and professional, your social media presence must be active daily with loads of people and professional food pictures, you should have a blog or newsletter, direct mail promotions must be ongoing, feature events are a given, and take every opportunity to build friends through membership, tastings, and guest chef events. PROMOTION IS AN EVERY DAY, EVERY WAY REQUIREMENT OF DOING BUSINESS.

[]       PRACTICE:

Teams practice. PERIOD. Call it training, meetings, workshops, continuing education, in-service, but do it. Take opportunities to interject PRACTICE through short presentations during staff meal, occasional staff meetings or training sessions, retreats, celebrations, in-house webinars, newsletters, sending staff to classes, or going through staged scenario planning “what if” sessions. Sporting teams practice, public speakers practice, computer programmers practice, pilots practice, why not you? TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!

Choose your weapon – pick one of the hundred or so books on how to run a successful restaurant (or any business) and immerse in their program or address the “P” process above. Do something – your restaurant’s success depends on YOUR ACTION.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

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