You wake up in the middle of the night with a flash of inspiration. There is so much uncertainty in the job market, you’re not happy with your current situation, your mind craves a career that excites you, and now -finally, you have it figured out. You’ll open a restaurant! Okay, that’s the first box to check off – sleepless nights lead to divine inspiration.

         Artificial Intelligence is knocking at the door of nearly every business and every profession, yet you can’t imagine restaurants succumbing to this mass displacement of the human touch (that’s a topic for another article). People do need to gather, they like to interact with others, food preparation needs human beings, and although service automation seems to loom in the not-too-distant future, you can’t fathom how a meal will improve if your friendly server is not involved. Okay, that’s the second box to check off – rationalize elimination of AI involvement.

         You’ve heard that many restaurateurs complain about how hard it is to make a profit, but you’ve been to the grocery store, you’ve seen the prices of raw materials, and although they are much higher than a couple years ago, cost increases can hardly justify the crazy prices that restaurants charge. It must be they simply don’t know how to manage finances. You have a good head for numbers and know how to pinch pennies, so this should be an easy problem to solve. Okay, that’s the third box to check off – figure out how to earn a profit.

         Now, you’re wide awake and this idea is really starting to ferment. You can do this! Look, you’re already way ahead of those who haven’t been able to make it – three boxes checked off! Let’s move on to the fun one, the thing that excites you the most, the process that will get you to jump out of bed in the morning and face the day with a victory smile – the concept.

         So, let’s focus on this one today. How do you decide what your restaurant will represent, how it will be perceived, how it will look, how customers will interact with it, and what products and services you will offer. To my way of thinking (based on 50 years of immersion), there are five ways you can approach determining a restaurant concept. Let’s look at each.

         YOUR CONCEPT:

• PLAY TO WHAT THE MARKET WANTS

Positives: If you invest the time to research this, then your initial step into restaurants could lead to a healthy dose of business (it appears that the community really wants a Mexican/Korean fusion restaurant with Kimchi tacos, and steamed buns with salsa verde). If you hit the nail on the head, then the buzz will focus on “this place has their focus on the prize.”

Negatives: More often, the customer doesn’t really know what they want, and “they” usually means a certain vocal niche has tried to define what they want that is not necessarily representative of the whole.

• PLAY TO WHAT THE MARKET NEEDS

Positives: Of course, “needs” should always supersede “wants”, and if you charge ahead with a defined understanding of what this means in terms of concept (this community doesn’t have a good Italian, Mexican, or Asian restaurant), then, you are certain to please someone.

Negatives: Needs do not always inspire loyalty and that all important return customer. Just because the community needs a healthier restaurant doesn’t always mean they will support it.

• PLAY TO THE COMPETITION

Another approach is to study the competition and play off their strengths and weaknesses.

Positives: You can learn a great deal by analyzing the competition. No sense in making the same mistakes they are making or trying to compete in an area where they excel.

Negatives: the competition will likely do the same thing with you, creating a never-ending loop of over-correction and competitive jostling for position (which one really has the best cup of coffee in town).

• PLAY TO THE LATEST TREND

Now this is a real trap.

Positives: Trends will attract – no question. If you do it well, you can gain an early lead in the rush to define yourself.

Negatives: Trends change, sometimes very quickly. Customers can be quite fickle and will become tired of the latest flashy object. So, playing to trends can work if you are willing and able to constantly change with those trends. If this impacts parts of your program beyond menu (ambience, music, lighting, uniforms, etc.) then flexibility can be very expensive and the marketing of your restaurant – disjointed.

• PLAY TO YOUR DESIRES

Positives: This will excite you and maybe a few employees that you strategically hired because they agreed with you. You will enjoy boasting to your friends about your concept, your menu, and your brilliance.

Negatives: What floats your boat is less important than what does the same for your guests.

So, what’s the answer? Well, it’s not as easy you think. Those brainstorms in the middle of the night need to be tempered with loads of research, massive amounts of self-reflection, reality check stops along the way, decisions based on real analysis, and more experience than one might think. Everything needs to fit – financial acumen, team building, marketing prowess, a love of service, a passion for food and the skills to prepare it, and a balanced approach towards latching on to a concept with staying power.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

www.harvestamericacues.com – BLOG

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