Firstly, the word 'restaurant' originates from France. It is a business which prepares and serves food and drinks to customers in exchange for money. Restaurants can be classified in many different ways.
I haven written about this topic because I believe that without understanding which category YOU are in or want to get into to, it is really difficult to enhance and make the right and clear decision when setting up or running your restaurant, without any confusion.
Here are some restaurants categories:
1. Full Service Fine-Dining
Decor with high-quality materials, table cloths, wine glasses, full set cutleries, candles on tables, top end chefs, expensive equipment, lighting and music subtly playing in the background, seasonal menus, tasting menus, table booking services, waiting staff dressed with a suit and tie, complete knowledge of food menu and ingredients, hosts waiting at the entrance, cloakroom service, sommeliers, fresh ingredients, customers spending hours in the restaurant, the number of times staff tend to the table is very frequent, mostly professional full-time staff, customers dress up, more mature market,...
Fine-dining service goes far beyond taking an order and delivering food.
2. Fast-Food Eatery
Fast-food eateries are the most familiar and popular to most of us. They include chains like McDonald's. Fast-food service is all about speed, consistency, convenience and are priced cheaply. Food are preheated or pre-cooked, and usually provide a take-away service. Furniture is as simple as possible - benches/basic plastic chairs and table. There are two reasons for this: 1) They are not easy to break, and 2) customers will not spend so much time in the place. Music is loud and fast, the lighting is bright and intimidating, colours are mostly bright, there is minimum service, food is ordered at the front counter rather than the table (you can even place an order without even talking in McDonald's), there is a lot of part-time staff, and they are dressed with casual apparel. Most of the service and product relies heavily on machines and a system.
3. Casual Dining
Casual dining is in between Fast-food and fine-dining restaurants. This type of restaurant has a relaxing and friendly atmosphere, moderate food pricing, table service, and a large alcohol menu from draft beer to cocktails. Casual dining does not usually use disposable cutlery, side and main courses can come to the table at the same time, and staff are dressed with a smart casual uniform. Casual dining normally attract young professionals, and have an urban ambiance.
Other categories include: Family Dining, Cafeteria, Buffet etc....
Something to consider when deciding on a restaurant category.
How interactive do you want your staff to be with your customers?
The more interactive they are, the more difficult it is to run your business.
Consider this:
How many real chefs can you find in your area? NOT MANY.
How many Michelin star restaurant chains are there? NOT MANY.
However, there are more than 36,000 McDonald's in the world. Reason being, STAFF have to be trainable, expandable, repeatable, and profitable.
Although fine-dining is very profitable, it is very challenging to operate and duplicate.
When it comes to casual dining, you need more quantity in customers than quality (in comparison to fine dining) - although it is repeatable.
Hakassan broke UK's exchange record with more than £50 million, but at the same time, McDonalds has more than 36k stores. They both can make you money, but you have to understand your strength and the market.
So even though it is more challenging when there is more customer interaction, the profit margin will be higher. This is because you have the change to encourage customer spending, tips, etc.
In conclusion, it is very important to decide on which restaurant category you want to focus on. It will shape every decision you make about your restaurant, and most importantly, your market. For example, decisions about how many service steps you have, the materials you use, the type and colours of your staff uniform, the price you will charge, the quality and experience of your staff, how far you will push the presentation of your food, how you design your menu, etc...
BASICALLY: Understand what category you are in, then you will be able to focus on exactly what is suitable or required of that category.
“Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them” — Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
Wing Chang
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