According to the National Restaurant Association, most commercial restaurant owners will remodel their restaurant every five to seven years. A typical restaurant renovation can involve anything from a complete interior design makeover to help improve the first impression to the addition of new features, such as a bar area or waiting area, to help boost functionality. If you own a restaurant and haven’t considered investing in a remodel, then you should strongly consider doing so.
Reasons to Renovate Your Restaurant
You may be wondering why you should put money into renovating your restaurant. Obviously, if there are critical issues that require repair, then you don’t have much of a choice in the matter. However, if it’s not broken, why fix it, right? Wrong. Just because your restaurant is still standing and customers are still coming in doesn’t mean that it couldn’t use a fresh coat of paint – or a complete overhaul.
The following are a few reasons why it’s worth investing in a restaurant remodel:
- Attract New Customers: If your restaurant is starting to look a bit dated, customers may not be as drawn to it as they once were. A fresh, new look can help attract new customers and give your business the boost it needs.
- Change Your Brand Image: If your restaurant has been struggling for a few years due to a subpar reputation, maybe you should focus on rebranding your restaurant. A complete redesign can help you change the way that customers view your restaurant and allow you to start over.
- Save Money: Investing in upgrades can actually help you save money. For example, installing low-flow fixtures in your restrooms, switching to LED lighting, or investing in more energy-efficient kitchen appliances.
- Improve Service: If you lack space or the layout of your restaurant (including the dining area or the kitchen) is poor, it can hurt your service. A renovation can help improve service by making the space more functional for your staff and better for customers to enjoy their dining experience.
- Improve the Customer Experience: To create a lasting impression, you need to provide an overall great experience—and that starts with the ambiance of your restaurant. If it looks and feels dated, customers may not enjoy their time there as much as they would if it was more modern. A renovation can help give your customers the best experience possible, which can keep them coming back for more.
3 Restaurant Renovation Tips
Before you begin investing your money into a restaurant remodel, keep the following renovation tips in mind:
- Set Your Goals
When drawing up your renovation plans, it’s crucial that you establish what your goals are. Are you trying to increase efficiency? Provide a better ambiance? Boost restaurant business? Whatever they may be, set your goals early on and make sure that they align with the overall vision of your restaurant.
If you already have an established brand, the last thing you want to do is to make renovations that conflict with your existing branding efforts in an attempt to draw more customers. For instance, if you run a family restaurant, adding edgy decor as part of your renovation can clash with your existing brand and cause you to lose customers.
While you’re thinking about your restaurant’s goals, keep the needs of your existing and potential customers in mind. The more you understand what your target audience wants from your business, the better equipped you are to provide it for them.
- Invest in Digital Signage
You should always consider new technology trending in the restaurant business. For example, digital signs are becoming increasingly popular because they offer a number of benefits over traditional signage systems. Not only do they allow you to display important information in an easy-to-understand format, but they also provide real-time updates and can be customized to suit your business’s specific needs.
For example, digital signage can be used to display your menu (which is especially helpful if you offer take-out) or can be used in your waiting area as a way to show who’s next in line to be seated.
- Create a Budget
Before starting any project, it’s essential that you create a realistic budget and stick to it. You’ll need to budget for everything from the actual renovations you want to do to the permits you’ll need and the team you’ll want to work with. As such, be sure to compare estimates when talking to contractors, architects, and designers.
Finally, don’t use your entire budget for your remodel. You need to have wiggle room within your budget in case there are delays or issues that pop up. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself going over budget quickly. It’s estimated that the average overrun of a restaurant remodel budget is around 34 percent.
The restaurant business is an incredibly competitive one. Not only do you have to market your business successfully, but it’s also vital that you keep your restaurant in good condition and that you invest in improvements to keep up. If you plan on investing in restaurant renovation, be sure to keep these three tips in mind.
