Category Archives: Restaurant

How to Make Your Restaurant Stand Out: From Restaurant Tables to Hiring Waiters

If you really want to make your restaurant stand out, there are a few items to pay attention to specifically. A great restaurant is so much more than just good food. Read on to see how to make your restaurant a grand success.

1. Restaurant Furniture: If you really want to provide a unique ambiance, you should pay close attention to your restaurant tables and restaurant chairs. These items ground your business and make it what it is, contributing largely to comfort and decor. Think about how your restaurant accords with other restaurants like it. For example, if you have a barbecue restaurant, you may want to go with a rustic theme – wood benches, tables etc. Choosing soft, cushiony diner booths will make for a different feel that you may or may not want to consider.

2. Matching: Does the food go with the ambiance? That is, if you’re serving unpretentious, home-style Italian food in a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of way, you probably don’t want a brash interior. Think rich, dark colors, simple decor and soft, warm lighting. Don’t oversimplify, though, white-washed walls have no character. If you have a pizza parlor on the other hand, you may want brighter lights and colors on the walls. Either way, your restaurant should reflect the kind of food you serve.

3. Service: Especially when you’re beginning your restaurant, it’s important to have superb service. Young, attractive servers are always a hit, even if they’re inexperienced. When they fudge an order, always allow your customers the option to keep both plates. They will be delighted if they’re hungry, and if not, they will appreciate the gesture.

4. Food: Yes, the food is the most important. But without the above three characteristics, good food still means bad restaurant. The food should be the icing on the cake, it should meet your patrons’ expectations if the restaurant furniture, ambiance, and service have been up to par. Always serve food piping hot. That shows the customer that it’s fresh and hasn’t been waiting or neglected. The same goes for bread, if you serve it.

5. Extras: Chances are if you’ve followed the above tips you shouldn’t have trouble filling your restaurant, but there are no guarantees. A wild card like your location or a longstanding local competitor may make it difficult. If that’s the case, think about what you can do to further set your restaurant apart. Live music, a wide wine or beer selection, new dishes, specialty cocktails, original art, candles, an open kitchen, or a new web site can all further distinguish your restaurant from the others.

Don’t be afraid to get creative and break the mold. When people go out to dinner, they often want to be entertained – and that includes every aspect of a restaurant from the food to the restaurant furniture.

Restaurant Jobs Provide Flexible, Profitable and Fun Employment

Whether looking for a fast pace exciting career choice, or just something too supplement your income, a career in restaurants is a good choice for you. Most restaurants offer competitive pay with ongoing room for advancement. At the same time lends itself to those needy schedules that are only able to work part time.

Any restaurant owner will tell you, “Proper grooming is a must.” Depending on the theme and décor of the restaurant will determine your dress code. Keep in mind however general hygiene can be the difference between a good and bad tip. For the ladies keep your hair back in a pony tail while serving, customers want a salad with ranch, not a salad with your hair. Wash and press your clothes, looking professional says a lot about you and your establishment, if you find yourself in a predicament that you don’t have a clean outfit, keep a default outfit ready. A safe bet would be that any restaurant will be OK with you showing up in an oxford white button down shirt and black dress pants. Remember your appearance is the first impression, and you only get one chance to make a first impression.

While serving food or drinks it’s important that you are democratic. Keep in mind that not everybody will be pleasant and no two people tip the same. Staying positive under any circumstance is any good server’s secret weapon to making good money in a restaurant job. Every successful server will tell you the best fix for a kitchen error or a drink mistake is a timely resolution with true concern while maintaining a positive attitude. Always remember rule 2 of thermodynamics “from chaos comes order.” Some of the best regulars and best tips come from bad situations that you are able to salvage. Keeping your cool in these high stress situations will separate you from the other servers, this will quickly become noticed by your management, co workers, kitchen staff and most importantly your customers.

Serving tables or bartending can be therapeutic. Escape into the establishment you work for. Leaving all your problems at the door can make coming to work fun and exciting. Set goals for yourself when you come in, financial goals always help in focusing on what you need to do from minute to minute. For example pre-bussing or sticking to the rule “hands in, hands out.” Which means always carry things back to kitchen when headed that way, also carry things from the kitchen back out.

No matter what you do starting off your career with a restaurant, just have fun. When you find the right restaurant or bar for you, it won’t even feel like work. Check out happyhouralert.com/article/ for more useful tips on working in restaurants.