Restaurant Concept
Development
The following material deals with the issues
involved in developing a successful restaurant concept. Of
necessity it is a bit generic, but it should give you a better
idea of who I am, what I have done and, more important, what I
can do for you. You will also get an idea of my outlook on the
industry. If my philosophy seems compatible with yours, we can
discuss how we might work together. But more about that
later.
I always get excited by a new project and really love the
whole development process. Concept development involves
balancing the strengths and limitations of the site against the
competitive climate in the market considering the expertise of
the operator and the budget available for the project. I've
helped a number of people (including myself) get restaurants
off the ground and I am convinced that the long-term
profitability of an operation is determined in the development
period!
In the next few pages, I will share some thoughts on
restaurant concept development and how I may be able to help
you reach your professional goals in less time and with less
effort. Regardless of whether we establish a working
relationship or not, I think you will find the information
helpful.
Background
Concept development involves finding and implementing an
operating style that can occupy a unique position in the minds
of the target market and be consistently operated at a profit.
This is an inexact science, relying on an elusive ability to
"see what's not there," but there are several identifiable
characteristics of a good concept:
- Flexible - the ability to evolve over time
without loss of market identity
- Simple - more classic than trendy with
resulting potential for longevity
- Profitable - the ability to generate excellent
return on investment
- Duplicable - the ability to regenerate and
expand
- Compatible - does not require extensive,
expensive renovations to an existing physical plant
- Fresh and Exciting - not a "me too"
approach
- Appropriate - meets a real need and creates
sufficient "gravity" to attract crowds of guests
- Consistent - can deliver on its promises using
the prevailing labor market and existing management
capabilities
- Distinct - uniquely fills a niche in the minds
of the target market
- Durable - can hold its own in the market,
- Complementary - does not require directly
confronting a competitor while enhancing the overall dining
market
When you are looking for a restaurant idea, I assume that
you are searching for a concept that has the potential to be
successfully expanded rather than a one-time solution for a
specific restaurant. Whether or not you ever actually duplicate
an operation, in my experience it is crucial that your
restaurant be a duplicable concept.
Developing a successful restaurant has three phases: concept
development, prototype development and monitoring. The first
phase is the creative process, the second is the physical part
of setting up the new restaurant and the last has to do with
refining the theories based on operating realities.
Concept
Development
The actual development of the concept occurs in four
parts:
BACKGROUND
RESEARCH Background work establishes the
general realities of the site. It includes examining economic
and demographic statistics, traffic patterns, site visibility
and access, physical limitations and architectural features of
the building, equipment installed, existing utility service in
the building and related items.
MARKET
RESEARCH
Market research includes interviews with the target market,
site visits to competitive and complementary restaurants,
reviews of restaurants outside the market area for elements of
interest or value and the identification of strengths,
weaknesses and voids in the market.
SYNTHESIS
Synthesis is the process of digesting all the information
gathered in the preceding steps and arriving at an insight into
what direction the project should take. The results of this
step include the name of the restaurant, a prototype menu,
trade dress and operating profile, pro forma financial
projections, basic marketing direction, development budget,
conversion schedule and similar elements which define the
project. Until all these items are known, the odds of creating
a successful and efficient restaurant are slim.
DOCUMENTATION All the
pieces of the project are summarized in a report which clearly
defines the project and assists the owner in making decisions
about the project, securing financing (if necessary) and
creating a blueprint for developing the project. Even if the
report is only used internally, it is a valuable document for
keeping the project on track and under control.
Prototype
Development
Developing the prototype is the physical process of making
the restaurant happen. It includes layout and design, the
preparation of working drawings, bids and awards, construction
and project supervision, disposal of existing FFE not needed,
specification and purchase of new FFE, specification and
purchase of POS and related systems, recipe development and
testing, logo and graphics, preparation of a detailed
restaurant marketing plan, selection of purveyors, hiring and
training of staff, selection of uniforms, development
accounting, pre-opening promotions and other activities
required to go from a great idea to a great restaurant. This is
the time when you establish the culture of the restaurant which
will influence the working climate of the business for years.
It is also the time when you first present yourself to the
public and gain that all-important first impression.
Monitoring
Once the restaurant opens, it is necessary to observe the
operation and make fine-tuning adjustments required to assure a
strong start for the venture. It's a cliche to say that "you
don't get a second chance to make a first impression" but it's
true! During the first 60 days of the restaurant's operation,
there will be many minor modifications and systems required to
improve operational effectiveness and enhance
profitability/cash flow. This phase involves staff and
management coaching and training as well as review of financial
performance.
Establishing Your
Culture
Think about how different the business environment is now
than it was when we first started working. For one thing, the
nature of the work force has changed. Workers are more
sophisticated, better informed, (less educated?) and have more
options than ever before. If you can't find people who want to
work, maybe it's only that there are not as many people willing
to put up with the way our industry typically treats them.
Could you hire someone today who would accept the conditions
you endured when you first started working? I sure
can't.
For another thing, our guests' expectations have changed.
How many people do you think will be satisfied with the same
level of service they would accept even two years ago? Yet how
much have your service systems, staff training and basic
business orientation really changed to address and keep pace
with your guests' new standards?
In spite of these fundamental shifts, many operators,
knowingly or unknowingly, still do business substantially the
way they have always done it. They have never critically
questioned the way they were taught to run a restaurant. The
problem is that the people who taught us in the 70's were
taught in the 50's by someone who learned it in the 30's. Think
about it. Tradition is wonderful, but not everything we have
been taught is still relevant.
If you understand and address these societal shifts when
creating your restaurant, you can create a corporate culture
where legendary service flourishes. You establish a culture
where excellence is the norm and many of the typical "people
problems" most operators experience with their staff just never
come up. Solving problems is good; eliminatingproblems
is great!
Who is The Restaurant
Doctor?
First of all, I have to confess that I love this business!
My first job was at age 14, a summer job handwashing dishes in
a small restaurant on Cape Cod. I received no training and had
no idea what I was doing. My memories are of people yelling at
each other and the smell of salad dressing floating in the dish
sink!
Despite this ominous introduction to the industry, I caught
the "restaurant bug" and went on to get my degree from the
Hotel School at Cornell. I have been in and around the business
for almost as long as I can remember, running clubs, resorts,
restaurants and institutional operations. At one time or
another, I have made my living doing every job in a restaurant.
I have also been providing ideas and advice to foodservice
operations of all types and sizes for 25 years.
I have learned a lot in my career - some by doing things
right, some by doing things wrong and some by watching the more
innovative operators in the industry. It seems that the more I
learn, the more I realize I don't know. Still, I have managed
to gain a fair understanding of what makes restaurants work and
gained an ability to pass that understanding along to
others.
Now I hardly consider myself an "expert" in the industry.
When I was 22 I thought so, but now I cringe when people use
that title. I am, however, an incurable student of the
business. Because I have a creative orientation, I seem to be
able to come up with new restaurant ideas that work. Because I
actively look for better ways to do things, I have found some
methods and developed some attitudes that enable me to
eliminate most of the problems that typically drive operators
crazy! I'm talking about incredibly potent, common sense
approaches to foodservice that I was never taught anywhere in
my career. I can share these "secrets" with you, build them
into your business from day one and teach you how to use them
to get what you want.
How Can I Help
You?
Aside from assisting with the actual development of your
restaurant concept, here are a few of the things I can help you
do from the very beginning of your restaurant's operation:
I can help you clarify your
thinking. If you are sure what you want to
do, I can review your plans and assumptions to be sure all the
bases are covered and that your idea is consistent. I can help
you clarify what needs to be done in all areas of the project
before you start spending your major development funds.
I can help you get
organized.
I can give you a foolproof system for selecting the highest
quality staff possible without running the risk of running
afoul of any legal mistakes. I can help create the manuals and
control systems you will need to keep your dream on track and
heading in the right direction.
I can help you train your
staff.
When opening a new restaurant, the owner has a full-time job
just keeping up with the final details of construction,
inspections, suppliers and a myriad of last-minute emergencies.
Since it is difficult to be in two places at once, it is often
training time that gets trimmed. You cannot afford to put your
investment in the hands of untrained workers and your
reputation will suffer if you let your guests train your staff
on the job. I can organize a comprehensive pre-opening training
program that will help everyone get off to a fast start.
I can help you minimize your
labor cost. In one of my seminars, I teach
that the trick to cutting labor is to see payroll as a profit
center rather than a cost point. After all, you can reduce your
payroll cost by 50% if you simply fire half your staff! While
there are some simple techniques I use to reduce unnecessary
hours, the real key to reducing labor cost is to utilize your
staff in a way that they will increase your sales.
I can help you maximize your
productivity.
I can show you how to structure your organization to naturally
bring out the finest work from your staff. Best of all, the
more self-motivated your crew, the fewer problems you will have
to solve.
I can help you maximize your
staff retention. Staff turnover is
expensive. I can show you how I brought a 300% turnover rate
down to 20% within 6 months ... without a change in wage rates!
I can help you understand why your crew leaves and what to do
about it. I can teach you how to beat the labor shortage by
becoming the most sought-after employer in town and how to have
a waiting list of people who want to work for you!
I can help you maximize your
patronage. I can help you find an exciting
concept that will appeal to a broader market. I can help you
define and create a clear identity in the market so that people
will think of you (and dine with you) more often. I can show
you how to actively create and manage word-of-mouth advertising
from your existing guests . . . and how to have them saying
exactly the things you want them to say!
I can help you maximize your
repeat business. My first book is called
"Restaurant Basics: Why Guests Don't Come Back and What You Can
Do About It." This is the only book on restaurant service
written entirely from the guest's point of view -- the only
perspective that really counts! I can show you how to create an
environment that will draw your guests back more frequently. I
can help you avoid the service lapses that cause your patrons
to become disenchanted and go elsewhere. I can help you create
the sort of legendary service that is practically
competition-proof.
I can help you maximize your
sales opportunities. I can help you identify
new products and services to offer your market. Just because
you are in the restaurant business does not mean your sales
have to be limited by what you can do inside the
restaurant.
Would you like to work less and
get more done?
I learned this business the way most people did -- working
16-hour days and 7-day weeks! In fact, I used to be proud of
how many hours I could put in. The predictable result was that
I burned myself out and still didn't accomplish what I wanted.
My intentions were good. I just didn't understand. By contrast,
managing my last operation, I usually worked less than 45 hours
a week and got twice as much done as I ever had in my life! If
there were emergencies, we hardly noticed! I left because my
staff was totally running the show ... and doing it as well as
I did! The route to this stress-free work environment is
simpler than you may think.
If you have been thinking that there must be an
easier way to run a restaurant than the way you see most people
doing it, you're right! I can show you how smart operators
around the country are getting more done in a shorter time with
less effort and virtually no stress. You can join a growing
group of restaurateurs who have a successful restaurant
and a life! I understand if this idea seems too good to
be true. Consider the possibility that your skepticism arises
just because you haven't seen a way to do it, not because it
can't be done. If you think that enjoying stress-free
foodservice management, spending time with your mate and having
time to watch your children grow up is a worthy goal, we should
talk.
Would you like to become an
expert with people?
In all my training, nobody ever taught me about people and
what makes them tick. As an operator, I found I needed to be
effective when dealing with my guests because they bring in the
money! I also needed to be effective when dealing with my staff
because they did all the work and created the guest's
experience. Fortunately, I found the answer to the people
puzzle. If you are interested, I can show you how to develop an
instant working rapport with anyone, even irate guests ... and
how to teach your staff to be equally as effective.
In case you are tempted to write off this "human software"
training as superfluous, remember that service will be the
restaurant battlefield of the 90's. Remember that your
restaurant sinks or swims based on how well your staff delivers
on the promises you make to the market. Remember too, that your
staff will treat your guests the same way that you treat your
staff!
Would you like a reputation for
exceptional guest service?
I teach a seminar across North America called "Building
Repeat Business" based in part on the material in "Restaurant
Basics." The program addresses the fact that it costs far more
to get a guest into your restaurant the first time than to get
them back. Particularly in a competitive marketplace, you
cannot afford to let any guests get away! I can show
you how to make more money and be more competitive by being
able to consistently give your present guests a quality service
experience that will cause them to return more often.
Why is The Restaurant Doctor so
effective?
Here are a few reasons you can feel confident about working
with me:
I take my own
advice
I consider myself an operator first and a consultant second.
The truth is that I would rather be doing it than talking about
it. As an operator, I believe my most important job is to learn
as much as I can and teach it to my staff, so consulting is
just a natural extension of that thinking. Most of my best
ideas came in response to problems I wanted to solve in my own
operations and it is encouraging to see that when I take my own
advice, it works! I will evaluate your situation as if it were
my own and give you the advice that I would take were I in your
position.
I understand restaurant
reality I have never worked for a large
chain or run a foodservice operation where I had big bucks to
spend, so I am not accustomed to solving problems by throwing
money at them. In my own restaurants and in all my varied
management positions, I have always had to work with limited
resources. Still, I could always find a way to deliver the
goods. I have learned how to solve most restaurant problems
without the need to make a heavy financial commitment.
I also understand that after our time together, I will be
back in Gig Harbor and you will still be in your restaurant.
Therefore, I want to make sure you understand not only
what we have done and how to do it, but
why it works. It is critical that you be able to
maintain the new results over time without me because I do not
want to create a dependent relationship with anyone. My goal is
to work myself out of a job as quickly as possible. This is why
my work usually involves some degree of teaching and
counseling. Knowledge is more powerful than ignorance, but
understanding is more powerful than knowledge. What you
understand, you can maintain.
I specialize in independent
restaurants Many of my peers tell me I'm
crazy to work with independent operators. Too many egos, too
many amateurs and too little money, they say. The big bucks are
with the big operators, they say. This is all good advice and
undoubtedly accurate. Still, there is something about the
freedom an independent operator enjoys that I find exciting. I
see many more opportunities to be creative when working with
the "little guys." Maybe it's just that I like to see real
changes happen quickly. Whatever the reason, working with
independent restaurants is more fun for me than wrestling with
corporate bureaucracies. This perspective may limit my income,
but making a meaningful contribution to the peace of mind of
hard-working entrepreneurs is more rewarding than big fees!
I guarantee my
results A solution that doesn't work is no
solution at all. I don't think you should have to pay for
something that doesn't work any more than I would expect guests
in my restaurant to pay if we had not given them a great time.
Accordingly, I will do whatever it takes until you are
completely satisfied that I have earned my fees - no hassles,
no questions asked.
Is this going to be
expensive?
People often ask me if consultants are expensive. The answer
is "yes and no." Consultants are expensive if they can't solve
your problem (and keep your money) or if they come up with
wrong answers. Consultants are also expensive if they come up
with the right answer and you ignore it! You cannot
afford to retain me if you are not willing to take my advice.
In fact, I won't accept you as a client unless I believe there
is a good chance that I can do you some good and that your
operation will be better as a result. Consultants are a bargain
if they can help you arrive at a better answer in less
time.
To minimize the financial exposure, I structure these
engagements in phases. This allows us to make adjustments if
the results start to look negative, if we start to see
something we didn't expect or if you should decide to take
another approach to the project. Working this way leaves all
your options open and keeps you in control of the
engagement.
Where do we go from
here?
The next step is to get specific about the results you want
to see and what assistance you want to be sure it happens. Call
me toll-free at (800) 767-1055 and let's talk
it over. There is no charge for this initial consultation.
If we agree to work together, I will prepare an engagement
letter that outlines our agreement on the work to be done, the
desired results, the timing and the projected budgets for fees
and expenses. If you concur, we will schedule a time to get
started. I can promise that you will have a higher-volume
restaurant at a lower total cost than doing it entirely on your
own. Even if you use me just to look over your shoulder and
provide a second opinion on your own thinking, you will find
the relationship profitable.
Working together, I know we can create a restaurant that
will make a real impact in the market, be
easier-than-the-average to operate and more profitable than
most. Remember that great restaurants do not usually happen by
accident - they are consciously designed to be that way . . .
and creating great restaurants is my idea of a good time!
I appreciate your interest and look forward to the
opportunity to help you get what you want.
With best regards,
Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor
PS: I truly believe that the success (or demise) of your
restaurant may well be determined before you ever open. With
the amount of money you have to invest in a restaurant, it just
makes sense to have an impartial third party watching out for
your blind
spots!
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