People visit restaurants to get a break from cooking, hang out with friends and family, eat delicious food, and enjoy some time away from everyday life.
Renovation projects encompass a wide range of building activities from smaller projects such as painting and changing the flooring to gutting out and starting from scratch.
To ensure that your renovation project is structurally sound and well-coordinated, seek the assistance of the best professional construction experts in your area.
For example, if you live in New York, check out the best hospitality contractors in New York. To ensure that you get a fair price and the most qualified professional:
- Get more than one estimate
- Ask for recommendations from previous clients
- Check with your local licensing board
- How long have they been in business?
- What are their certifications, professional affiliations, and accreditations?
1. Devise a Plan
The best source of what renovations will improve the look of your restaurant is your current customers. Ask them for their opinion to get a better understanding of what they think is lacking in your establishment. Consider a contest or special offer to customers for their suggestions.
Look at your local competition. What does their restaurant offer or look like that attracts customers? Have they recently renovated, and what changes did they make?
Be sure to keep your brand image, vision, and target audience in mind when developing your plan. Try to think of a way to make your restaurant unique so that others will want to visit it and try your cuisine.
2. Replace Your Furnishings
People dining in your restaurant have plenty of time while they wait for their food to arrive to notice their surroundings.
If your benches, chairs, and tables are shabby, customers might associate the quality of your food with the condition of your furnishings.
Even if there is no correlation, perception is what counts. Changing your furniture is not a cost-prohibitive renovation and something you should consider.
Instead of replacing, you can refinish your tables and chairs or reupholster them if applicable. These simple renovations can go a long way towards improving your customers’ impression of your establishment.
3. Repaint or Refinish the Exterior of Your Restaurant
First impressions matter. The first thing people see is the exterior of your restaurant and it can play a significant role in their decision to come in or not. Peeling paint or cracked bricks leaves a bad impression on potential customers.
Did you know that even the color you choose plays a role in how current and potential customers perceive your business? The color of your restaurant can increase brand recognition by as much as 80%.
Do your best to make the exterior appealing to potential customers and entice them to come in and taste your delicious food.
4. Change the Lighting
Lighting is a critical element of interior design and creates ambience for your diners. Different types of restaurants define the mood of the patrons.
For example, diners and casual restaurants are generally well-lit and bright. Whereas more expensive and intimate settings tend to use subtle and warm lighting to create a relaxing and sometimes romantic environment.
No matter which style fits your restaurant, be sure that it is light enough to allow customers to get around without risk of falling.
Use accent lights to highlight areas you want to show off, such as the bar area and artwork.
5. Install New Flooring
Floors can take a beating over years of foot traffic and spills. You want your floors to be attractive but also low maintenance.
Spills on carpeting will lead to stains and a negative impression with customers. Think about long-term costs associated with carpeting versus wood or tile.
Repairing carpeting has a higher cost than wood and tile. However, it is not as durable. Flooring takes up the most space in your restaurant and helps set the tone for the rest of the room. Make sure it looks great.
6. Update Your Bathrooms
Although bathroom remodels can be expensive, it is often necessary to keep customers happy. Remember that most of your patrons will use your facilities.
If they are old, outdated, dark, and dingy, it can turn off people enough that they will not come back to dine at your establishment.
You do not necessarily have to completely gut out the bathroom if you do not have the funds. Try a fresh coat of paint, change the lighting, add mirrors, update the fixtures, and make sure it stays clean.
Remember that restaurants are about more than just the meals served. It is also about the dining experience for your customers.
Try some of these renovations to enhance your guests’ experience, improve their satisfaction, and grow your business.
