7 Strategies for Renovating Your Restaurant So More Customers Can Fit in
If your restaurant is popular and there are lines out the door, you may want to do a commercial renovation that allows you to fit more people into your facility. Wondering how to make the most of your space? There are a lot of possibilities. Here are some ideas to help you.
1. Combine the Entryway and the Bar
If customers are standing in your entryway waiting for a table, they aren't spending money. Instead, you want these people to be in your bar area, and the best way to do that is by extending the bar into the entryway or making it larger. That way, the guests can order a drink and start to spend some money. If you offer starters in the bar, you can even cut down on the time your guests spend at your dining tables, helping you to turn the tables faster.
2. Use the Spaces by the Walls
Tables set away from the walls can look nice, but that arrangement also wastes space. Make the most of your space by putting tables up against the walls. For instance, booths can sit flush against the walls, or you may want to put a bench along one wall and then place tables in front of the bench.
3. Consider Banquet Seating
With lots of little tables, you have to leave space between every table. That extra space is more or less wasted. To optimise the number of people you can fit in your restaurant, you may want to consider banquet seating. That's when you have long tables, and rather than getting their own table, guests actually sit together. The popularity of these types of tables is growing in all kinds of restaurants because clients like the community feel.
4. Integrate Unused Spaces
Do you have mostly unused hallways, break rooms or offices behind your dining space? Then, you may want to talk with a commercial renovation expert about integrating these spaces into your main dining area. You can knock down walls to create a larger space or put in archways that open into these areas to create small intimate dining areas for customers who want a bit more privacy.
5. Consider an Extension
If you own the building and you have room in your lot, you may want to add an extension in addition to all of the other renovation work you are doing. An extension could be directly connected to your main restaurant, or it could be a different sort of space. For instance, in keeping with the idea above, you may want to put in a extension that adds a bar for customers who are waiting for their tables.
6. Build Up
Alternatively, what about the roof? If you own the building, you may want to add a rooftop patio. If the footprint of your building is as large as it can be, this is a great way to free up extra space.
You may want to talk with the renovation team about putting a waiter's stand on the roof and setting up a dumbwaiter to connect that area to your kitchen. With that arrangement, your kitchen crew can send food up to the roof and then your wait staff can distribute it. You don't have to worry about your team carrying food up the stairs.
7. Look into a Chef's Table
During your renovation, you may even want to create extra space in the kitchen where you can put a chef's table. A chef's table is a table for special guests, and usually, the people who sit there get access to a special tasting menu or something special such as little amuse bouches from the chef. In addition to offering a special experience, this also increases the number of people who can fit into your restaurant.
For more information or assistance, contact companies like Randstar Building Services.