The 5 Main Restaurant Areas That Your Customers Will Absolutely Judge You On

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The 5 Main Restaurant Areas That Your Customers
Will Absolutely Judge You On You are probably
excited about opening your dream restaurant, but
a bit worried about how to design a memorable
dining experience that attracts and delights your
first customers. The secret is paying a little
more attention to your restaurants design at the
beginning of your restaurateur journey is just
as critical to the future success of your
business as the delicious dishes you are
serving. After all, diners today expect great
tasting food AND a great dining environment to
create a memorable experience that they will
rave about to their family and friends on social
media. Carefully planning the layout of your
restaurant will allow you to eliminate barriers
(both psychological and physical) that prevent
diners from recommending and returning to your
restaurant. The first step to designing your
restaurants interior is taking the square
footage of your space and dividing it up amongst
the main areas of your restaurant the entrance,
waiting area, dining area, restroom, storage and
the kitchen. The general rule of thumb when it
comes to dividing your restaurant is to follow
the 60/40 rule. This rulesuggests that 60 of
your space be allocated towards seating and 40
to kitchen, storage, restroom areas, and other
areas not dedicated to seating. Below are some
vital tips to make each space in your restaurant
more functional and memorable. 1. Entrance Area
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Your customer will start judging your restaurant
the moment they enter in your front
door. Imagine the unfortunate, but all too
common scenario where a customer walks through
the front door but there isnt a host or signs
in place to greet them and let them know the next
steps. This will naturally leave a negative
taste in their mouth. You never want your
customers to feel uncomfortable or guessing what
to do at any point in their dining experience,
especially not after just walked into your
restaurant! Therefore, it is to have the
following at your entrance employee stations, a
podium, chairs/couches, or some sort of signage
where customers will immediately feel welcomed
and comfortable. These visual cues will also
help instruct the diner on what to do next,
whether it be checking in with the host, wait to
be seated or sign in to a waitlist. Once
customers are acknowledged or signed in, the
waiting area is the next space where they will
spend time at. 2. Waiting Area Naturally,
waiting and seating areas take up a majority of
your restaurant space because they are where
customers spend a majority of their dining
experience.
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Custom want to feel comfortable as they are
waiting for or enjoying your delicious dishes or
drinks.
The waiting and seating areas are generally made
up of three smaller areas the waiting area, the
bar area, and the dining area. The waiting area
is where customers wait to be called and seated
and may share the same space as the entrance
area. Lets face it, no one likes to wait, so
your job is to make that experience as pleasant
as possible. First, your waiting area should be
clearly separated from the dining area, so that
customers can wait without getting in the way of
the staff or in the other diners space and vice
versa.
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Some restaurants have a foyer for waiting guests
and outdoor patio with refreshments, games and
entertainment. Try to avoid standing room only
waiting areas for obvious reasons. Some larger
restaurants use a bar area that doubles as a
waiting area. Having a bar area is effective
because not only does it allow customers to enjoy
a beverage while they wait, but also provides an
additional dining option for customers who cannot
wait. 3. Dining Area The dining room is the
heart of the dining experience for your customers
so it is an area where you want to make sure
that the space, colors and decoration are
complementary. The wall colors, furniture
colors, and decorations should work harmoniously
to help emphasize the theme of the restaurant to
help create a memorable experience. The dining
area should have plenty of room for customers and
staff to easily navigate without bumping into
one another.
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To reduce human traffic congestion, pay attention
to the concept of space, such as creating wider
walkways, not placing tables on top of each
other,and making sure that customers have room to
eat without invading someone elses space. The
dining area should not be difficult to navigate
and Customers should be able to easily locate
the restroom and walk there without tripping over
other guests. Servers should be able to easily
walk back and forth from the kitchen to the
tables they are severing without tripping over
diners and chairs. 4. Restroom Area
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The restroom is another critical area to pay
specific attention in your restaurant
layout. One tip is that by placing your restroom
closer to the kitchen, it allows you to tie your
plumbing and water lines together. This makes it
more convenient and cost effective since there is
no need to install additional plumbing and water
lines. The restroom is usually located in the
front or back of a restaurant, away from the
dining area. However, if space is limited, and
the restroom must be near seating areas, a visual
divider between the two spaces will be more
visually appealing. In addition to the location,
the size of your restroom also plays a role in
keeping your customers happy. While having a one
person restroom at a large buffet would not be
practical, having five stalls for a restroom in
a small bistro is a waste of space. 5. Kitchen
Area Last, but certainly not least, is the
kitchen area. Without an organized and
efficiently laid out kitchen, your cooking and
serving staff will not be able to meet the
demands of your customers. As mentioned earlier,
the kitchen typically occupies the other 40 of
your restaurants layout. Practical commercial
kitchens have different layouts depending on the
cuisine type, and flow of operations.
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When it comes to an efficiently running kitchen
area, there are several components to consider,
including the kitchen equipment, storage, safety
and sanitation. When allocating space for a
kitchen area, make sure that the space is large
enough to handle the flow from preparation, to
cooking to delivery of your dishes efficiently.
There are four main kitchen area layouts
restaurants generally implement Assembly Line
Layout The Assembly Line is the classic layout
where the kitchen is organized in a line ordered
by the functional stages from prep to cook to
finished. This layout can either be publicly
visible or not. For example, Pieology is a
restaurant that uses such a layout. As customers
walk to the counter, they first select the
dough, then the sauce, then the cheese, and then
the various toppings they want on their pizza.
The pizza is then placed in an oven for cooking.
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Customers pay while the pizza is cooking, and it
is delivered to them when finished to complete
the process. The assembly line layout is ideal
for fast food restaurants that allow for
customization of a few food items to serve the
needs of a large quantity of people faster. Since
each employee is in charge of a certain space in
the assembly line, food can be made more
efficiently and consistently. Island Layout
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This the layout that traditional restaurants
typically employ. In this layout, all of the
cooking is done in the center of the kitchen
where all the cooking equipment is centered
around. While the oven, ranges, fryers, grills,
and more are on this island, the other
equipment and sections not related to principle
cooking are placed around the walls. Their
placement follows an orderly circular flow. The
island layout is beneficial in that it allows for
open communication and supervision as well as
provides space for the kitchen staff to easily
move around as needed. Kitchen managers are able
to oversee each dish as they are prepped, cooked,
and plated and cooks are able to communicate
more effectively and efficiently. This type of
layout is popular amongst high end restaurants
and restaurants in hotels. Zoning Layout
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The zone layout is another layout restaurant
kitchens may find useful. This particular layout
focuses on the different tasks that occur in the
kitchen and divides these tasks into different
sections, or zones. For example, all of the prep
occurs in the prep zone, all of the cooking
occurs in the cooking zone, all of the
dishwashing occurs in the dishwashing zone, and
so on. In dividing the kitchen into different
zones, this leaves the middle of the kitchen
empty as the kitchen equipment are lined along
the walls. Each zone and the staff in these zones
are able to do the tasks associated in that zone
before passing the dish along. Just like the
other layouts, the order of each station is made
to increase production flow. This layout is also
beneficial in that it allows for easier
supervision and communication of the kitchen
staff. This type of layout is extremely popular
amongst American restaurants, such as
Applebees, Chilis, and TGI Fridays. Open
Layout A popular layout that has been
increasingly gaining traction is the open layout.
This layout allows customers to see into the
kitchen as the chef prepares their meal. The open
layout has gained popularity because it is
reminiscent of a typical home kitchen layout and
provides adds entertainment to the dining
experience. For example, as the popular Chinese
restaurant, Din Tai Fung ,customers can watch
staff make the delicious dumplings they are
about to enjoy.
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The open layout is especially popular at Japanese
restaurants. In many sushi bars, customers can
expect to see a bar area in which they are able
to watch the chef cut thin slices of sashimi and
place them on top of rice or on a plate. In ramen
bars, customers can often see chefs making the
noodles from scratch, which then gets boiled and
placed in bowls with a broth before arriving to
their table. Impact On Your Restaurant By
following the tips above, you will have a
restaurant design that is both functional and
eye- appealing. The attention you pay to the
critical spaces in your restaurant need to work
in harmony to create great experiences for your
customers and keeps them raving about you on
social media and coming back for more. If you
need some additional suggestions with designing
your perfect restaurant layout, we can help. We
can connect you with the top designers in
Southern California to lay out space that is
functional, aesthetically pleasing, comfortable
no matter your budget and restaurant size. Click
here for a free consultation. Article Source-
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