What draws you into a restaurant?

Question

I'm looking into opening my own business and want it to be a success.

So when you say location, location, location. Is it better to be surrounded by a lot of restaurants w/limited parking or to have a location at one side of town with less restaurants and more parking?

Answer 1

Accessibility. This is rule one.

It doesn't matter how great your food is, or how great your staff is. Nor does it matter if you advertise really well and people know where you are. Traffic is key in a successful restaurant. Visible traffic.

If you're located in some obscure part of town "out of the way", you will draw less traffic than if you were in a more accessible part of town.

For example; I used to be a Food Director for an amusement park. We had 17 different food locations throughout the park 15 were grouped in a relatively small area near the main gate and the main attractions. The other two, they were on opposite side of the park from each other and from the main gate. Mind you, this wasn't a huge park, but a good size one; you could walk to these two stands from the main gate in under 2min. In one location, I put sub shop modeled after Subway (since I had prior experience there as well). This location was smack in front of the main attraction in the park. The food was great, it was clean (highest health ratings in the county), and the service was impeccable (I expected no less from my staff). It was about a 1.5min walk from the main gate. It did about $100k in revenues over 3 months (the operating season).

The other location was on the other side of the park. I put a Taco Bell in there. This decision was based on a number of reasons, but the two main were: A didn't offer a Mexican-style food choice anywhere else in the park, and B: brand recognition. People knew TB, they would go to where it was, even if it was in a remote area of the park (again, only about a 2min walk from the main gate). The TB did about $130K in revenue over 3 months.

My main food stand? The one that was right next to the Gift Shop and 45sec from the main gate? It did $385K in three months.

Point of the story: have great food and excellent service in a pleasing environment, but most of all, have the restaurant be accessible. Get your restaurant as close to a high volume area as possible. "High volume" can mean a few different things; the main retail area of your town, the main tourist area of your town, the main business area of your town, etc. After all, there's a reason why all those other restaurants are where they are.

People will find a place to park. :)

Answer 2

Word of mouth, reviews, and location, location, location.

You do know that 3 out of 4 new restaurants go broke within the first year right? Good luck all the same, nothing is better than a good restaurant.

Answer 3

First the name
Then the condition of the exterior
Then the taste of the food and prices
Also, service is a big factor

A restaurant with excellent food recently closed in our city and I think it was due to the service. When the owner was away, the employee's friends would come and hang out. Some even walked into the kitchen which was visually open to the customers. It was a real turn off. Very poor service, which makes you question the food and etc

Answer 4

The "diner style" atmosphere. Booths, large windows to watch the traffic go by, an attractive group of waitresses, FRIENDLINESS from staff.

The type of diners you see in southern California are always appealing to me.

Although it is not PC to talk about, attractive waitresses draw men AND women. How else do we explain Hooters staying in business, with its higher prices and average food?

I'm not saying the waitresses should dress Hooters-style, but youthful women who have an eye toward personal hygeine and appearance, are consistently a big draw.

Cleanliness can not be over emphasized. Carpet should either be VERY clean, or simply removed, in favor of linoleum or tile.

Serve breakfast at all times, if you can. I'm one of many who will order breakfast items just about any time.

I know this is a wandering list, but it's the best I could do.


Clean, large windows, booths, pretty waitresses, breakfast around the clock, etc.

Have some pie on hand, too.
I'll be right over.

Answer 5

Word of mouth advertising.
A few years ago when I lived in Boise Idaho a man opened a restaurant on the same street my business was on. His wife dropped off a dinner for 2 invite for his grand opening night.
She told me they had 50 invites to give out to the owners of nearby businesses. They were good from 7 to 9 PM that night. I am sure from that they got a lot of good advertising from that.
Good Luck with your new business.

Answer 6

For me, I'm attracted to restaurants that have an inviting and well-designed exterior, and an accompanying interior to match. It should feel like a place I could come by whether I'm in a suit, or on a casual weekend, and still get the same service. Good luck with your ventures!

Answer 7

The wonderful smell of the food outside. Once inside, I look for cleanliness. What will bring me back is excellent food for a fair price and good service.

Answer 8

I think BK should make steaks and mashed potatoes(my fave food) especially since they have a grill in their restaurants. Maybe McDonalds should make wings? And I never tried Wendy's but they could do your lasagna idea.

Answer 9

Definatly the name of the resturaunt and the overall look of the outside, also the interior, and a major effect that will make me come back is obviously the food. I guess you can judge a book by its covor!

Answer 10

The way the restaurant looks, the price of food, and the type of food.