To run a good restaurant in Canada, you need a few things. Good food is at the top of the list, of course. But you must also be eager to provide your customers with a pleasant overall experience.
A cramped, uncomfortable space might work if you only serve take-out, but that’s not how most places operate. You need a place that will keep your customers coming back for more. We visit restaurants to feel a sense of homeyness, after all.
Here are three key factors that will help ensure that your patrons are comfortable when they’re dining at your establishment.
Get good furniture
Hospitality is key when you’re trying to draw people to your restaurant. If things don’t feel quite right the first time they visit your restaurant, then they’re probably not going to bother trying your food again.
It may help to think of restaurant guests as like people you’re having over for dinner at your own house. When someone knocks on your door, you’re going to invite them in. Then you’ll probably invite them to have a seat.
But where are they going to be seating? Cheap, low-quality chairs suggest cheap, low-quality food. The tables should look elegant and sturdy as well. If your tables look like they came from a garage sale, then something has gone terribly wrong and you need to fix it. That’s why you must view restaurant furniture in Canada long before you welcome your first customers.
A solid restaurant should offer comfortable seating no matter where you are in the building. You’ll need furniture in the lounge area for people who are waiting for other members of their party to arrive. Your bar area should also be filled with stools and bar furniture that match whatever aesthetic you’re shooting for.
Check the temperature
Never forget the temperature, because your guests won’t — you’re running a restaurant, not a hot yoga studio.
The dishes should be hot off the grill (or out of the stove), but that doesn’t mean you want your customers to feel like they’re about to boil over. There’s never going to be an optimum temperature for everyone inside a restaurant. But in general, a lot of restaurants err on the side of being a little cold.
There are a few reasons to do this. One reason is money: German researchers found that lowering the dining room temperature can encourage people to eat more. It may be harder for some people to realize they’re full when it’s cold. This might also be why people tend to gain a little weight in the winter months.
The other reason is that all those ovens and grills heat things up fast. You want to be sure your staff is comfortable, especially the ones who are stuck in or near the kitchens. That may mean having to deal with a few complaints about a cold restaurant.
But if your restaurant always seems to be either too hot or too cold, you might have a bigger issue. It might be time to call in either HVAC workers or electrical engineering services.
Punish bad behavior
The customer is not always right. Sure, you want diners to feel comfortable, but you don’t want them to feel so comfortable that they do something like get incredibly drunk and harass their fellow diners. You’ve got to let people know that there are certain expectations when they walk into your restaurant.
If they don’t meet those expectations, you can provide them a warning, at least in some cases. But if the behavior continues, you have to decide if a bad review is worth distressing both your other customers and your employees.
In the vast majority of cases, it’s not. Running a restaurant means sometimes making difficult decisions, including the decision to ban someone from the premises.
