Do you yearn for your convenience-store brand to join the ranks of the nation’s foodservice leaders? Are you striving to reach that pinnacle best described by former Wawa CEO Howard Stoeckel—a restaurant that happens to sell gas? Or maybe you just want to take a small step in the right direction?
It’s time to start thinking like a restaurateur. CSP Kitchen, with the help of our colleagues over at Restaurant Business magazine, has compiled 10 ways to bring the restaurateur mindset to your business. They include strategies, philosophies and of-the-moment trends that are crucial components of any restaurant worth its salt in … well, salt (but really fancy salt). Try them on for size, and remember this sage advice likely followed by most successful restaurateurs: Fake it ’til you make it.
1. Worship at the Altar of Danny Meyer
The Tony Hsieh of the restaurant industry, New York City restaurateur and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group Danny Meyer has proven you can build a business based on people and still bring in the big bucks. Meyer’s influence is reflected in the number of restaurateurs who buy his book “Setting the Table” for their entire staff, in the response the industry has to his management moves—such as the current plan to eliminate tipping in all of his locations—and in the profound success of his burger chain Shake Shack. Check out Meyer’s book and learn how his concept of “enlightened hospitality” can—and should—be a part of your business plan.
2. Think Beyond the Queue
There’s a reason restaurateurs have been so fixated on delivery, catering and mobile ordering: All have the potential to generate incremental sales and increased throughput. You may not have the out-the-door traffic counts of Chipotle or Panera, but that doesn’t mean such technologies should be off your radar. Services such as delivery and catering open up your business to more meal occasions. And online ordering is proven to generate higher check averages.
3. Market Wisely to Hispanics
The Hispanic consumer is diverse and varied, and restaurant brands are learning to speak to several subdemographics at once. Where to start? For one, make sure that your Spanish messages translate well. (Wendy’s hired a firm to do all of its Spanish-language translations to ensure nothing was misinterpreted.) And think about the family: The average Hispanic family is 37% larger than the U.S. average, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Domino’s recently reflected that with a meal bundle featuring two medium pizzas, two liters of Coke and 24 servings of sides—quite a bit for the nuclear family of yore, but just right for the extended family of today.
4. Optimize Your Menu
Building a profitable menu requires satisfying as many customers as possible, subtly encouraging them to trade up to higher-priced items, and leveraging ingredients across the menu while minimizing high-labor items. Restaurateurs call this menu engineering, an intricate analysis of everything from where on the menu an item resides to what it should cost in relation to everything else. Even font size gets scrutinized. (Watch for the April issue of CSP for more on the topic.)
5. Make Your Chef a Celebrity
It’s hard to recall, but there was a time when the chef stayed in the kitchen and was rarely seen or heard from. Now Americans love to see a man or woman in finely starched whites, rounding a restaurant with pride. If you’re among the many c-store chains that have brought a chef into their ranks, show him or her off in your stores and on signage and social media. Have them spend time chatting with employees and answering customers’ questions. If anything, dress your foodservice employees like restaurant cooks vs. retail clerks. It’ll help customers associate your store with mealtime.
6. Consider a Soft Opening
When Nando’s opened in Chicago, the South Africa-based chain invited those living and working nearby to try its signature peri-peri chicken before anyone else. And while traditional soft openings typically mean comped meals, Nando’s made it more meaningful by running as a pay-what-you-want operation, with all of the money going to a local nonprofit. Media tastings further get the word out to the right people; keep it fun by telling the press they’re there to help iron out the kinks.
7. Donate to Food-Based Charities
The c-store industry is a charitable group, so food-related causes are a natural. A beloved nonprofit in the restaurant industry is Share Our Strength; its No Kid Hungry campaign is aimed at ending childhood hunger with the fundraising help of restaurants. Dine Out for No Kid Hungry lets operators create a promotion that fits its style, such as designated menu items that trigger donations. It’s a way to give back while having your brand among big-name restaurants—and yes, they’re looking for c-stores to join the effort.
8. Keep It Simple
Just as operators are bombarded with demands for customization, a seemingly opposite trend has emerged: the simplification of menus. Fewer choices allow for faster ingredient turnover for operators and easier decision-making for guests. Just look at Chipotle—thousands of combinations, but a relatively sparse menu. And the trend is in the numbers: Menus at newly opened restaurants are 37% smaller than those at existing restaurants, according to Datassential. So find ways to keep your menu—and inventory—simple while still promising the customization that consumers crave.
9. Steal the Happy-Hour Concept
Among other things (co-worker bonding, post-deadline decompression), happy hour was a brilliant idea for filling a restaurant during the otherwise quiet time before the dinner rush. Sonic Drive-In steals the happy- hour concept with its half-price drinks and slushes from 2 to 4 p.m. and late-night happy hour with half-price shakes. Starbucks regularly attempts to boost its own midday sales with bounce-back coupons on morning receipts for discounted pastry items after 2 p.m. What (booze-free) buzz can you create around slow day-parts?
10. Let Foodservice Lead on Social Media
Sure, your entire brand and all of its offerings should have a place on social media, but what sells better than good food photography? Take cues from some restaurant leaders, including Shake Shack, which won Restaurant Business’ 2015 FSTEC Award for “most tantalizing food porn” for its well-shot yet authentic photos that look like they were taken by regular guests. An honorable mention went to Applebee’s, which relinquished its Instagram account to user-generated photos for an entire year.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.