The secret to a successful restaurant?

The restaurant industry has a reputation for high failure rates. Many businesses close their doors within the first year of opening. Many restaurants battle with high turn over of crew and managers. Restaurateurs spend a lot of money on consultants to try to figure out why their restaurant doesn't succeed. Yes, of course there are many factors to take into consideration when opening a restaurant; such as location, concept, design, you need capital, you need to hire people, you need an IT infrastructure and reporting tools (in God we trust, all others bring us data). You need to design a menu and obviously have a GP goal for your F&B items served. It all starts there. But even some of the ones that have that all figured out seem to fail. Why is that people ask me? It is the lack of consistency. The inability to deliver on your promise on a consistent basis. That is why I would advise every Operator out there to focus time on where needed: on the floor and in the kitchen, with your guests and with your team. That is why every month I remind my team to go "back to basics" - an all too common practice and if taken seriously; very effective. Here is how you could approach it... First ask yourself which restaurant is your favorite place and would you recommend it to friends and family? Well? Now ask yourself why... The answer is likely that they have great food, great service and they are clean. The key is consistency... Food, Service, Facility - all brought together and enforced through leadership. Those three things are crucial to a successful operation. As owner, GM, Chef, Director - whatever role you are in as a leader of your business, you need to be on the floor, in the kitchen and with your people...

Food: First off, people come to your restaurant for food, yes to eat. So, does your food deliver on the promise? Is your kitchen clean? When was the last time you checked your line and temp-ed your food? Are your cooks following recipes? Do you go into your walk-in to inspect the product? When is the last time you sat down and enjoyed a meal in your restaurant? Do you spend time on expo watching the plates as they leave the pass? My goal as Operator is that my crew should never wonder why I am behind the line, or sending a dish back, or even why I am sitting down as a patron enjoying a meal. That is achieved through leadership and rolling up your sleeves. If you work with your team and show passion for product, you will earn the respect of the BOH. Then you measure their success not only through your P&L, but by inspecting the food the way it is received from the vendor, the way it is handled and prepared and eventually goes out to your guest. For most full service restaurants food is 70 - 80% of total sales. How close are you to the food?

Service: oh service... if it doesn't take extra time or doesn't cost extra money, do it. Just do it. Go the extra mile and leave your ego out of it. Anticipate the needs of your guests, "read your table" as they say. Use your brain and be real. It is not rocket science. Your front line crew are the ones who engage with your guest, so hiring the best is crucial. You need proper training and continued education - keep them engaged and lead them to victory. Empower your crew to make decisions that insure guest satisfaction. Again, this all is only achieved by being on the floor. How will you measure their result? By looking at how many items they sold in your POS system? By reviewing YELP or Open Table scores? Yes, you can do that, but the best way is by actually standing next to them and listen to the menu spiel or observe your host team by being present at the door and listen how they answer the phone. How is your support team clearing tables? How do they drop the dishes in the dish room? How do you achieve all this? By coaching in the moment. By reinforcing the good and giving feedback in the moment to correct - discretely of course. Take notes and if things bother you, bring them up at your daily line-up meeting before every shift. Repeat for at least 3 days so you can address the service issue with all crew, globally of course, not using the crew member's name. Start contests, and reward your crew. It works, try it.

Facility: do you have a scratch on your car? You do? How did you feel when it happened. I guess you were pretty bummed out right? How do you feel about the scratch now? I guess you got used to it, right? It is the same with your restaurant. Never accept any flaw in your facility. Stains on walls, scratches on furniture, dirty windows, light bulbs out - don't walk past them - fix them immediately and make a big deal about it. Show everyone that the facility is a reflection of how you run your business. It is a manifestation of our regime. Every day I pretend I walk into my locations for the first day. If this place was not under my leadership, what would I criticize? You would be surprised how much you can fix... don't postpone it. My rule of thumb is I would rather explain the expense on the P&L than explain why something is broken or dirty... which would you prefer? Which place would you rather dine in?

Leadership: the ongoing journey without destination. Boy, have I made some mistakes along the way... We all have. But at the end of the day, it is about how your people feel about you when you are not there. Do you want your people to fear or respect you? I think back of the people that made a true impact on my career - there were several. From some I learned the things that worked well and others I learned even what doesn't work well, but you develop your own voice or style. How can you get your team to do what you would like them to do at their best ability with a smile? "Everything rises and falls on leadership" (John Maxwell). Educate yourself, read books, listen to your crew - even when they don't make sense in your opinion. Remove roadblocks and hold them to high standards. If you hired the right people, chances are they want to be held accountable.

So there you have it. Focus your attention on the floor and do what it is that made us love our industry in the first place. Get out of the office. You can check your email later - it will be there I promise. Lunch time is from 12pm till 2pm. Dinner from 6pm till 10pm. That gives you 6 hours out of the day to make an impact on your business. Other businesses are open from 8am till 5pm, some even 24 hours a day. We only have these short windows of time to generate sales, so spend your time wisely. Food, service, facility and your pleasant presence on the floor.