Restaurant entrepreneurs…WARNING: Customers WILL judge a restaurant by its cover. Not to worry, though. One Fat Frog has a few tips to ensure that you don’t have to worry about what these customers are thinking before walking into the place.
Logos & Signage
One Fat Frog showcases its company with one little guy: the fat frog on our logo! Ever wonder why he’s smiling and wearing a chef hat? The logo showcases the Frog’s two main specialties: humor and restaurant equipment. Do the same with the logo and signage of your restaurant. This includes billboards, advertising, outside of the restaurant.
Outdoors vs. Indoors
Remember: if you have a limited amount of square footage inside the restaurant, you’ve still got a ton of space outside of the restaurant, bar, bakery or pizzeria. Decide if you want the inside to be completely devoted to ordering and/or preparing the food, and then set up nice tables and chairs with decorations outside the restaurant. Utilize every inch of space that comes with the property to your full restaurant advantage.
Squeaky clean
Keep the restaurant clean, both inside and outside. Certain suburban areas require that restaurant owners wash the sidewalk near their restaurant every day. Stay up to date with city cleaning habits and rules to ensure that customers are happy walking into a clean facility.
Entrance
Choose how customers and service people will enter/exit the restaurant. Some stores get confusing when there are multiple doors or side entrances. Pick one main door for the customers, and one back or side door for service people. The Frog says to make it easily distinguishable with an entrance or open sign for the customers.
Make a good first impression on customers and draw them into the restaurant. Keep it clean, utilize logos and mark a clear entrance. Maybe the Frog will even stop in, sans chef hat, of course.