Chapter 3 Concept, Location, and Design

• Restaurant Concepts• Concepts: Clear Cut or Ambiguous?• Protecting a Restaurant’s Name• Defining the Concept & Market• Successful Restaurant Concepts• Concept Adaptation• Changing/Modifying a Concept• Restaurant Symbology

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Chapter 3 Concept, Location, and Design

• When a Concept Fails• The Multiple-Concept Chain • Sequence of Restaurant Development• Common Denominators• Planning Decisions• Profitability• The Mission Statement• Location & Design

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What is a concept?• The matrix of ideas that constitute what will

be perceived as the restaurant’s image.• It provides the framework on which to hang

the image.• Applies to any foodservice operation.• Should fit a definite target market.• Distinguishes the establishment as D&B,

different & better, than the competition.• May be necessary to modify as competition

arises.

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Concepts include…

• Public relations• Advertising• Promotions• Building• Curbside appeal• Décor• Menu• Staff• Music• Style of operation

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Symbols

• Aspects of the concept seen in the:– Sign– Logo– Colors– Upholstery– Food– Food presentation

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Concepts: Clear Cut or Ambiguous?

• Many restaurants lack clear cut concepts because there is no integration of the atmospherics.

• Everything should fit together:•Signs•Uniforms•Menus•Décor

• A concept is strengthened if it establishes an identity.

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The Name is Part of the Image

THE SPAGHETTI FACTORYSuggests quick service, low costs &

a fun place for Italian food.

THE SEVEN GRAINS Suggests a healthy-food restaurant.

LONG JOHN SILVER’SSuggests seafood.

GRANDMA’S KITCHENSuggests a homey, friendly place.

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Protecting a Restaurant’s Name

• Lawsuits happen!• Trademark regulations protect

the use of a name.• If another party uses your

name you should take action.• Loss of the right to a name

means changing signs, menus, promotional material, etc.

• It also means the loss of power that has been built into the name by the superior operator.

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Defining the concept & market

• In selecting a concept for a restaurant, define it precisely in the context of which markets will find it appealing.

• The market may constitute only a small percentage of the total population in an area. – i.e., a coffee shop with counter service would

appeal to interstate travelers.

• Must be a market gap or need for the idea.

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Market/Restaurant Relationship

The concept and market comprise the hub around which the restaurant develops. They are central to the

restaurant, supported by the menu, prices, service, quality, location, atmosphere, food & management.

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Successful Restaurant Concepts

• TGI Friday’s has remained successful over the years because it has stayed close to the guest and concentrated on quality & service combined with a theme of fun.

• The Lettuce Entertain You Group has several theme restaurants in the Chicago area & beyond including:– Scoozi, which recalls an artist’s studio & serves Italian

country cuisine.– Café Ba-Ba-Reeba, a Spanish restaurant featuring tapas,

the popular hot and cold “little dishes of Spain”.– Shaw’s Crab House, a premier seafood house features the

Blue Crab Lounge—an oyster bar offering oysters on the half shell, clams, lobster, and crab dishes. The main dining room serves more than 40 fresh seafood items plus chicken & beef.

• Hard Rock Café• Union Square Café• Corner Bakery Café

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Concept Adaptation • Most concepts that have

not been tested need some adaptation to the particular market.

• Concept development has always been important in the restaurant industry, but it is becoming more so now that dining districts are developing in almost every community.

• Different menus and prices attract different markets.

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Changing/Modifying a Concept• Many highly successful

concepts that have worked well for years gradually turn sour. – The customer base and the

demographics change.– Morale and personal service

may decline. • Copy & improve

– There is no such thing as a completely new restaurant concept—only modifications, changes, new combinations, changes in design, layout, menu, and service.

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Restaurant Symbology• Restaurant symbology

includes the logo, the line drawings, the linen napkins & the service uniforms—

• This all helps to create the atmosphere .– Cesar Ritz: Waiters

dressed in tails.– Chart House: Servers

dressed in Hawaiian attire. – McDonald’s: Ronald

McDonald.

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When a Concept Fails• The concept can be

changed to fit the market. • Conversion from one

concept to another can take place while the restaurant is doing business.

• A new concept (complete with decor, price, & service), may better appeal to the same market & siphon customers away from the competition.

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The Multiple-Concept Chain • Multiple-concept restaurant

chains can have five or more restaurants in the same block, each competing with the others, each acquiring a part of the restaurant market.

• Customers do not like feeling like they are eating in the same restaurant all over the area, so the restaurants are varied somewhat and carry different names.

• The largest of all restaurant companies, Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., has three concepts—KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. They stand alone, twin or even triple concepts.

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Sequence of restaurant development: 1. Business marketing initiated2. Layout and equipment planned3. Menu determined4. First architectural sketches made5. Licensing and approvals sought6. Financing arranged7. Working blueprints developed8. Contracts for bidding9. Contractor selected10. Construction or remodeling begun11. Furnishing and equipment ordered12. Key personnel hired13. Hourly employees selected and trained14. Restaurant opened

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Planning Services Many aspects of restaurant design are carried

out by other parties, hired by the owners and management. The designer, for example, performs the following services:– Basic floor plan– Equipment schedule– Electrical requirements– Plumbing requirements– Equipment– Equipment elevations– Refrigeration requirements– Exhaust and in-take requirements

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Common Denominators

Some factors may be common to allkinds of restaurants:• Human needs met by the restaurant• Menu prices• Degree of service offered• Space provided for each customer• Rate of seat turnover• Advertising & promotions

expenditures• Productivity per employee• Labor cost• Food cost

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Planning Decisions• Who are the target customers?• Buy, build, lease or franchise?• Food preparation from scratch or

from convenience items?• A limited or extended menu?• Service: limited or full?• Young part-time or older career

employees?• Paid advertising or word-of-mouth

advertising?• Grand opening or soft opening?• Electricity or gas?

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Profitability

• Most profitable restaurants are in quick-service category because they have:– Predominantly

minimum-wage personnel

– High sales volume– The use of systems – Excellent marketing

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The Mission Statement• The purpose of the business and the nature

of what it offers. • The business goals, objectives, and

strategies.• Philosophies and values the business and

employees follow.– Example: Chili’s Grill and Bar: “We aim to be a

premier growth company with a balanced approach toward people, quality and profits: to cultivate customer loyalty by listening to, caring about, and providing customers with a quality dining experience; to enhance a high level of ethics, excellence, innovation and integrity; to attract, develop, and retain a superior team; to be focused, sensitive and responsive to our employees and their environment: and to enhance long-term shareholder wealth.”

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Location Criteria• Demographics of the area: age, occupation, religion,

nationality, race, family size, educational level, average income of individuals and families.

• Visibility from a major highway.• Accessibility from a major highway.• Number of potential customers passing by the

restaurant (potential customers might be only travelers going through a community, drivers, local workers).

• Distance from the potential market.• Desirability of surroundings.

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Location• Dinner or family-style restaurants need

not place the same high priority on convenience of location necessary for casual and quick-service establishments

• Location decisions are based on asking the right questions and securing the right information.

• Real estate agents are prime sources.– Real estate commissions are ordinarily

based on 6 percent of the building’s selling price and 10 percent of the selling price of raw land.

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Location• Other sources of information are the

chamber of commerce, banks, town or city planners & other restaurant operators.

• Town & city planning officials can provide traffic and zoning information. Know what zoning officials are planning for the future.

• Locations wax and wane in desirability, depending on a number of conditions, including the general economy, the nature of the residents of the area, the presence or absence of new or declining buildings, changing traffic flows & security.

• Look for built-in traffic generators such as hotels, business parks, ball parks, indoor arenas, theaters, retail centers & residential neighborhoods.

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Location Criteria• Proper zoning. • Drainage, sewage, utilities. • Minimal size. • Length of lease. • Excessive traffic speed. • Access from a highway or street. • Visibility from both sides of the street. • Market population. • Family income. • Growth or decline of the area.• Competition from comparable restaurants. • The restaurant row or cluster concept.

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Some Additions to Consider:• Minimum population needed to support the concept• Downtown versus Suburban

– Many restaurants have faded or failed because of the exodus of the middle class from the downtown area, leaving the restaurant perhaps a luncheon crowd, but no one for dinner.

• Average Travel Time to Reach Restaurants– Patrons will travel an average of 15 to 18 minutes to reach a

hotel, steak, full-menu, or fish restaurant. People often spend about 10 minutes when going to cafeteria & department-store restaurants.

• Matching Location with Concept– A particular site may be right for a coffee shop but wrong for a

dinner house or a fast-food place. – The size of the lot, visibility, availability of parking, access from

roads, and so on, all have an impact on the style of restaurant that will fit a location.

• Takeover Locations– Being short of capital or wishing to minimize risk, the beginning

restaurateur often starts by leasing or buying out an existing restaurant

• Cost of the Location– A restaurant has two potential values, its real estate value and

its value as a profit generator.

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Visibility & Design Criteria• Visibility & accessibility are

important criteria for any restaurant.– Visibility is the extent to which

the restaurant can be seen for a reasonable amount of time, whether the potential guest is walking or driving.

• Design needs to correlate with the theme and includes:– Space allocation - front of the

house and backstage– Lighting (single most important

element)– Color (in tandem with lighting)– Layout of the dining area

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The End

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.