Two newsletters ago the feature article discussed the Death of Planet Hollywood. The article focused on what had gone wrong and what goes wrong in general with eatertainment restaurants. That was the negative so lets look at the positive of what are key ingredients that make restaurants successful. We don't have to look any further than a few local chains to be able to point out many things that these restaurants have done to become and stay successful. Here are some of the key ingredients:

1) Great Food: The quality of the food at Earls, Milestones and Cactus Club restaurants have come a long way in the past five years. The presentation, cooking, consistency and quality have been vastly improved. It is obvious that a great deal of attention has been paid to ensuring consistency across the chain. When a chain spends a great deal of money putting wood burning pizza ovens in every location you know that food is very important to them.

2) Staff Hiring & Training: The likes of Earls, Milestones and Red Robin always have the friendliest, nicest staff. It is again obvious that attention and care has been paid to hiring the right staff. They train the staff in the corporate way so that each staff member knows their job and how it relates to the overall success of the restaurant. Hiring the right staff and training them properly is not only reflected in the customers eye it also reduces the expense of staff turnover.

3) Systems: The more systems that are in place, the more that the staff know how they must act and what the requirements of their job are. A great example is that the chains have recognized that customers are usually in a rush and need to be served as soon as they are sat. Using a variety of methods, tables are monitored so that management know when a table has sat for to long. Earls is looking at Micros P.O.S., with a floor plan on the screen the table will start flashing to alert management if there has been no activity at the table after a set amount of time.

4) Innovation: There is very little that is new in the restaurant business, just new ways of using old ideas. Yet the chains are continually using minor innovations or old idea's in new ways to increase business and customer satisfaction. An example that really strikes home is something that Red Robin has instituted. Recognizing that customers, especially families with small children, are in a rush to leave after eating the waiter will present the bill in a laminated pouch upon finishing your meal. Laminated in the pouch is the dessert menu and the key message that here is your bill in case you are in a rush but we would love you to stay and have dessert etc. Now there is a chain thinking about their customers!

5) Capital Expense: To keep up with the times, stay fresh looking and be able to present an excellent place to eat you must spend capital dollars every year on improvements. Some chains have a set budget based on sales, others have a plan that is executed over a number of years but all the successful chains reinvest in their operations. We have already mentioned the Pizza Ovens at Earls and the following is a great example of re-investment. The Earls on Marine Drive in North Vancouver has undergone a transformation over the last ten years. The interior was changed, the Bar relocated, an outdoor patio added, the patio improved on a yearly basis, additional decor items put into place, the furniture changed etc. Has it made a difference, you bet. My understanding is that this restaurant now does almost FOUR times the sales volume that it did ten years ago!

6) Management: Take care of the management, management will take care of the staff, staff will take care of the customers! For years Earls has taken its management team on a trip once a year. Wine tasting in Italy sounded like a great trip! You have to take care of your management team not just pay lip service to them. Make sure achievable bonus programs are in place, do unusual things to make sure they are happy and loyal. I know a restaurant owner who paid for all the house paint for a manager when they had bought a new home, or an owner of a Brew Pub who took his management team to Mexico, a major chain who sent a manager and his family to Disneyland and on it goes.

The main thing that successful restaurants do right, whether it be a chain or an independent, is to pay attention to the thousands of details that will make them successful.

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Restaurant Office Intelligence inc.
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