Preparing for Your Restaurant's Grand Opening
June 1, 2017Starting a restaurant is an adventure, especially with the Grand Opening.
There will have been months of planning, preparation, purchasing and hiring for your grand opening. When you finally have everything ready, your grand opening is a big deal. If everything is perfect, your grand opening will leave a lasting impression on your prospective customers. Start early and put in place a rocket solid plan. The following tips should come in handy.
- Create a feasible plan for your grand opening
Have a workable plan for your opening day. Set a date on your calendar and ensure your best hands are on deck to dish out a great experience for your customers. Take note of upcoming events around your restaurant. If possible, schedule your opening to coincide with an event that will bring hungry customers to your area, setting the stage for a massive turnout. Ensure you and your employees know what you’ll be doing on opening day.
- Invite friends and family to a pre grand opening
Invite friendly faces to experience an exclusive pre-opening. Ask your friends and family to provide feedback on their experience – both what they enjoyed and what could be improved. This will give you an assessment of your readiness and performance before a grand opening to the general public.
It will also allow you to identify unforeseen issues and make adjustments to ensure your restaurant will run smoothly before the big day. Pay attention to how your team works together, the quality of the food and the level of service. Coach your employees to help them correct any problems they encounter during the grand opening.
- Get the word out of your grand opening
If you don’t tell people your grand opening, you can’t expect them to come. Marketing is a key aspect of your business, so employ multiple advertising methods. Social media is an inexpensive and effective way of raising awareness among your target market. Print attractive flyers and signs that will attract the attention of passers-by. A new restaurant opening is a newsworthy event, so get local media involved – it’s free exposure!
- Go to your customers.
Why wait for your customers to find you when you can go to them? Setting up a stand at a festival or your local market is an excellent way to get people to try a bit of your fresh culinary taste. If they love what they taste, they will want to come to your restaurant for more on your grand opening! Remember to use this opportunity to hand out flyers and invite people to attend your grand opening.
- Don’t skimp on training before a grand opening
Your employees should be well-trained in everything from the menu to the company’s mission. Make sure every server has the menu memorized and is able to suggest dishes to your customers during your grand opening. If you have an electronic order system, staff should be well-versed in how to use it. A strong system of communicating orders is also essential to the efficiency and effectiveness of your restaurant. All your employees should know the mission of your restaurant; this creates a sense of loyalty and team spirit.
6 Equipment Buying Tips Every Restaurant Owner Needs to Know
If you own a restaurant, knowing how to purchase the right equipment is one of the key ingredients to the success of your company. Here’s a bit of advice to help you become a purchasing pro: Our 6 Restaurant Equipment Buying Tips 1. Consider your current situation and...
Don’t Buy a Commercial Refrigerator Before Considering These 4 Things
A commercial refrigerator is an equipment staple of every restaurant. There are several things to consider when acquiring a commercial refrigerator for your kitchen. When searching for the correct type of unit, here are four things to consider to help you choose the...
5 Ways to Get the Most out of Your Dishwasher
Dishwashers are an incredibly helpful timesaver, and in the fast-paced restaurant industry, staff and managers are desperate for even a small amount of extra time. Although simply putting dishes into a machine seems simple, if your dishwasher is not well-maintained...
How to Keep Having Fun while Running your Restaurant
Restaurant owners typically have a passion for cuisine. Opening and running a restaurant is exciting, providing the opportunity to fully explore and develop your vision. However, if you have been in the restaurant business for any length of time, you know that it is...
3 Great Reasons to Maintain Your Restaurant Equipment
As the owner of a restaurant, you want a healthy and clean business. In the hustle of everyday restaurant management, it can be easy to forget to take care of issues that don’t seem as pressing as the customer complaining that they got the wrong order or that their...
Avoid Surprises During an Appraisal of Your Restaurant Equipment
When it comes to time for your restaurant equipment to be appraised, confusion can set in. For the purpose of the appraisal, personal goods are given value, but goods that are classified as ‘real goods’ are considered part of the real estate or the building structure...
Essentials of Cleaning and Preventative Maintenance for Your Restaurant Equipment
When it comes to your restaurant equipment, regular cleaning and maintenance is essential for making sure your equipment lasts for years to come. And it isn’t simply a matter of making your food processors and commercial mixers more efficient. There are considerable...
3 Tips for Maintaining Your Commercial Oven
As a restaurant owner, buying a commercial oven is an enormous investment. You will desperately want this oven to work properly and you need to make sure it does. You are responsible for your restaurant business. But what if your commercial oven stops working on the...
5 Steps to Cutting Food Waste from Your Kitchen
Food waste is a problem around the world. Taking steps to prevent food waste in your kitchen doesn’t just make your restaurant more morally strong; it can also help you save money on ingredients and attract more customers. Here are some steps you can take to reduce...
Planning Your Equipment Needs When Your Restaurant is Expanding
Your restaurant is doing great, guests are coming in, and they’re spreading the word about the culinary masterpieces your restaurant offers, as well as the exceptional service that is provided by the kitchen equipment and staff. But with all the new business, you’ve...
How to Keep Cool in the Restaurant Kitchen
Being in the kitchen, it’s hard not to feel overheated, especially during the summer. The heat of the stoves and ovens will quickly make the restaurant kitchen somewhere you don’t want to be. How do you keep cool in the kitchen? We have brought together some of the...
How and Why to Make Your Restaurant Lead-Free
If you own a restaurant, then you already know how important water is to your operations, and that poor water quality can adversely impact the success of your business. That is why you should ensure a restaurant lead-free environment. Water is an integral part of all...
Can You Handle These 5 Types of Difficult Restaurant Customers?
No matter how much you love it, running a restaurant certainly has its challenges. It is time-consuming, hectic, labor-intensive and competitive. And to cap it all, there are the difficult restaurant customers you often have to deal with. It’s impossible to please...
5 Unique Restaurant Concepts Guaranteed to Thrill Diners
With restaurants on almost every block, having a unique restaurant concept can help set you apart, making your establishment stand out. These concepts may have taken a bit to catch on, but they have quickly become popular sellers. Here are 5 unique restaurant concepts...
How to Run an Energy-Efficient Restaurant
You probably don’t need to be reminded of the high cost of electricity in running a restaurant compared to an energy-efficient restaurant. Right now, many establishments, including restaurants, are going green and adopting eco-friendly strategies to conserve...