Typically executed during the “good times”, they have proved to be an onerous burden on struggling units and when cash flow is tight and a business needs to be lean, the ability to renegotiate these leases is often the ‘make or break’ factor.
Rolling Stone is making its red carpet premiere this summer at the Hollywood & Highland Center with the opening of its first restaurant and lounge, but it won’t be the only rock star on that mall’s stage. That’s because Rolling Stone is set to open its doors just as Hard Rock Café is scheduled to launch a restaurant and live event venue in the same center – in a first-ever competition between the two iconic names.
Before you’ve even opened, all these odds are stacked against you. The name is not enough. The brand name brings in the customer for the first time; the quality of the product keeps them coming back.
Casual dining mom-and-pops haven’t been hurt as much by the recession, mainly because people feel a strong connection to the businesses. Becoming a local leader and integral part of the community, versus a faceless chain, can go a long way to developing customer loyalty.
In a restaurant market full of competition, what separates you from your neighbor? Service, ambiance, price, parking and décor can all be strong factors in swaying a potential customer’s decision. However one fact always seems to get lost somewhere and that is the ability for your customers to get in contact with you either to make a reservation, discuss special needs or even book their company holiday party. As restaurant consultants, we know that restaurant customer service is the critical and often overlooked as an area than can directly drive improved business when given appropriate attention.
Marketing to gay and lesbian tourists makes sense. This gives us a competitive advantage against our neighbors in L.A. Not only that, but the campaign offers gay and lesbian tourists a destination where they can feel welcome. Why wouldn’t they come to see what it is like to be in a city of equal opportunity?
Dozens of high-end shopping centers across the country have added elegant dining during the past few years, and it’s worked when the restaurants are as swanky as the stores. Malls want the new customers, and restaurateurs want the critical mass of prospective diners.
Like the slew of retail companies that offer 100-calorie, portion-controlled products to consumers, a handful of quick-serve operators are also jumping on the trend. But so far most chains have restrained from such a “better for you” marketing gambit and, in fact, show little inclination to back away from a recession-proof emphasis on volume as value.
This market is providing restaurant operators with an opportunity to revisit their business and conduct an audit from the ground up, identifying wasteful cost centers and untapped revenue opportunities. A good restaurant consultant is someone who walks in the door with information, teaches it to the client and leaves that wisdom behind. An experienced consultant can also save money, find money and create money and it is these benefits that OnSite’s clients capture by bringing us on site.
“A female executive chef is probably 10 times stronger than any male based on what she has probably had to endure to get to this point,” says James Sinclair, the Los Angeles-based author of “How to Save Your Restaurant in Ten Days.”
