Renovations are an exciting chapter of every restaurant's story. With the proper changes, you might be poised to open your business up to a whole new demographic and market share.
But you need to make sure that you're aware of everything that goes into a major renovation project. Here are some things you should know before embarking on a restaurant renovation.
The first step you should take before making any aesthetic or structural changes to your restaurant is to make sure your lease allows you to. Many leases have restrictions on renovations that tenants can make.
You may have signed a lease with those restrictions without realizing it. In those cases, you might be able to renegotiate the terms of your lease on a case by case basis.
There may also be municipal codes that prevent you from making serious alterations to your building's interior or exterior. It's important to do your research before committing to any renovations.
Unfortunately, it's very likely that you will go over budget, at least by a little bit. As much as you plan, you can't account for everything that you will need to pay for throughout the renovation process.
Make sure you have some funds that you can pull from in case you go over budget. You don't want to have to halt your renovations because you've run out of money.
When you're planning the new design of your restaurant, be sure to take current trends into account. You don't want your space to have a dated feel after weeks of renovating.
But at the same time, you should feel comfortable innovating. Taking chances with the design of your space can pay off in a big way, as many people are drawn to restaurants that have a unique feel.
Pay attention to those in your market that dictate trends. A huge part of that is listening your staff and your customers.
You should never ignore renovation suggestions from your restaurant's biggest stakeholders. Oftentimes, your staff and customers can provide you with some much-needed perspective during the restaurant renovation process.
Have a comprehensive meeting with your staff before you start your renovations and take their input into consideration. They will be more invested in the changes you are making if they have a say in it.
You should also consider passing comment cards around to your customers to see if they have any constructive criticism to offer. Every little bit will help!
Though there are many circumstances that might prevent you from sticking to an established timeframe, you should try to stay on schedule if possible.
Giving your customers a reopening date to look forward to can prevent you from losing any business if you need to close down for a few weeks.
If you take the above steps, your restaurant is sure to come out of the renovation process better than ever. For more information on conducting a restaurant redesign, please contact us!