Sponsored by The French’s Food Company as part of their Improving the Tabletop series.

When was the last time you did a restaurant tabletop audit?

It’s all about your prime real estate!

There is precious little real estate on the typical restaurant dining table. We want to simultaneously fit the most tables without adversely affecting the guest experience. This means our tables must be efficiently set with whatever we believe best serves that guest experience. We suggest you do a tabletop audit and examine the function and value of anything on the table.

Start by collecting all the items that might adorn your tables during a guest experience. This isn’t limited to just the items that live on the table. It means everything from the French’s® mustard and Frank’s RedHot® Sauce to the dessert menu, the table tents, and all the plates and glasses in between. Consider how your tables function from set for revenue to the height of the guest experience. Then determine what can be left on the table and what can be brought during service.

From there you make operational decisions about what you want left for convenience or what you want delivered to ensure there is service interaction around it. For example, you may use a condiment caddie, like the free ones offered by The French’s Food Company.

This gives two options:

You can leave it on the table which eliminates a guest waiting for condiments to enjoy their meal.
Or you can deliver it when a guest has ordered appropriate food items as a way of confirming what they are ordered.

That’s the flexibility you need on the tabletop. Now go through all the items and make those decisions. What you are left with on the table should be only those items that you feel are essential.

Frank’s RedHot and French’s is a registered trademark of The French’s Food Company LLC.

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