By Rebecca Carter, Contributor
The opening ceremony of your restaurant is more important than you might first think. Especially when it comes to high-end restaurants. Most restaurateurs believe that they can solve problems as they come up, and that's true to some extent. However, if your grand opening is poorly organized and disappoints your guests, you may lose out on the benefits. If your opening is successful, you can increase future profits by attracting many new customers.
Remember: Your opening ceremony is the first impression to the public, press, and social influencers.
The opening process is so important that most restaurants hold test openings. If your opening had too many guests, the service was slow, or the food wasn't quite perfect, many customers won't give you a second chance.
Here are some tips for a successful grand opening:
A large number of employees. It's okay if you spend more money to pay your employees during the opening. You should have enough staff to serve the maximum number of guests. You may want to plan for a few "floating" employees who can work in several key areas at once.
Employee training. Your employees should know where everything is, have a clear understanding of the menu, and have experience using your POS system.
Lead by example. Owners and managers should be highly visible. While customer interaction is very important, managers must also spend a lot of time working behind the scenes to ensure an overall perfect process. Your future depends on how well you organize your first days on the job, so don't be lazy!
Inviting friends and family. Inviting friends, family, and colleagues who know you well before the official opening will provide valuable comments. They’re also the most likely to love what you’re doing and that energy can transfer to guests who aren’t in your close circles.
Attracting local businesses. You can get great publicity by asking local businesses to hand out samples of your menu to customers or have a meet-and-greet at your bar. You can also look for ways that your restaurant and their business can help one another in terms of partnerships, marketing, events, and special cross-business offerings.
Social media advertising. Do not forget to use social media to increase interest in your restaurant by posting a series of articles. This promotional content can include, for example, stories about different cuisines, talking about the behind-the-scenes workings of the restaurant, and the experiences of your staff.
Conducting a Test Opening of Your Restaurant
A test opening can prevent difficulties that your staff can't handle. In the week or two before the grand opening, your staff can work through any operational problems, gaining valuable experience. During this time, you can also hone your kitchen operations. Besides, you can see if any remodeling is needed or where processes breakdown. You should be able to update menus using menu design principles, and refine workflow patterns so you don't create slowdowns.
Other benefits of a test opening include:
Making the final decision on decor and table layout
Familiarizing waiters, bartenders, and kitchen staff with menus, food preparation times, mise-en-scène tactics, and table service techniques
The ability to train your staff on how to manage customers, how to make additional offers, and how to work with your POS system
Your staff will be able to learn where plates, cutlery, condiments, etc. are located
The test opening is the perfect time to invite special guests, such as personalities popular on social media, local celebrities, restaurant critics, reporters, and other interested parties. If you're not quite sure, start by inviting people you know to get constructive criticism.
Official Opening as a Promotional Event
The official opening of your restaurant or bar will attract the attention of local newspapers and media. It will create publicity and generate curiosity about your restaurant concept among potential customers. The publicity you get will go beyond your grand opening date. Invited guests will feel privileged, and guests who like your culinary concept will plan to visit your restaurant in the near future, even if they can't attend the opening. Satisfied customers are sure to come back again.
Promotional Ideas for Your Grand Opening
Promotional ideas for your grand opening can include special decorations, sampling dishes, incentives, live entertainment, and collaborations with other local businesses or city festivals. If you're in a scenic area, you can invite local artists and photographers to have exhibitions of their work at your restaurant. If there's a festival in your area, you can set up an outdoor booth and display the names of some of the dishes on your menu. You can also partner with a local charity and donate to them a part of the funds raised on your grand opening day. You can hand out menu samples outside your restaurant to attract new customers. Outdoor signs, digital signs, and banners are also good advertising.
Regardless of your advertising strategy, remember that great food and good service should come first. Instagram offers a free option to add photos and videos to your website and social media page. Take as many photos as you can during the grand opening to use in your next ad campaigns. And don't forget to reward your customers for their photos and comments.
Marketing Your Grand Opening
Grand openings can't be imagined without marketing. You can invite people in by handing out flyers or direct mail. But if your restaurant is big enough, you'll definitely want to reach a wider audience in town or even outside of town. Joining local business groups such as the local chamber of commerce, international business associations, rotary clubs, and business organizations can help your restaurant build strategic relationships with potential customers through networks.
Creating a Schedule for Your Opening
It's important to organize your official opening day according to your concept and target audience. You can start shortly before your grand opening to get the operational guidelines that affect any restaurant. During this time, you can organize private wine and food tastings, hand out sample menus, post your menu online and distribute flyers to nearby retail outlets. Your schedule may include the following activities:
Invite friends to a preliminary and informal tasting in the kitchen.
Learn about local influencers, social media platforms used by your target audience, and business groups in your area.
Create your website and connect with other popular sites.
Create your logo, choose your company colors, and design any graphics you plan to use.
Develop sample menus, brochures with culinary information, chef biographies, and other details.
Choose an exact date for the official opening and have time to get all the necessary permits, finish construction, and hold a test opening.
Technology & Staffing
Building the technical infrastructure for your restaurant is important in today's hospitality industry. Today's restaurant management and marketing realities cannot be ignored. Your waiters shouldn't be taking orders by writing everything down by hand. And you shouldn't be creating employee schedules on a whiteboard or piece of paper. Inventory should not be done on paper. Software applications simplify day-to-day management activities and provide valuable knowledge with which you can optimize your restaurant and prevent theft and unnecessary waste.
Installing a POS system can simplify the process of ordering and transferring them to the appropriate stations, speed up credit card payments and allow you to track sales. You'll keep a copy of each order for comparison with revenue. You'll also be able to track sales by time of day, food type, and other criteria, which is valuable for business analysis.
About 80% of today's restaurants use CRM and ERP software, and many also practice online ordering and reservation systems. About 49% of all restaurants offer mobile payment options. So, a POS system is a must if you don't want to lose customers who only use cashless payment methods – especially after COVID-19.
The success of your official opening depends on your employees, too, so encourage them to post photos and bios and enter contests. Train them thoroughly, give them all the tools they need to get the job done and don't forget to praise them for their good work.
About the Author:
Rebecca Carter works at uk essay writing service as a content writer. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and during her study developed an enthusiasm for writing about the latest trends in the business world. When she is not writing Rebecca enjoys being in the mountains and volunteering.