Wow Your Customers with Your Restaurant Décor
No matter how excellent your chef, no matter how fresh your food, no matter how imaginative your menu, with a less than desirable atmosphere, it is not likely your restaurant will be a success. People have to walk in, sit down, and spend time and money before they'll realize just how exquisite your food is. Your restaurant decor could be the make or break point between customers walking through the door and then either leaving or staying.
Your FOH (Front of the House refers to the area outside of the kitchen that customers see and sit in) should match the desires and tastes of your customers as well as coinciding with the overall concept of your establishment. For instance, if you ran an Italian restaurant, you probably wouldn't decorate it with Asian decor.
Devising A Décor
How do you determine the decor of your restaurant? As just mentioned, the kind of food you serve – your cuisine – should have everything to do with it. But there’s more.
Hopefully, you've already done your research regarding competitors, psychographics, demographic investigation, your market, etc. This will be of great assistance in creating the type of atmosphere that will attract the desired clientele to your restaurant.
But not every restaurant owner actually "owns" the building in which their business is housed. If you're renting, your layout and design should accommodate the current space rather than resorting to costly renovations. Your first consideration will likely be space limitation.
If, however, you're building a restaurant, talk and think about the design of your interior with your food service experts, electrical engineer, architect, and general contractor.
FOH – the Basics
Prior to restaurant design, consider seating size, comfort, and style. At any given time, how many clients do you want seated? How should they feel? Those two questions will define the design and layout of your FOH.
The following spaces may (or may not) be encompassed in your FOH:
- Service stations
- Entry and waiting area
- Patio diner
- Bar area
- Private dining rooms
- Main kitchen
FOH – A Detailed Atmospheric Breakdown
Okay, you've got the basics down. Now it's time to figure out what kind of atmosphere you want to set. The following are atmospheric suggestions and tips on how to achieve them…
A casual setting:
- Slightly brighter lighting
- Casual staff uniforms
- Makeshift or hodgepodge décor
- Cheerful music
- Mounted televisions
- Roomy seating
For a comfortable atmosphere:
- Spread out table layout
- Upholstered booths
- Cushioned seating
- Sofas
An elegant setting:
- At each table, independent lighting using hanging lights, bulbs, tea lights, candles, etc.
- Well tied-together, simple design features
- Formal attire for servers (within reason)
- Fine tableware
For warmth:
- Wooden ceiling rose and cabinets
- Special tones and warm colors
- Top quality candles
- Fireplaces
- Yellow electric lighting
- Fabrics
Add excitement with the following:
- Tables closer together
- Cheerful music
- Vary the lighting
- Contrast in smoothness and color
- Fabrics
For intimacy:
- Reduced space
- Personal seating layouts
- Low lighting
- Dark colors
- For high ceilings: lower the curtains, lamps or chandeliers, hanging fabrics, angled lines
- For a feeling of privacy: anchor tables with nooks or curtains
Now that you’ve got the front of the house in order, it's time to concentrate on the back. For high-Quality, dependable refurbished commercial coolers and freezers, check out the inventory at Ancaster Food Equipment. Save money on your equipment in the back of the house so that you have more to spend on your FOH decor. Contact us today to get started.
