Cooking up a Successful Restaurant

Restaurants do not start in the kitchen. Many might think that a few glowing remarks from family and friends over a new recipe is reason enough to start their own restaurant, but these "glowing remarks" mean nothing. Gibson's, Charlie Trotters,  and The Publican did not start from some knockoff pans in a residential kitchen, they started from a passion. A passion that sparked a crazy, almost impossible idea. They started from a single strand of inspiration, from watching movies like "The Chef" and then agonizing for countless hours late at night asking stupid questions like: why having your own food truck sounds so damn cool? Or, what food would people pay big money to eat?

Food is only part of what a restaurant is about. If people only cared about the food at a restaurant, than 67% of restaurants would not fail within the first three years (National Restaurant Association, 2009).  People are greedy. They want dinner and a show. They want an experience, to be entertained to a point where they forget that the main purpose in walking through the doors of the restaurant was to feed their growling stomachs.        
                                                  

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 Passion is not enough. "In order to operate a restaurant successfully one must at least have a restaurant background or do intense research on the subject. If one has spent his or her working life as an electrician or doctor, the person is not likely equipped to operate a restaurant" (John P. Harrison). A dream is just not enough anymore. A restaurant started from a dream will almost always end in a nightmare. There is a huge misconception that anyone can open a restaurant as long as their food tastes good. A person can serve Food Network-worthy food as much as they want, but without proper experience in checking inventory, marketing to the area, and training and managing your staff (all things a restaurant owner should know), you might as well throw that plate of parmesan-crusted filet medallions into your dog's food bowl.


Its not a coincidence that some of the best restaurants are found in some of the best hotels. Hotels specialize in hospitality; they take care of their customers, kiss their asses sometimes, and make them feel as if they are the only ones at the hotel that are receiving this special treatment. Likewise, restaurants also in a way specialize in hospitality. Waiters and waitresses are just as important as the food, for they have the power to sway a customer to come back again and again. As one RetaurantOwner.com member put it, "...you get service from a vending machine but only caring people can deliver hospitality.When guests sense that their servers are genuinely looking out for them, there is a much greater chance that meaningful interaction between staff and guests will take place and more positive dining experiences will be the result" (Jim Laube). Laugh at a customer's stupid jokes, tell them how good they look in their mismatched outfit, mistake them for a famous celebrity, do anything to make them want to come back. And if a customer complains that the "rare" steak he ordered is overcooked even when you can see blood dripping off the meat, remember that just like at a hotel, "the customer is always right".