When Opening A Restaurant, Don’t Forget These Must Have Items
It’s opening day for your restaurant. Your staff is ready, food items are stocked but you feel like something is missing. Here are some items that you don’t want to forget when opening your restaurant:
-Restaurant Apparel – To create a uniform look among all your employees, matching restaurant apparel is a must have. There are various apparel options to choose from, so there is a look and style that will complement your restaurant ambiance. For casual restaurants, a basic t-shirt with logo or even a hat for employees are great looks. For a fine dining restaurant, a nice button down shirt would add to the classy feel of your restaurant.
-Print Products – In a restaurant there are a few paper items that are used at almost every table. Napkins, bar napkins, coasters and customer comment cards are a few of those items. These items can be basic or you can choose to extend your company’s brand to these items. Even on the simplest items, the more a customer sees your logo, the greater the opportunity to keep your company top of mind.
-Pens – From your servers writing down customer’s orders to customers signing their checks, you need pens and in a large quantity for your restaurant! Why in a large quantity? Pens have a tendency to walk off with customers. Knowing this, make sure to brand your pens with your logo so every time a customer uses the pen they are reminded about the last time they visited your restaurant. A blank pen or even a pen with someone else’s logo, which we have all seen in restaurants, isn’t helping your company’s marketing.
-Menu Covers – Before your customers see your food, they see the menu cover that presents your food menu options. Customers can get a feeling of what to expect just by looking at your menu covers. From a basic café cover to an upscale copper menu cover, there is a menu cover option to fit your restaurant décor and ambiance.
-Check Presenters – Your customer is finished with their meal and it is time to present the check. Instead of putting a piece of paper down on the table, why not present the check with one final and lasting impression. At minimum a check presenter will hold the check to prevent it from falling off the table or getting lost under napkins, but it can also be a marketing piece with sections to hold comment cards as well as promote upcoming events and specials. For an added treat, why not add a mint or piece of candy with the check.
At minimum these are items that are must haves for your restaurant. While basic items are ok, why not personalize these items with your logo or brand colors for additional opportunities to build brand recognition for your restaurant.
