Few restaurants are as quintessentially American as the diner. While it’s a pop culture staple in many TV shows and movies, this iconic establishment is dying. Much of the remaining clientele — older people — keeping it alive is also shrinking. Is the American diner living on borrowed time?
Although the classic diner is dying, it’s not dead. Discerning owners know they should appeal to a younger crowd to stay afloat in the notoriously competitive, ever-changing hospitality and recapture the magic of the casual dining experience many Americans yearn for. While you must identify and address your restaurant’s unique challenges to improve your sales figures, you’ll find these seven tips helpful as you turn your humble diner into a dining destination.
Re-Engineer Your Menu
All struggling restaurants must reexamine their menus to maximize profits and minimize expenses. Analyze your current offerings by noting their ingredient costs, portion sizes, preparation times, prices and margins.
Identify your most popular, expensive and time-consuming items to decide which to keep and which to retire. Retain your signature dishes, even if they’re no longer your top performers. These items magnetize first-timers and keep regulars coming back.
The goal is to decrease your food cost percentage and make your menu less crowded. Gen-Zers have an attention span of 5-8 seconds, so shorten your list of dishes and beverages to avoid overstimulating them.
Aim to keep your specials to less than 10 to strike a healthy balance between scarcity and variety. After completing your shortlist, optimize your menu by highlighting your most profitable dishes using arresting visuals, such as appetizing photos, slightly larger text and striking colors.
Rethink Employee Training
Hiring warm and friendly servers goes without saying. Zoomers are digital natives — they seek face-to-face interactions whenever possible, which may be why they love visiting brick-and-mortar establishments. Encourage your employees to tap into their inner bartenders and build rapport with guests to make them feel at home, rebranding your diner as a social spot.
More importantly, use your servers’ bubbly personalities to boost your revenue. Train them to cross-sell complementary items and upsell upgrades and add-ons naturally. Many customers appreciate expert suggestions because they want to relax and dine.
Don’t Require Gratuities
Tipping has become a hot-button issue. The culture has gone out of control so much that many Americans aren’t sure which services to tip for. The opposing views toward tipping are generational — 38% of adults under 30 believe it’s more of an obligation, whereas 29% of adults above 65 consider it a choice.
The youngest consumers feel pressured to pay most servers. Acknowledge this sentiment to attract millennials and Gen-Zers instead of repelling them.
Join the growing number of restaurants that deviate from the prevailing tipping culture. While some establishments disallow gratuities altogether, implementing this policy may be an overcorrection.
Allow your servers to earn tipped wages to enjoy more gainful employment while keeping your prices low. Just don’t make tipping a requirement. Giving guests the freedom to not tip without being shamed or feeling guilty will make your diner a breath of fresh air.
Digitalize Your Operations
Digital transformation allows you to run your restaurant efficiently and collect granular data that can unlock invaluable insights. Traditional and table point-of-sale systems, inventory management software, and customer relationship management platforms are restaurant must-haves.
Although upgrading technologies can be a significant expense, your investments will pay for themselves if you know how to leverage them. Find vendors that offer training and after-sale support to help your staff maximize digital solutions.
Go Green
Millennials and Gen-Zers care deeply about the environment. Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability is a recipe for success, appealing to socially conscious individuals who are typically willing to pay more.
Talk is cheap. You must walk your talk to avoid being accused of greenwashing. It can ruin your reputation in the eyes of younger generations, which are today’s biggest spenders.
Observing sustainability is simple but challenging. Tried-and-true practices include:
- Buying from local farmers and ranchers.
- Growing your produce.
- Incorporating seasonal ingredients into the menu.
- Offering vegan options.
- Curbing food waste.
- Donating surplus food.
- Using eco-friendly packaging.
- Operating energy-efficient appliances.
- Conserving water.
- Participating in the circular economy.
- Going paperless.
Green branding entails reevaluating your business practices’ environmental impact. Although it can be taxing, it’s worth it.
Adopt New Revenue Streams
If you haven’t accepted online orders, offered delivery or embraced curbside pickup, you’re missing out. The pandemic has changed the way people eat, and alienating those who prefer to enjoy food elsewhere limits your diner’s profit potential.
Besides, the technological infrastructure is present and mature enough to support these value-added services. You can take orders, process payments and arrange pickup times through your site or social media accounts. Becoming a merchant partner of various food delivery platforms eliminates the need to buy and maintain a fleet.
Master Social Media Marketing
The American diner conjures up images of the 20th century. Step up your social media game to market to the youth. If you spent your transformative years before the internet, you may find it challenging to identify the most suitable social networking services and how to maximize them.
Anybody can learn how to produce viral TikTok videos, post stunning food photography on Instagram or vlog on YouTube. However, it’s best to outsource your social media marketing efforts to someone native to the digital world to get things right the first time.
Spearhead the Renaissance for the American Diner
Transforming your restaurant into a dining destination is an enormous task. However, it’s doable. These tips can help you adapt to the times and be the most successful diner in the 21st century.
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