Developing your restaurant network by opening new establishments implies being visible and close to your target customers. The culinary offer is generally not enough to attract customers if the address is too far away: the choice of locations is therefore fundamental... as well as the capacity to absorb the flow during peak hours.
Elements to consider when choosing a location
How do you choose each new address? By studying several data to evaluate the relevance and quality of the location. Here are several elements to take into account during the market study:
- Locate in a high traffic area
It is important to ensure that there is sufficient pedestrian and vehicular traffic, as well as residents in the target area... and that the storefront will be clearly visible. This approach is to be weighted according to the target clientele, which may not be representative of the inhabitants of the catchment area. Where do your future customers live? Where do they work, where do they go every day, where do they like to go out or order take-away?
In the same context, it is worthwhile to pay attention to the presence of offices and local shops in the vicinity, as street corners are usually particularly attractive locations for restaurateurs.
- Choose an accessible area
Bus, subway, public transport, presence of public or private parking lots, easy access... ideally, your restaurant must be easily accessible. This will not onlyattract customers who pass by on the street on a regular or occasional basis, but also customers who voluntarily come from further away, for example by car to pick up a takeaway order or to go out for dinner with their family.
- Assessing the competition
Identifying your competitors is essential. If there are none (or not enough), it is probably a bad sign! That being said, the opposite can also discourage a business. The key is to identify a location with a healthy number of competing establishments, which validates both the opportunity to set up shop and the ability to generate revenue in that environment.
How to optimize flow management in high-traffic locations
Absorbing the flow of customers, especially during lunch breaks, is a crucial element of success in particularly busy restaurants. Several technological solutions allow you to optimize your point of sale in this sense.
A first reflex can be to make customers autonomous in their order taking and payment. This is made possible with order terminals that offer self-checkout. This system can be coupled with a Click and Collect offer, which consists of allowing customers to pre-order their meal and pick it up at a time that suits them, without having to wait in line.
Click and Collect is one of those features that maximizes order processing in the urban hypercenter, reduces waiting times and allows for maximum absorption of peak hour flows. The ideal solution is a connected omnichannel solution, so that operators and kitchen staff can immediately receive orders and process them more efficiently!
The online orderingThe online order, ideally extended by a delivery service nearby(offices, home ...) also allows to reduce the waiting time on site, to anticipate the stocks and preparations and to better manage its orders .... while maintaining a relationship of loyalty with its customers, without intermediary.
By adopting a solution connected to the Stuart delivery system, for example, it is even possible to deliver while remaining independent from the major marketplaces (Deliveroo, Ubereats, etc.).
Innovorder's software suite supports the development of commercial and concessional food service operations, including order taking, cashiering, preparation, loyalty and management. Noura Street Food was able to solve its lunchtime flow management problem by being able to serve up to 300 customers in two hours... without increasing the number of people taking orders! Ask for your demonstration today.
