8 Ways to Improve your Bar, Restaurant or Café Venue and Increase your Profits on a Small Budget

In these uncertain times you may feel reluctant to invest in improving your hospitality space, however any investment should always result in a greater return and if a small investment can help increase your sales and profit then it’s well worth considering. In this article I have set out eight tips for improving your hospitality space on a limited budget.

First Things First

Before you think about making any changes to your space, it’s important do some analysis and decide on a strategy to ensure you are investing any funds in the right areas of your venue.

So firstly, consider how your existing space is working for your business by doing a simple SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) -  and while doing this think carefully about your customer and staff behaviors and feedback.

Next decide what your aims are for any changes, of course to increase profit, but more specifically: do you want customers to stay longer? Or do you hope to attract more customers? Or perhaps accommodate different types of customers & groups or cater for different occasions? Do you want to increase the AWOP (average weight of purchase)? Or maybe you’d like to improve your beverage:food sales ratio? Once you have carried out this work it will be easier to decide on the areas where you should invest in changes.

So here are 8 ideas for budget friendly improvements:

1. Decluttering

This is by far the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to improve your space. I’m a strong believer of ‘less is more’, and especially when it comes to clutter that is irrelevant to your brand. Similar to in our homes, over time clutter can build up and often we become a bit blind to it. So put fresh eyes over your space and decide what can go. I often advise customers to take down everything that is hanging on a wall or sitting on a shelf/surface and only put back what is absolutely necessary or relevant to their brand. Easy!

2. Update Your furniture

Replacing all your furniture can be a huge expense but there may be smaller ways you can make improvements which will give you a great return on your investment. For example refurbishing what you already have, new table tops on existing bases, or new upholstery on chairs/banquettes, or by repainting/re powder-coating metal furniture. Sourcing replacements from reclaimed or second hand outlets, or just updating certain items to match what you already have.

Improving quality and comfort of your seating can increase the length of peoples stay and their AWOP and improving your layout or table shapes and sizes can allow you to accommodate a wider range of group sizes and have more flexibility with your seating plans.

Also, varying the table and seating heights can change behaviors in your venue. High leaners are more suited to the drinking occasion, light meals and snacks in a more energetic environment where as dining height tables and chairs are suited to the dining occasion and a more relaxed vibe.

3. Signage

Does your existing signage clearly communicate your brand, catch the eye of your potential customers and create an impactful impression?

Signage is one the first offline touch-points people will have with your brand - and although online marketing plays a huge role these days - as brick and mortar sites, signage is still a key way of attracting customers, communicating your brand and making your venue distinctive. It’s important that your signage reflects your concept and should be distinctive and memorable.

Make it prominent, eye-catching and easy to read. Include your logo and consider a tag line that tells people exactly what your are ‘Bar and Restaurant’, ‘Brew Pub’, ‘Your Friendly Local’, ‘Cafe and Coffee Bar’. Use illuminated signage to advertise day and night.

Always check council signage allowances for your location.

4. Lighting

Improving the quality of lighting in your space can drastically enhance your ambiance and atmosphere. Your lighting should suit your concept.

If you’re a day time café you will likely want your space to be light and bright, if you are a bar or restaurant catering for evening customers your lighting should be more subtle and moody.

Ideally you will have a lighting system you can vary throughout the day by having a few different lighting circuits and the ability to dim these down when necessary. Some easy ways to make improvements to your existing arrangement are to update your fittings and bulbs – dimmable LED are the best options for energy and for light quality when it comes to your ambient light – they can be very bright so complement with some accent pendants or wall lights for use in the evening and go for a warm white tone.

You can update or add some beautiful pendant fittings to create a focal point in your space.

You could also incorporate LED strips under shelving and bar tops which creates really effective mood lighting by highlighting key areas of your space. Always use a qualified electrician for any of this work.

5. Acoustics

Did you know excessive noise is one of the most common complaints that diners have? Often it can be a subliminal complaint, they leave feeling they didn’t have a great experience but cant pin point why, and it was because they spent the whole time struggling to have a conversation over the noise. Luckily, if this is an issue you have in your venue, there are plenty of ways to improve the situation and this can make a huge difference to giving your guests a positive experience.

The most effective solution is to add acoustic panels to the ceiling and/or walls – these absorb the noise close to its source and prevent it from reverberating around the room. You can also add more soft furnishings into the space – whether that’s upholstery, window treatments, floor treatments or even plants – all of these softer elements will help to absorb excessive sound.

6. Back Bar

Is your bar a focal point in your venue? And is it one of the main points of interaction between staff and customers and where many guests are making their purchasing decision? If so this is a space that can have a huge effect on your sales. 70% of the time customers  choose what they will order as they order it. This means what they see when they are standing at the bar or counter has a huge influence on what they order.

Think of the back bar as a shop front, a place to display and advertise what’s on offer. Make it attractive and eye-catching, keep it tidy and uncluttered, clearly display product and have clear menu boards, this can really enhance your bar area and help to increase your sales.

7. Table Settings

If people aren’t ordering at the bar or counter then they’ll be ordering at the table. This is also where they will have the majority of their experience in your venue.

We’ve talked about improving the tables and chairs themselves but what about what goes on the table – cutlery, crockery, menus, glassware. Is this attractive, appealing and on brand?

As we eat with our eyes, then our nose and lastly our mouth the presentation of food is key and having attractive crockery and table settings adds to this experience, enhancing the enjoyment of the food you are serving to your guests.

In the age of Instagram its also a great way to get some extra marketing when customers take photos of the table and the food and post online.

8. Menus

Menus are another key area generating sales in your business. The design of them should be clear, easy to understand and on brand for your concept.

Here are some of my top menu design hacks: organise the menu into clear sections and include your higher margin dishes at the top and bottom of the list in each section (these will be ordered the most), add mouth-watering descriptions which entice and educate your guests, highlight the dishes title not the price and remove the $ signs from prices,  box or highlight your hero/famous dishes it can increase sales by up to 27%.

So these are just a few ideas of areas where changes can make an impact on sales in your hospitality venue. If a small investment can give you a greater return then its well worth considering. Ensure you go into any changes with a plan and a strategy to make sure you are investing in the right ways.