How I opened a restaurant in a crisis.
On my way to a successful design career, I accidentally opened a restaurant in San Francisco.
Who knows me well know that I have extensive experience in healthcare. I launched three clinics in Russia, led the hospital’s marketing department, was a proactive partner in healthcare startups.
After moving to San Francisco, I assumed that I would continue my career in healthcare. However, the healthcare system is too different, with no connections, weak language level to make it seems unreal.
I started to learn UX design and doing freelancing on aside. One of my first clients was the owner of the restaurant. I built just a simple website for his business. And now three years later, during quarantine, he turned to me again. He was so close to shutting down the restaurant permanently. His business almost 30 years was successful and brought him a steady income. It was a perfect opportunity to show my skills and previous experience to survive in a new reality.
- Analysis.
I do not have experience in the restaurant business at all, but I strongly believe in analytics. It took about a week for me to dive into an industry.
I spoke with other business owners, chefs, read articles, analyzed data. I even read thousands of visitor’s reviews. As a result, I had a competitive analysis, our reliable and weak sides, and a plan to reopen the restaurant in a crisis.
2. Redesign your business
First of all, it is essential to rearrange your facility and organize a safe place for everyone. Based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we instructed our team on following protective measures.
Secondly, we couldn’t predict how many orders we’d get in the first week after reopening. It was a little risky to run a restaurant with a full kitchen. Therefore, we analyzed our previous sales and experience of dozens of restaurants to create a short version of the menu, and after two weeks, we returned to a full kitchen back.
3. Service
The restaurant experience has changed significantly for visitors. This is no longer the place for business meetings, meetings with friends, or dates. Now we don’t care how cool a restaurant’s interior. Delicious and fresh dishes are impeccable service now. I believe that excellent service starts with little things. Do not regret ginger or wasabi, extra chopsticks, soy sauce, napkins. It is also crucial how you package your order. Everything should be neat.
4. Digitalization
There are hundreds of online services that help you track results, reduce costs, increase sales, etc. Now we are working with four food delivery services, two services for operational work. Every week we observe about 20–30% growth. Using the new methods, do not forget about the old one — the walls or windows still work for you. Also, know your neighbors and be friendly.
Our growth in the first month of operation is plus 468%. My goal is to learn the average check before COVID with dine-In. How else can we increase restaurant profits? I have some ideas, but we need to move forward, step by step, and track our results.
PS. Just reread that. For some reason, it sounds too rosy. Next time I will share the problems we are faced with.
