Creating A Unique Atmosphere For Your Restaurant

While not every restaurant is an award-winning eatery, it can certainly still be a winner when it comes to satisfied customers, in and out, of the local community. As such, creating unique customer experiences are vitally important in building a loyal customer base and ensuring a stream of return business.

Whether one owns a restaurant, bar and grill or just a plain happy hour lounge, these following guaranteed methods will appeal to both business owners and clientage alike. The only problem will be expanding your seating room capacity to accommodate the waiting crowds.

The Restaurant's Crowd

Will it be an after sports event customer base or a late night eatery? Knowing the target group you're focusing on determines what tone, decor, lighting, seating arrangements and theme in general you'll be shooting for in your restaurant.

Is it for a senior customer base or is it family-oriented? If it's senior, they may want a more laid back, quiet atmosphere. A family hang-out may prefer some interactive electronic gear set up in the main eating room or even at an individual table.

Unique Restaurant Names

The Brown Derby, the Four Seasons and the Crazy Carrot are just some examples of unique names over the years that made restaurants famous in themselves. Their testimony is historic in the annals of the restaurant industry, as well as in the world of the rich and famous.

Establishing An Owner's Concept

As trends go, being innovative is vogue. One restaurant owner in southwestern Florida envisioned a "Pirates of the Caribbean" type of ambiance, complete with part-time pirate bus-boys and waiters. Enhanced with cliffs and spooky caverns, in addition to live shows that include "walking the plank" experiences for the kids, it didn't take long for this eatery to take off and become one unique eating experience frequented by travelers world over.

Customer Recognition

Showcasing caricatures of your customers and framing pictures of important V.I.Ps, business leaders and celebrities in general, is one sure way to give your customers recognition for their regular visits.

Likewise, naming a menu item after a particular customer also gives your customer well-deserved mention for their loyalty to your establishment. One very famous sandwich shop in Pasadena, California named their chicken leg meat sandwich, "legs" after the famous movie star, Marilyn Monroe. Another sandwich, made of pickled, tongue meat, got the name of "tongue" after Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Capture The Special Moments In Life

Going the proverbial second mile for your customers creates the memories customers won't soon forget. A wedding proposal at Table 15, an elderly couple celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary or a graduation party for the teens in your family, all make touching keepsakes from a restaurant--and a possible return visit.

A posting on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are perfect platforms and opportunities to create those special moments for the guests--and broaden your customer base as well.

Get Some Feedback

Never neglect your employees, as well as your customers, for their opinions are a basic and vital component of having a successful restaurant. What experiences did they have? What troubles arose? Moreover, what are their ideas for improvements?

All these questions, and their answers, make towards having memorable and enjoyable experience. While you're at it, always remember to give your customers and employees meaningful rewards, such as significant discounts, or even a free meal on their next visit or day off.

Analyze Your Menu

While it may not seem as if there's a difference from one fast food place to another, in the world of unique eating experiences, menu originality is vital. Failure to analyze the menu, selecting your high-sell or low-sell items and the specialty-of-the house items, can either make you or break you in this industry.

Don't Shy Away From Creativity

According to one consumer industry report, 73% of restaurant customers say they'll return to the place if they really enjoy an innovative flavor. Interestingly enough, the same report states that 83% of the customers say cravings for a particular item were the primary reason they came into the restaurant once a month. Cultivate innovation and in so doing, you'll create your own signature dishes and brand.

Good, original menu items, reasonably fast service and good relationships from the staff itself keep the old customers coming back and new ones waiting on line to get inside.