Need the Best Restaurant Consultant? Here’s How to Find Them

1. Need the Best Restaurant Consultant? Here's How to Find Them Finding a restaurant consultant can be a challenging task. Hiring the right one for your business is even harder. The majority of restaurant consultants are brought in the beginning of a project or when the restaurant is failing. When looking for a restaurant consultant, keep this in mind as there are differences between these types of consultants. New Store opening. This is always an exciting time for everyone involved. The store is about to open, there are people lined up waiting to get in and all looks great. All of the hard work however has been done well before this date. Here is a list of all the things that needed to occur to get the restaurant ready to open · Menu Creation · Menu Pricing · Asset development, the building, materials and design all have to look great · The technology is in place and working · The staff is hire and trained · The building is complete and ready for occupation · The operations manuals and training guides have been created · The Marketing plan is in place and people are excited · The supply chain and distribution is in place · All the legal and compliance processes have been complete A good restaurant consultant will need to be well versed in all of these topics. The restauranttechnology services piece is just one piece of the puzzle and typically not as high priority as the others. When looking for a restaurant consultant for a new store opening, make sure they have experience in all these topics or have access connections to people that do and can help. A failing store or store in trouble. The vast majority of all issues related to a failing store is the people. This could be an operations issue, a marketing issue or other people related issue but is usually a people related issue. Here are some common people related issues why a restaurant will fail. · The staff is stealing– this is usually a family member or someone related to the ownership. They are in a position to skim money and find creative ways steal · Inventory Management– this is another common reason why restaurants fail or under perform. The people responsible with managing the inventory, calculating the cost of inventory are not trained properly or may not care. · Resisting Change– Another common type of people challenge is that the leadership and owners fail to recognize the need for change. What was working 20 years ago may not work today. It is hard for established restaurant to change with the times and stay current. Many restaurants will fold after a certain period of time because they are not kept current. · Food Safety– This is a huge challenge for all restaurants. If there is a food safety issue that becomes public, chances are that the restaurant will not recover. There are many examples both big and small of restaurants closing shop after a food safety issue as customers will no longer trust the organizations for their own safety. The best way to find a restaurant consultant is to ask your fellow restaurant owners. Another common way is to simply search online for restaurant consultants in your area. Most restaurant consultants provide services country wide so it is not usually a problem to find one online. One you have identified a few possible consultants, interview them and ask these questions. · What experience to they have working at a restaurant. · In what capacity did they work, operations, menu, asset, building technology etc. · Have them provide some examples of restaurants they have helped. See if you can get a few references that you can check. · Ask them if they have experience in multiple disciplines like menu creation, operations, food safety and marketing. Make sure their experience is in line with what you think you need. The most important aspect when selecting a consultant is that they need to work well with you. Pay special attention on how they communicate, can you get a long, do they bother you in any way.