Renovating your restaurant can be a great way to breathe new life into space, bringing with it a number of benefits. From enhancing your customer’s experience to attracting new diners and refreshing your brand in a competitive market, there are several key reasons to renovate a restaurant.
That said, renovations often cause significant disruptions stemming from construction noise and supply delays, which can lead to customer dissatisfaction and lost revenue. With this in mind, effectively managing your restaurant renovation is key to minimising disruptions and maintaining operations, customer loyalty and cash flow.
Here are some tips to help you manage your next restaurant renovation.
Plan your renovation during off-peak times
When it comes to navigating a renovation, planning is key. Most restauranteurs are all too familiar with the peaks and troughs that come with running a hospitality business. With this in mind, it often helps to strategically schedule your renovations during quieter periods, like off-season or even on weekdays. That way, you can minimise any potential disruption to customer traffic and reduce the chance of lost revenue.
While we’re on the topic of planning, coordinating the bulk of your construction work outside of peak dining hours can help reduce noise and other potential disturbances. Keep in mind that your team will also need to navigate local noise restrictions that apply to building and construction works. That said, if you plan on working with a construction company, they should be familiar with local noise restrictions.
Clear communication is key
Once you’ve finalised your renovation plan and schedule, it’s time to communicate the upcoming changes with your team and your customers.
Be sure to inform your staff about the renovation schedule and how these changes will affect their workflow. Clear communication is key to building trust with your team and reducing any uncertainty around operational changes. You can even take it one step further and involve your staff in the renovation process by encouraging them to contribute ideas or feedback about the renovation plans. This is a great way to help them feel included in the process and more invested in the outcome.
Next, it’s important to communicate your renovation plans with your customers. Rather than sticking to one communication method, it often helps to get the message out via several different channels, including on-site signage, social media updates and even via email if you have a database of loyal customers. By informing your customers about any upcoming disruptions or changes to your regular opening hours, you’ll be able to manage their expectations throughout the course of your renovation.
When it comes to your messaging, it’s essential to be transparent and keep your customers up to date with the progress of your renovations. Take the time to explain the benefits of the renovations by emphasising how the renovation will enhance the customer experience, like a refreshed dining area, new menu offerings or improved facilities. You could even create a countdown or series of posts leading up to your restaurant reopening to generate excitement.
If your restaurant is still operational during the renovations, it could be worth preemptively implementing a few strategies to help you address any potential customer concerns while you navigate disruptions to your usual trade. Providing discounts, special offers or temporary changes to the menu can be an effective way to maintain customer satisfaction during your renovation.
Create temporary setups to maintain operations
Depending on your renovation plans, you might be able to create temporary setups either on-site or remotely that allow you to continue serving customers over the course of your fitout.
Food trucks, mobile kitchens and outdoor cooking stations can all be used as temporary kitchens while your restaurant is undergoing renovations. Alternatively, you might be able to partner with nearby venues, like community centres, event spaces or other food businesses to host your restaurant while you’re out of action.
If you plan on operating during your renovations, it’s essential to maintain a clean, safe and functional environment, even when certain parts of the restaurant are off limits. Make sure that construction areas are isolated to eliminate any chances of cross-contamination or accidents. You’ll also need to make sure any temporary setups meet health and safety regulations, including proper food storage, preparation and cleanliness protocols. While you’re at it, be sure to check whether you need to obtain any necessary permits for operating a temporary setup, like outdoor dining or mobile kitchen licenses.
Be prepared for the unexpected
When it comes to renovations, handling unforeseen challenges is a necessary part of the process. By building buffer time into your renovation schedule, you’ll be better positioned to accommodate unexpected issues and delays as they come. It’s common for construction timelines to be impacted by delayed shipments or construction complications that are completely out of your control.
Having contingency plans in place can help you to minimise any potential disruptions and maintain your revenue during a renovation. For example, it can often help to have access to temporary equipment, like a backup kitchen, so you can continue to offer food services if your usual kitchen is out of order. Alternatively, if your restaurant won’t be operational during the renovation, you might want to consider running a pop-up restaurant or food truck that offers a limited menu to maintain your cashflow.
Hire experienced contractors to minimise downtime
One of the best ways to ensure your restaurant renovation stays on track with minimal delays is to work with a reputable contractor. By choosing a contractor with extensive experience with restaurant renovations, you know you’ll be in safe hands when it comes to managing timelines and reducing potential disruptions.
Experienced contractors are well versed at handling delays, managing supplies and keeping your renovation on schedule, so you can get back to regular programming as quickly as possible.
Leave your next restaurant renovation to Build4U
A restaurant renovation is a significant undertaking, but that’s not to say it can’t be completed with minimal impact on your business. Build4U’s team of multi-Master Builders award-winning commercial builders are experts at restaurant renovations and fit outs. With extensive experience servicing restaurants, bars and cafes across the Sunshine Coast, our team can help you with all aspects of your next renovation.
Explore some of our latest restaurant renovation projects or get in touch with the Build4U team to chat about your next renovation project.
