When a potential customer first passes through the door of your establishment, the first thing they will notice is the quality of your interior design. The appearance of your restaurant is critical to your brand and overall business success, so it’s vital that your restaurant interior design be considered a key component of your marketing strategy.
However, the interior design of your restaurant space should not only be eye-catching and enticing to customers – it also needs to be functional.
The significance of functional interior design within your restaurant space cannot be overstated, allowing for service to run smoothly while also ensuring the safety and happiness of your staff and patrons alike.
To better understand the importance of functional design within a restaurant fit out, read on to learn more about the key factors to consider when designing your restaurant space.
Air Conditioning
To improve not only the air quality, but the safety and level of customer experience that your current establishment supplies, investing in an effective air conditioning system is essential.
A proper air conditioner will work to improve the air quality inside your restaurant, fostering a healthy, low-risk environment for your staff and diners by filtering out pollen, reducing humidity, and preventing insects from becoming a nuisance or even a potential health risk.
When your potential customers enter your establishment, they don’t want to be greeted with a warm and stuffy atmosphere that lacks proper ventilation; especially on a particularly hot summer day. Whether a patron chooses to stay and dine at your restaurant could depend entirely upon the air quality of your business space.
There are a variety of air conditioning systems on the market that are made to complement a range of restaurant designs, including variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems, split air conditioning systems, and even suspended air conditioning units.
If you’re unsure which system is the right fit for your upcoming restaurant fit out, our contractors are here to help!
Floorplan
It goes without saying that your workforce should be familiar with all aspects of the restaurant space in which they operate. From the customers that they serve throughout different areas of the establishment, to the equipment that they work with, your staff should be knowledgeable of how your business runs, allowing them to provide an improved level of service and perform their duties successfully.
A restaurant floorplan is a great tool for ensuring that service flows as smoothly as possible, not only providing your pre-existing staff with a better understanding of how your business runs, but also helping new hires grasp the restaurant space and orient themselves more effectively.
Working out a floorplan before you start on your upcoming refurbishment is also a great way to ensure that you have enough room for all of the furniture and equipment that you require in order to operate effectively.
When creating a floorplan for your restaurant refurb, be sure to include a visual representation of each of the following restaurant sections:
The Kitchen
The layout and size of the kitchen required within your restaurant will likely vary depending upon a few factors, such as the type of food being served, the complexity or size of your menu, the volume of business, and the amount of equipment required.
A detailed kitchen floorplan can work to save your restaurant time and money, since planning ahead for the equipment and space available will reduce any need for future alterations and make it much easier for the restaurant to prepare as many orders as possible.
Your restaurant fit out contractors can guarantee that kitchen areas will provide your chefs and kitchen staff with everything that they need in order to operate successfully, ensuring that service runs as smoothly as possible.
Kitchen layout is important, as a mismanaged or disorganized kitchen can be a disaster in terms of efficiency, productivity, and safety. An organized kitchen is much easier to manage and maintain, providing a better working environment for your staff.
It’s not uncommon to find that an improved kitchen floorplan can result in higher staff retention amongst your kitchen crew, as a fully functional and modern kitchen environment leads to increased job satisfaction.
Constructing a detailed floorplan will allow you to evaluate the size requirements for your kitchen space, helping to ensure that your restaurant fit out is as successful as possible.
Dining area
When planning your dining area, think about how your customers and staff will move through it. Will patrons order from their table, or is food and drink ordered from the counter? Tableside ordering helps to eliminate any unnecessary foot traffic caused by servers and customers alike moving back and forth between tables and a service station, meaning larger walkways and spaces between tables can be less of a consideration.
This is a great space saver, especially within spaller restaurant spaces, as it eliminates the need for a stationary payment station and makes way for more tables. However, keep in mind that your dining space should be adaptable as to accommodate for any large groups.
Get in touch with the team at Lake Contracts today, or learn more about our restaurant fit out to discover how we can transform your business space!