How to Prepare Your Restaurant for the Summer Rush
In the restaurant industry especially, the summer rush of 2021 is poised to outshine every other summer rush in recent memory. We’ve now passed the one-year mark of shutdowns and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyone's itching for things to get back to normal. Now, with warmer weather on the horizon and vaccines reaching more people every day, that return to normalcy inches ever closer, even as certain precautions are still advised for the time-being. Indeed, the increase in activity that restaurants already tend to see during summer will likely be exaggerated by these unique circumstances. As such, these businesses must be well-prepared to handle and take full advantage of this upcoming surge in business, especially if margins have been squeezed particularly tight the past year.
Let’s go over some important ways to prepare your restaurant for the impending summer rush this year.
How to Prepare a Restaurant for the Summer
Staff Up Early
Striking the balance between hiring too many and too few employees is an eternal challenge for restaurants of all sizes, and seasonal changes only complicate this calculation. Even if you feel comfortable with the number of people you currently have on staff, you might be in for a rude awakening in a couple of months when your foot traffic doubles or triples in size. If you’re anticipating such an increase in activity this summer, it might be wise to seek some additional seasonal help -- and the sooner you start looking, the better. After all, you want your fresh employees to have some proper experience under their belts before throwing them into the throes of summer. Providing at least a couple of months of training in the springtime can prepare your new hires and entire team for the summer rush.
Rethink Your Seating
Increased activity at your restaurant means increased seating, if possible. Of course, if things get busy enough, you may be forced to send people away due to occupancy limits (which may be even more restrictive due to COVID-19). That said, as long you stay within your restaurant’s regulations regarding capacity, it’s good for your business to be filled to the brim with customers. As such, now’s a great time to start optimizing your seating arrangements. Consider your space’s layout and try to fit as much seating on your premises as possible while still allowing for comfortable movement and safe egress. If your restaurant offers outdoor seating, take advantage of all the space you have and, if necessary, invest in new tables and chairs to fill things out. Also, remember that easily moveable seating is ideal in the event that you must push tables together, spread things out, etc.
Bring Your Restaurant Interior Back to Life with Fresh Paint
The spring months are also a great time to invest in commercial interior painting so you can start off summer with a brand new, bright atmosphere. Whenever there’s a spike in activity at your business, you have the opportunity to make a strong first impression on several new customers and retain their business for the long haul (you’ll want to keep existing customers in your good graces, too). By providing a fresh interior aesthetic for new and old customers alike, you leave a positive taste in your customers’ mouth, so to speak, and help cement your brand reputation. If you’re wondering about how to select interior paint colors for your business, you can go about it in a variety of ways. You might stick with your existing color scheme to keep your brand image intact, or you might switch things up to renew your identity; you might also look to local, contemporary interior color trends to keep up with the times. If you’re truly unsure about this matter, though, seek a color consultation from professionals like Nash Painting.
Make Your Exterior as Beautiful as Your Interior
Your restaurant’s interior shouldn’t be your only concern when preparing for the summer rush, however. Keep in mind that your business’ exterior will be the first thing people see when passing by or entering your place. Moreover, those who dine outside will have your exterior in view for the duration of their visit. The more inviting and fresh your restaurant’s face looks, then, the more successful you’ll be this summer and beyond. For starters, you’ll want to give your restaurant’s outside surface a good cleaning this spring to blast away dirt, dust, and grime that’s accumulated over the winter and beforehand. From there, you might consider hiring commercial exterior painting contractors to provide a fresh coat of paint, whether you’re changing up your color scheme or simply touching up your existing palette. If your restaurant features a deck for outdoor seating, early spring is a good time to apply a fresh coat of stain for maximum protection and beauty. And lastly, to grab even more attention this summer, consider installing a new eye-catching sign outside your building that’s easy to see and clearly captures your brand.
Refresh Your Front Door
While we’re on the topic of exterior improvements, the cherry on top would be to refinish your door. Your restaurant’s front door is the portal that allows customer entry into your place of business, so the more welcoming, sturdy, and alluring it is, the better. Don’t underestimate what a dazzling door can do for your restaurant. Beyond the aesthetic benefits of this project, door refinishing will also protect your door from the wear and tear that comes with the territory of significant summer activity. Simply put, the more people your restaurant serves, the more your front door will be used and potentially scratched, hit, rubbed against, slammed, etc. If you don’t want to fix up your door on an annual basis, having it refinished and properly sealed is a solid investment.
Is Your Restaurant Ready for the Summer Rush?
This summer, people will be hungrier than ever for a taste of normalcy, which your restaurant may be able to provide. If you want to get the most out of the upcoming increased activity rather than be overwhelmed by it, follow the advice outlined above.
While Nash Painting can’t help you in the way of staffing and seating arrangements, our commercial painting expertise is an important piece of the puzzle for your summer rush preparation in Nashville, Brentwood, and/or Franklin, TN. Let us help you optimize your business’ interior and exterior through our painting, deck staining, door refinishing, power washing, and other key services. To learn more about us, our hassle free painting services, and our values, call us at 615-829-6858 today!