Author: Jonathan

Let this sink in for a moment: the restaurant industry dominates entertainment and hotels in Google search.

In fact, restaurants are the #1 searched industry online according to a study by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey. Additional statistics from this study are as follows:

• 81% of smartphone users search on a mobile app
• 92% of smartphone users search on a web browser
• 75% select a restaurant based on the search results

These stats speak for themselves about how crucial it is to boost your restaurant’s Google search ranking. Let’s dive into some search behaviors of today’s average foodie and find ways to reciprocate them.

Google Searches Are Becoming More Specific

Google is getting smarter at retrieving relevant search results. As a result, people are asking Google longer and less general questions. For example, someone may search “restaurant with vegan-friendly options” or “restaurant with live music.”

By using specific keywords that effectively showcase your restaurant’s unique offerings, you better match the searcher’s intent. Going for more general keywords like “dine-in restaurant” may be tempting due to high search traffic but competition will be stiff due to most restaurants having a dine-in component.

So what can you do about this? Come up with a list of unique keywords that identify your restaurant and describe what people are looking for. Then insert those keywords multiple times throughout your website. For instance, if your restaurant is full of gluten-free options, embed the keyword “gluten-free” on your web pages. Repeat it 2-5 times but make sure it is relevant to the page and unforced. Google can penalize you for spamming words. You can even combine two keywords into one longer phrase to make it sound more natural.

Examples (keyword in bold):

• “Reserve your table at the best gluten-free restaurant in Atlanta.”
• “Our pizzas have farm to table vegetables and are available with gluten-free bread.”

Local Google Search is Booming

If you follow local business marketing tips regularly you probably already know that “restaurant near me” is the most searched term.

It’s for good reasons that local restaurants and other businesses are choosing to focus more energy on optimizing for local search. Google themselves claimed that searches with a specific location in mind are rising 50% faster than all other inquiries.

To take advantage of this, make sure that your local listings (i.e Google My Business) have the correct address and make sure it’s specific. You can also repeat the address at the bottom of each of your web pages to further solidify your location with Google.

Capitalize Health Trend Keywords

Again we’re mentioning health and lifestyle diet trends because this movement is continuing to skyrocket throughout 2020.

With gluten-free products estimated to be a 9.98 billion dollar industry by 2027, it makes sense to put the money where the health trends are. If your restaurant accommodates any lifestyle, certainly make sure you are utilizing those keywords in all your listings, website, and social media content. By highlighting the fact that you serve, say, a menu item that complies with a whole30 diet, you can attract diners who intentionally search “restaurants with whole30 options.”

If you need a quick overview on lifestyle diets you can read our blog post titled “Whole30, Keto, and Paleo – Demystify The Menu!“.

Optimize for Google Voice Search

You turn your head upon hearing someone ask his/her phone “hey siri, where is the nearest sushi restaurant near me?”

The idea of speaking directly to Google via phone is still pretty amusing…after all, Google search engine was compared to the Star Trek computer by the head of Google search rankings team. Voice recognition however, has been been estimated to make up 50% of all searches in 2020.

Google’s search algorithm has become extraordinarily smart over the past few years. Someone may ask “where is Farm Burger in Buckhead?” followed by “do they have sweet potato fries?” The potential diner does not have to repeat the restaurant name in the follow up question because Google remembers. This marks the end of one-size-fits-all type answers to broad questions. Using multiple search inquiries to get a specific, custom-tailored answer is the future of search and the future is now.

If your SEO is optimized on your website and Google My Business listing, then give yourself a pat on the back! One tip that we do have however, is to think of some long-tail keywords that answer potential dine-in questions. Better yet, make them conversational, like how you would answer a potential guest over the phone. For example, insert “we offer sweet potato fries as a substitute for the baked potato” on your menu page or as an answer on your FAQ page. When someone types a specific question on Google, your answer may show up and lead them to your restaurant.

Third Party Apps Account for Alot of Traffic

It’s no surprise that many diners find restaurants through third-party delivery apps as their use has been rising. Google search engines are rampant with paid traffic from UberEats, Grubhub, and Doordash.

What does this mean for your restaurant? This means you should spend some time looking at your listings on these delivery apps and making sure information is accurate. 3rd party delivery apps can be overly-dominate, especially in 2020, so you might as well make sure they advertise you correctly.

Speaking of overly-dominate delivery apps, it will be critical to invest in the non-delivery aspect of your restaurant. Step up your marketing and focus on giving customers an experience. After all, Millennials place great importance on an immersive dine-in experience. This gives you a chance to showcase your restaurant’s uniqueness and personality. Find less competitive but unique keywords that express this to get around highly competitive, generic keywords used by delivery apps.

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Diners Find Restaurants Organically Through Reviews

You most definitely understand the importance of having excellent reviews but did you know they can help you get discovered?

Check out this screen shot below:

Typing “restaurant outdoor seating” gave us these nearby local restaurants through customer reviews. As you can see, the customer reviews that used words related to ‘outdoor’ or ‘seating’ helped the restaurant get found by a new potential diner looking for outdoor seating.

If utilized correctly, you can use reviews as an effective tool to associate your restaurant with more keywords. Our recommendation is to seek out a few of your loyal customers and ask them to write a banging review. Even better, ask them to mention any unique features (menu items, atmosphere, music, etc) they like about your restaurant so other diners seeking these features can find you!

Adapting to trends can bring a wealth of new opportunities and growth but it’s not always the most comfortable thing is it?

Since you’re reading this, you are most likely aware of the healthy food movement and want to learn more about how your restaurant can capitalize on this trend. After all, there is so much regarding this space that it can feel overwhelming for older restaurants that may not be traditionally known as healthy.

If your restaurant was not built on the foundations of being healthy, you can rest assured that you will not necessarily be required to go back to the drawing board and redo everything! There is a spectrum within this movement and many big restaurant chains are making small changes over time. Have a read to see some practical examples of restaurant chains adapting to the healthy food trend and snag some ideas for your own restaurant.

Great Examples of Fast Food Chains Adapting to Health Trends

Chik-fil-a: Gluten Free Bun

Now here’s a prime example of a major restaurant chain making small changes to accommodate more lifestyles. Chik-fila-a wouldn’t quite be Chik-fila-a without it’s one-of-a-kind chicken would it? The distinct look, texture, and flavor of their chicken (in addition to their signature waffle fries) is not something to change or else you turn more than half the country against you.

To somewhat dip a finger into this new world of healthy eating while keep the core of their identity, Chik-fil-a rolled out gluten-free buns onto the menu.

It costs diners an additional $1.15 and is made of quinoa, amaranth, and sorghum as alternatives to refined flour which loses up to 80% of nutrients. Molasses and raisins are used as sweeteners.

So even though Chik-fil-a can’t change their entire menu to make it healthier, they still took a small step in following the healthy food trend. They even serve the bun separately for diners to assemble themselves in order to avoid contamination in the kitchen. It may sound a little ungraceful, but that’s what happens when adapting to change, and Chick-fil-a shows us that it’s okay.

Burger King: Burger-Meat Alternative

Burger King and health trends aren’t the most expected combo when it comes to the restaurant industry but even fast food joints are trying.

Burger King makes the impossible, possible with the impossible burger. To be clear, whether or not it is actually healthy will not be touched upon in this post but rather be shown as an example of a major restaurant chain adapting to the times.

Continuing on, Burger King partnered up with Impossible Foods to create a version of the whopper that uses plant-based patties instead of meat. The patty is made of soy leghemoglobin while the rest of the burger is unchanged and it even tastes similar to a whopper!

As you can probably imagine, there are always concerns about cross-contamination in fast food restaurants and Burger King is no exception. Despite this they are transparent about using the same broiler for their meat patties and accept special requests to use a non-broiler method to keep it as vegetarian as possible.

Chipotle: Whole 30 Diet Option

Adapting to healthy eating trends doesn’t always have to involve offering alternatives for specific foods. Another way of following trends can be achieved by accommodating life style diets like Chipotle does with their whole 30 option. To learn more about lifestyle diets like keto, whole 30 and paleo, you can refer to our blog post on demystifying lifestyle diets.

Whole 30 is a strict diet designed to cleanse and reboot the body in a 30-day cycle. It restricts added sugar, legumes, alcohol (cooking and drinking), dairy, soy, grains, MSG, and is loaded with lean meat and veggies.

Chipotle has a bowl dedicated to those practicing a whole 30 lifestyle diet that adds baby kale and spinach to it’s staple romaine-only salad. The chicken is also different as it is cooked with sunflower oil to meet the requirements of a whole 30 diet.

As you can imagine, most people following a whole 30 diet will have to cook their own food for maximum adherence to it’s restrictions. Can you imagine how convenient this is for those who follow a whole 30 diet but maybe, forget their home-prepared lunch at home?

Hopefully by now you can see that following trends is rather broad and can be done many different ways. You can customize a meal that caters to specific life style diets and bring convenience to many lives instead of going the regular route of just making everything gluten-free.

Taco Bell: Full Customization

Surprised to see Taco Bell on this list? Believe it or not, Taco Bell has (very subtly) become one of the healthier fast food chains out there. While we could highlight their reduction in artificial ingredients, sodium, and pledge of using cage-free eggs, we’d rather talk about something more phenomenal.

Where Taco Bell really shines when it comes to accommodating health trends, is it’s fully customizable menu. With their mobile and online ordering platform, customers can decide to add or subtract any ingredient from their meal to fit their lifestyle. For instance, a health-conscious customer may want to cut out bacon and sour cream to reduce calories. Every custom order also has a nutrition calculator to help customers track their nutritional intake.

By leveraging customer empowerment through customization, Taco Bell can remain the same restaurant while serving both those who want to pig out and watch their calories.

Your Restaurant Can Adapt to Health Trends Too

It’s entirely possible for your restaurant to adapt to health trends without losing it’s identity or loyal customers. There’s no need to stress out thinking about all the things you could change. Just start with something small, just like these major restaurant chains.

People wanting to eat healthier is a trend that brings a positive change to one’s self, family, and community. Instead of thinking about what you need to change about your restaurant, think about how you can help people live a healthy lifestyle everyday.

How Restaurants Are Keeping Up

Not to get too nostalgic, but there was a time when running a restaurant meant providing your customers with good tasting food that looked appetizing on a plate and was affordable to your target demographic. Today, consumers have a seemingly infinite set of choices when it comes to their next meal fueled by ever-changing food trends promoted in every app and website.

However, there is one trend that has had enormous staying power due to its macro view on eating dishes with ingredients that provide a specific health benefit. That’s right, we are talking about the Functional Food Movement.

What is Functional Food?

A functional ingredient can be defined as an edible component of a dish that provides a specific health benefit, whether proven or perceived. Consumers today are more health-conscious and selective when it comes to what they eat. Marketers and the food industry took notice, promoting everything from greek yogurt to avocados to acai berries for each ingredient’s health benefits.

Healthy choices are no longer picking between salad or burger and fries. Today’s restaurant goer is looking at the ingredients.

What are some examples of Functional Ingredients?

You’ve likely heard of the key players or seen them marketed in grocery stores or on competitor menus. Food items like kombucha, matcha, turmeric… the list goes on.

A good way of conceptualizing the functional foods landscape is to put yourself in the shoes of a restaurant diner (though you are one too). A customer will have a concept in their mind of the type of health benefit they would like to achieve and connect it to foods that have been presented as promoting that benefit.

Let’s look at some of the possible health benefits your customers will have front of mind when dining at your restaurant.

Building Our Brains

Diners who are looking to boost their brains and slow down cognitive decline will be looking for the answer on their plates.

Leafy green vegetables, fatty fish like salmon and tuna, and a variety of nuts, but especially walnuts, have all been promoted as being foods that boost your mental function.

Strengthening Our Hearts

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, so it is no surprise that promoting heart health is a priority to many.

Some of the functional ingredients that claim to support brainpower are also key for strong hearts. Tuna and salmon are big ones thanks to Omega-3 fatty acid, but fortified foods such as some yogurts, eggs, and soy beverages offer similar benefits. Green vegetables, flaxseeds, berries, and nuts are all said to promote stronger hearts and reduce the risk of developing different types of heart disease.

Improving Our Digestion

Diners worry about their digestive tracts. They might not be consciously thinking about it, but it is always a concern. Foods that are known to promote healthy guts, reduce heartburn, and minimize the risk of bloating or constipation are in demand.

The most common foods that are touted to help are almost always fermented, like kefir, kimchi, and kombucha. Yogurts have been making a splash as well. Overall, the key thing they all have in common is the promotion of healthy gut bacteria and improving digestion.

How Can Restaurants Get Onboard?

Many already are! Jumping on every new food trend is inefficient and expensive to your bottom line and reputation. However, the functional food movement is far from a passing phase. The entire concept of the movement is the long-term promotion of healthy eating overall, it is just that different ingredients have been getting their own 15 minutes of fame every once in a while.

Promoting Your Restaurant’s Functional Foods

Restaurants can increase their profits and attract new customers by highlighting the functional ingredients that they already use. While you shouldn’t claim that your foods are wonder cures, it is still important to promote some of the ingredients we mentioned on your menus and in your marketing.

Add a short description to your menu items to highlight the fact that your salmon dish is high in Omega-3 and heart-healthy or your yogurt and berries breakfast item promotes digestive health.

Do you have a new functional food item on the menu? Add it to the chalkboard in front of your restaurant, put it on your social media; whatever you do, promote the dish and the healthy thinking behind it. 

Just remember to use the appropriate terminology. Buzzwords work, as long as you are being accurate and never misleading your customers. Omega-3, protein-rich, high in fiber, cage-free, antibiotic-free, organic; if one of those terms applies to ingredients in your dish, then you can help your customer be informed by highlighting that fact on your menu, or have your server remind them when making recommendations.

Conclusion

The functional ingredient movement is a wonderful trend that as massive staying power for two reasons: it promotes living a healthy lifestyle and it helps restaurants make a greater profit without much need for change.

The reality for most restaurants is that they more often than not offer a dish with a functional ingredient. All that is left to do is highlight it and promote it so that your existing customers and potential customers are aware of it.

Most people will not come into your dining room and demand functional ingredients. Often times, you won’t know that they made a choice to go elsewhere because they didn’t know you had a functional food offering or, perhaps, you really didn’t. The goal is to always have that option and make it known so that your restaurant can capitalize on the movement and help to promote a healthy way of living at the same time.

Great Examples of Healthy Menu Items from Atlanta Restaurants

In recent years it has become more and more apparent that diets such as paleo, meditteranean, keto, vegan and plant-based are no longer considered ‘fads’. People who choose these diets do so long term and consider them to be healthy lifestyles rather than diets.  

It is with this in mind that restaurateurs have realized that they need to do more than offer a wide range of salads to cater for these lifestyles. In order to attract and impress the growing number of diet-followers in Atlanta, restaurants are adding creative, delicious dishes to their menus and we want to highlight our favorites.   

If you are unfamiliar with popular lifestyle diets like keto and paleo, you can catch up through our previous blog post where we demystify lifestyle menus!

Ginger Crusted Wild Ahi Tuna – R Thomas Deluxe Grill 

R Thomas Deluxe Grill on Peachtree Street offers an incredible tuna dish which is ideal for keto, paleo and Mediterranean diet followers. Fresh, wild-caught ahi tuna is coated in aromatic ginger before being seared rare and served on a bed of orange sweet potato, leek and a salmon reduction alongside a seaweed salad and shoestring ginger beets. This healthy menu option is ideal as there is no batter, oil frying and no naughty carbs like potatoes or flour. This dish is delicious and pleases both regular diners as well as diet followers, without feeling like they are having to make any compromises. 

My Farro Lady – Recess 

Perfectly engineered for those following a plant-based or Mediterranean diet, this grain bowl has a wide range of delicious ingredients that keeps customers coming back for more. Farro makes up the base of this bowl. A popular super food that not only provides loads of protein, fiber and magnesium, but also tastes great! The nutty flavor given by the Farro pairs perfectly with the array of roasted, crunchy charred broccoli and the peppery arugula. Thanks to healthy menu items such as this, Recess on Krog Street is always full and bustling with happy diners. 

St Phillip’s Island Crab Cakes – Ted’s Montana Grill 

This healthy menu item from Ted’s Montana Grill on Luckie Street is a must for anyone on a ketogenic diet. The Southwestern seasoned crab cakes are pan fried until they are crispy and golden on the outside and served alongside guacamole, Parmesan roasted broccoli and an eye-catching kale salad. No potatoes, flours or sugars in sight and yet this dish is decadent and delicious! 

Grilled Sustainable Salmon – True Food Kitchen 

True Food Kitchen on Peachtree Road has perfected the art of gluten-free cooking. They do however have popular grain-based dishes as well that better serve those on the Mediterranean diet. This grilled salmon is ethically sourced and served on a bed of rich caramelised onions, farro and quinoa as well as grilled asparagus topped with pumpkin seed pesto. This healthy menu item is packed full of superfoods and flavor to boot with the added benefit of being grilled and free of any heavy processed carbohydrates. 

Grilled Pork Chops – Miller Union 

Who says healthy entrees can only consist of chicken or fish? Trendy Miller Union on Brady Avenue provides paleo and Mediterranean diners with a meaty option that is out of this world. The pork chops are trimmed and grilled before being served with a side of butter beans, sweet corn succotash and blueberries. This creative dish is a perfect example of the new healthy alternative trend. Guests can also choose one of many healthy and exciting side dishes such as field peas, snap beans, tomatoes served with peaches! 

Following Health Trends Doesn’t Have to be Boring

As you can see from this small list of examples, creativity knows no limit when it comes to healthy menu items. Following trends does not have to give you a sense of restriction, rather it should open up a whole new world of discoveries that will equally strike your diners with awe.

Trends Restaurant Owners Should Be Aware of

Without exaggeration, it’s never been harder to predict new restaurant trends. The pandemic has rocked the restaurant industry, and 2020 is shaping up to be a reactive year for restauranteurs compared with recent decades full of strategy and promise. 

However, there are some restaurant dining and technology trends that are starting to emerge halfway through the year that cannot be ignored. 

These trends provide opportunities that restaurant owners can seize to maximize their profits in both the short and long terms. Have a read through our list of new restaurant trends in 2020.

Space Reduction

This trend was years in the making, so it is unfair to accredit it to Covid-19. For years, restaurants in densely populated areas have been moving towards models that mirror the QSR (quick-service restaurant experience). 

In previous years, with lease prices outpacing profits, many restaurants have been forced to rethink their dining room spaces and focus on reducing their seating in favor of takeout and delivery options.

In a city like New York, the average cost of rent for a restaurant is between $150 and $400 per square foot, depending on location. Combined with the growing minimum wage and employee benefit costs, it is becoming harder to justify the costs of a large dining room.

And then there’s food delivery. The proliferation of food delivery apps like UberEats, Seamless, and Postmates had reduced the number of walk-in patrons when staying in and binging Netflix had become the norm.

So, even before the pandemic hit at the start of 2020, many restaurant owners began considering reducing their spaces in favor of layouts that promoted quick-serve foods for takeout and delivery.

With Covid-19, many restaurants were forced to close or reduce their capacity to anywhere between 25% to 50% depending on their state’s policies. This capacity reduction combined with new bylaws around outdoor dining (again, looking at New York City, many restaurants have moved their dining rooms to sidewalk patios) has sped up the trend of reducing spaces permanently.

After all, it is becoming harder to justify a large restaurant’s cost if the majority of the dining room sits empty for the foreseeable future.

Everything is Going Digital

While downloading nutrients into your diners’ bellies is still a futuristic proposition, everything else has been moving into the digital sphere where data is king, and opportunities to profit are increasing. As you may already know, updated restaurant technology is a requirement of the present and not just a dream of the future.

Restaurant business owners have been looking at creating an omnichannel experience for their patrons by integrating their menus, marketing, websites, and PoS systems into one large ecosystem rather than a collection of platforms without any connectivity.

Wise restaurateurs can now add the title data analyst to their long list of credentials, as the story that their client data tells does require a bit of Shelockholmsing.

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising has yet to catch on in the restaurant industry in a meaningful way, but there have been some creative examples of larger chains directing their marketing efforts towards digital advertising via artificial intelligence.

Through programmatic advertising, restaurant brands can “serve” ads to a specific audience within a millisecond based on a collection of relevant data points. In short, with a little bit of help for a programmatic advertising vendor, you can make sure that your ideal client will see an advertisement for your restaurant at the right time.

Big data can yield big profits. Burger King famously used the location services of people who downloaded their official app to offer a 1 cent Whopper deal if users happened to be within 600 feet of a McDonald’s franchise. Their phones would ding with a notification offering a digital coupon and directions to the nearest Burger King location.

The free media exposure for the stunt alone was well worth the investment in the marketing campaign, and things of this caliber no longer require proprietary software such as the app. All business owners need is to contact a programmatic advertising partner to get started.

Automating the Kitchen

Of course, not everyone is thinking about big picture marketing campaigns right now, and there are some other ways that restaurants have been optimizing their operations and diner experiences.

If you are using a printed ticket system in your restaurant, then listen up! We’re talking about the kitchen display system (or KDS for short).

Owners have been turning to kitchen display systems to optimize their restaurants to run as efficiently as possible. A KDS improves the communication issues that plague the front and back of house staff by instantly sending orders to the kitchen as they are entered and to the appropriate station.

Food preppers and chefs love the system for its ease of use and ability to cycle through different displays. Furthermore, the systems improve meal pacing by showing when different dishes need to be prepared, cooked, plated – you name it. So, rather than checking orders ticket by ticket, a screen can show the total number of a specific dish that needs to be made, making it easier to prepare all together and the collected data in the platform will inform restaurant owners where there are delays in preparation and room for improvement.

And, naturally, there is the added benefit of going paperless and reducing the waste your restaurant produces which has remained in an inclining restaurant trend in 2020.

Restaurant Trends in 2020 Shaped by Covid-19

With the pandemic showing no signs of slowing in the US, reactive measures that restaurant owners were forced to take have become the new normal, at least for the foreseeable future. 

These technicalities include enhanced cleaning procedures, an abundance of sanitizing stations, and the removal of unnecessary high touch surfaces. That means everything from keeping doors open to reduce contact with handles and doing away with menus completely.

QR codes are fast becoming a norm for restaurants and customers alike, with both parties feeling more comfortable with clients scanning the codes with their personal devices with links that take them to an updated menu.

Dining outdoors is another trend that is tough for restaurants to ignore. Depending on your location and local bylaws, it is worthwhile to look into designating a space in front of your restaurant (or in the back) for some socially distanced al fresco eating. As diners are getting stir crazy in their apartments, they are expecting to find some solace at cafes and restaurants; outdoor seating provides an opportunity to get out and dine in safer environments than enclosed dining rooms.

You’ve been thinking about making your restaurant eco-friendly, but don’t think you can manage the associated costs. This is a concern that many small business owners have when the sustainability conversation comes up. While it’s true that going green can come with additional financial requirements, we’re here to say that a slow and steady transformation to an eco-friendly restaurant will reduce costs over time and make your clients happier.

When speaking about sustainability, restaurant owners are quick to point to the price of eco-friendly packaging as a frustrating signifier of the price-problem with going green. Yet the focus on take out containers would do a disservice to the numerous ways restaurateurs can make quick changes that will save them money over time, without bringing foam and recycling containers into the conversation. So, let’s save that talking point for last and look at a few other ways that restaurants can cut costs and become eco-friendly at the same time.

How to be Eco-Friendly and Cut Costs

Waste not, want not

Food waste can quickly become a huge drain on your restaurant’s budget. Cutting down on food waste means cutting down on operating costs and becoming more sustainable. This includes both food waste and packaging, but let’s look at food for now.

Food waste typically piles up from excess portions or excess stock orders, especially with off-season produce. You can cut down on your waste by keeping a rotating menu and reducing portion sizes. Offering dishes that use seasonal produce will reduce their cost and build greater rapport with local farmers (especially if you’ve chosen a farm-to-table model, which we wrote about here). Food that travels a shorter distance is much more sustainable.

Your chef will be able to do a lot with a little. Very few patrons are dazzled by pages and pages of menu items. Turn that book into a pamphlet and make the most of a small selection of ingredients from your local farmer’s market. There’s a second half to this equation which involves using the reduced food waste in your brand positioning. Ensure that your customers know the efforts you are making on behalf of the environment while using fresh and tasty ingredients in their meals. Your clients need to know that your business is a sustainable one

Another big source of food waste is portion sizes that are far too large. You might be hesitant to reduce portion sizes thinking your regulars will be disappointed, but if you notice servers bring plates back to the kitchen with plenty of food left behind or you see a lot of doggie bags leaving the dining room, it might be a good opportunity to put less on the plate and keep more in your wallet.

Be efficient with your power

Let’s talk about energy efficient appliances. If it’s been a while since you experienced sticker shock just hearing some of the prices of commercial kitchen equipment, you’ll be happy to learn that those upfront costs have gone down. This is due to Energy Star certified equipment gaining popularity in the restaurant industry. Yes, you will still be paying a bit more upfront, but think about the benefits.

Energy efficient commercial restaurant equipment can save hundreds of dollars over each machine’s lifetime on electricity and water consumption. And then there’s the rebates. Depending on your state, you may be eligible for a cash rebate as part of government campaigns or restaurant association memberships in addition to 0% interest loans to purchase the equipment. Go green and reinvest that money into your business.

Have you thought about your restaurant’s toilets? Don’t take those porcelain thrones for granted as a restaurant’s bathrooms are part of this conversation. Installing sinks and toilets that use less water will save you money in the long run. A good example of this is looking at toilets installed in the 1980s and 1990s, which use nearly 5 gallons of water per flush on average. Modern high efficiency toilets reduce the water waste by nearly 5 times!

Make your competitors your best friends

This might seem counterintuitive, but your neighboring restaurants are a perfect partner on the road to cutting costs and going green. However, before you reach out to the pierogi place across the street, you need to decide what your ask should be. Remember those styrofoam containers we mentioned in the introduction? Here’s how you can stop ordering them for good and replace them with compostable or recyclable take-away boxes instead. 

Instead of paying an arm and a leg, select a handful of local restaurants that offer to-go options and place a bulk order with a distributor. You will likely receive a preferential rate that is equivalent (or even lower) than what you pay for your foam or plastic take out containers. This will work even better if your new partners in sustainability serve different cuisines as it provides an opportunity to cross-promote the partnership and let your respective customer bases know that you are working together to make the neighborhood more eco-friendly.

Conclusion

There can be significant upfront costs for restaurants that are looking to go green including eco-friendly commercial kitchen appliances and recyclable packages. Many restaurants are just not interested in paying the cost or passing it onto their customers. However, as we have shown, there are plenty of ways to get creative with sustainable solutions including cutting down on food waste, rotating your food offering, and waiting for those appliances to pay off in the long run.

With a bit of marketing magic, you will be able to associate any possible cost increase of going green to your branding budget; making sure that your business is known as an eco-friendly restaurant where the owners care about their impact on the environment and, more importantly, their local clientele and neighborhood.

Farm-to-table. Organic. Free-range. Non-GMO. Sustainable. You’ve heard it all before. 

These terms have been floating around for decades, but they have finally entered the vocabularies of average consumers. In a world where diners are far more conscious of what is on their plates, it is important for restaurants to understand what each one of these terms means and how they benefit restaurant owners. We’ll start with the economic benefits of farm-to-table restaurants.

What do we mean when we talk about farm-to-table?

This is where things get a little bit murky. We believe that farm-to-table means locally sourced food that is grown sustainably. Many diners and restaurateurs agree, but there is dissent in the restaurant industry and among diners in how the term should be applied. Some industry gatekeepers claim that farm-to-table is local food that must be non-GMO and completely organic. Critics of the movement argue that farm-to-table is nothing more than a fad or even food fraud, a public relations opportunity for restaurants.

We’re here to tell you that farm-to-table, when done right, is all about sustainable agricultural practices, feeding hungry customers food that is nutritious and delicious, and just smart business. There are many benefits of operating a farm-to-table restaurant. The short list includes reduced travel time resulting in fresher produce and lower carbon emissions, and greater transparency into the supply chain. Then there’s the thing we’re here to discuss, the economic benefits of farm-to-table.

What are the economic benefits of farm-to-table?

Benefits for the local economy

Farm-to-table simplifies the process of getting food from the farm to a diner’s plate, removing geographical distance and industry middle-men. A farm-to-table restaurant benefits the local economy by cutting out all of the extra fat in the supply chain and allows local restaurants to build relationships with local farmers. 

These relationships do more than create transparency that results in fresher food. After all, studies have shown that produce is consistently picked early to travel the average 1,500 miles that it takes to get to its destination restaurant. What we’re talking about is the increased profit for both partners and circulation of a single dollar in the local economy. Reducing the average 1,500-mile journey and overreliance on massive corporations to a 50-mile journey and local partnership means a customer’s dollar is spent in a restaurant, then to the farm it goes for food products, and then back in the area of the local farmer. The Farmers Market Coalition found that farmers receive only 17.4 cents from every dollar spent on food in America, but nearly 90 centers from every dollar spent on food at farmers markets. That’s a huge difference!

Today’s diners value sustainability, variety, and freshness above all else. If your farm-to-table restaurant chooses to transfer part of the added cost to your consumer, that’s your prerogative. If you use the moniker as a differentiator, you will certainly be perceived as a good neighbor and provider of fresh and nutritious seasonal food. Which brings us into the benefits for restaurants.

Benefits for the restaurant

There are two general types of farm-to-table restaurants: those that own the farm and those that source their food products from a local farm. There are important economic differences for the owners. 

Farm-to-table restaurateurs who also own a farm are forced to invest more capital into their business. With greater investment comes greater risk, especially if there is a lack of experience in the agricultural space. Of course, there are obvious benefits of owning the entire supply chain. A farm-to-table restaurant that has focused its efforts on vertical integration can cut costs associated with dealing with food distributors (many of whom are several states away, or even international) and can assure the quality and freshness of the ingredients used in their dishes.

Farm-to-table restaurants that choose to partner with local farms will also find that their food products are fresher and more varied. While higher costs can be a concern for restaurant owners, these depend on your relationships with your partner farms and might even be worth the added cost to guarantee the quality of your food.

We have already mentioned the most obvious benefit of a farm-to-table restaurant: happy customers. A restaurant that bills itself as farm-to-table, and walks the walk, shows local diners that they are passionate about quality ingredients, sustainable agricultural practices, and supporting the local economy.

As businesses continue adapting to the changing times, marketing plans are some of the first to face the chopping block. Restaurant marketing during coronavirus has taken a hit due to cost cutting measures. But restaurateurs would be remiss to pause their marketing efforts, especially online, where web browsing has increased by 70% and social media usage is up 61% according to Kantar, a data and insights consulting company.  

The key for restaurant owners who are looking to adapt to the changing times is to resist the urge to be reactive. We know that this is an especially stressful time for the restaurant industry. The pressure to protect the livelihood of your employees and maintain your business might make you want to try as many new things as possible, all at once. Instead of repositioning your marketing efforts, and possibly confusing your existing patrons, get creative with the online tools at your disposal. 

Here’s how you can adapt your restaurant marketing during coronavirus. 

Good Proactive Steps for Restaurant Marketing During Coronavirus

With the coronavirus keeping many people indoors and foot traffic dwindling to a trickle, your customers will be turning online to get information and place orders. Now is your opportunity to take stock of the online platforms you use to market your restaurant and ensure that you’re checking every box of a strong restaurant marketing plan that will take you through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. 

Audit Your Restaurant’s Website 

Your restaurant’s website is more than a billboard on the internet. During the coronavirus, patrons of local restaurants will at the very least use your website to find out if you are open for delivery and take-out. And while you’re updating your pandemic hours of operation, make sure you do everything you can to keep your audience captive. Answer these key questions: 

• Have your hours of operation changed? 
• Do you offer order delivery? 
• Has your delivery zone expanded? 

• Do you offer curb-side order pick-up? 
• Do you have an adjusted menu? 
• Are icons that link to your social channels in the header or footer? 

Make sure the information on your site is up-to-date so that your customers are not confused or alienated. The last thing you want is to have someone show up, because your hours weren’t changed on your site. 

If you are offering a limited menu or specials, make sure that these are listed clearly on your website. Many website platforms allow for banners or pop-ups to be placed on your site; a great way to let your customers know that you have something special for them. While restaurant marketers have been advocating for the abolition of pdf menus, this is a time for agility. If your menu will require frequent changes due to availability of produce, revert to pdf menus that you can quickly replace as needed. 

Review Your Restaurant’s Social Media Strategy 

There’s a reason why so many diners let their phones eat first. That Instagram photo of your delicious dish goes a long way in marketing your restaurant. You didn’t even need to do anything beyond what you always did, make good food and plate it well. But with diners staying home, you’ll need to go the extra mile and become your own photographer. 

If you haven’t already, create a schedule around your new operating hours and menu updates to showcase your meals and ingredients. Food safety is front of mind for diners and sharing photos and videos of your menu items is a great way to show that you’re preparing food in a safe environment, the quality is still there, and that there’s even something new in addition to items they know and love. 

Keep your Facebook hours of operation up-to-date and be sure to post (at least) once a day on all of your platforms. Make your content as visually impactful as possible. Remember that your customers can visit your channels at any time, 24/7. If you last posted in 2017, they’ll assume you’re no longer around and might not return. 

Also, be sure to adapt your captions and content dimensions to the platform you are using. 

Leverage New Online Platforms to Market Your Restaurant 

Very few restaurants have turned to YouTube to market their meals. This is a missed opportunity as YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine, after Google. Creating short clips of food preparation or plating — especially for food that has that “viral” look — will help promote your restaurant to customers who are cooking at home for the first time and searching for new recipes.  

Burger King France had the same idea when they tweeted the recipe to a “quarantine version” of their famous Whopper. While you might not have a menu staple that’s as well known, you can create a piece of video content around a local favorite, or even your take on a common homemade dish. Be sure to include calls to action in your content to funnel those viewers to your site or anywhere else you want them to order from. 

Twitch is another platform which hasn’t received enough attention from restaurant marketers, but with 15 million daily viewers. Host a weekly cooking show and let your patrons know to follow along. A one hour long stream will let you engage directly with your customers, teach them a recipe that they can recreate, build good will in the community, and remind them that you’re going to be there when their own version just doesn’t turn out as good as yours! Twitch can also act as a new revenue stream as followers can subscribe (for a fee) and send something called bits (of monetary value to streamers) while you cook. 

Do Good with Your Food 

Partnering with local organizations and other essential services is a great way to let your food do good in the community. Get in touch with a local hospital, transportation organization, or other service that has hungry mouths to feed. You can strike up a partnership for weekly lunches at discounted rates and share the deeds on your social channels. If the food is delicious, and the service impeccable, the word of mouth will turn into online orders from grateful family members. 

Final Thoughts on Restaurant Marketing During Coronavirus 

Not everything will work in your particular situation, so be sure to adapt this advice to the needs and bylaws of your area. With regions opening up all over the United States, keep your channels and website up-to-date with what’s coming. Will your patio open up? Will you serve take-away alcohol for a new happy hour? Local customers will want to know. Document your journey and create content your clients will devour.