Behind the scenes: Renovation ingredients that can launch a new restaurant

So, you have a passion for food, and prior to wanting to appear on MasterChef, you wanted to run your own restaurant. You have made sure you could get the .co.uk website and Twitter handle named after your business name to start off on the right foot; you have notes on meal names, menu designs, a themed drinks menu perhaps, the “opening night” advertising, table settings, seasonal décor, chalkboard jokes to promote “dish of the day”; and you also have a hiring strategy, to make sure you get the best front-of-house staff a new up-and-coming business venture could dream of.

What’s left? The nucleus of inspiration has already doubled your caffeine intake every morning from late nights working on more and more ideas, what could go wrong? Someone will be ready to review you as a five-star treat in no time, right?

Wrong.

Creating the initial concept and finding your niche or space in the market is the easy part. It might not feel like it when you think that no one else has thought of it before, but in one way or another, every restaurant, bistro, café and bar has a great concept behind it, a great chef and bar staff, along with a fantastic location to seal the deal. The trouble is, those unsuccessful businesses often thought big and spent little to achieve their dream when renovating a humble property.

It’s safe to say that 50% of working adults have held positions within the restaurant and catering industry at some point, so your audience know what they want to see. They want a high-end, exclusive and bespoke restaurant – somewhere where the chef is a cut above, where the décor is setting the trends, and the attention to detail is simply world class.

To get to that stage, frequently you can shop where the big names shop for building the core hub – that’ll tick all the above boxes, and more. Emulate those restaurants that shaped your career choice.

Location, location, look at that location

A “destination restaurant” is only where it’s at when the customer steps in off the street. Get those first, second and third impressions right, and don’t stop to look back at the competition.

Count up to five stars

Renovating a property correctly is where the sustainable blank canvas of those note scribbles and years of ideas can truly come into fruition. Always use high-end products – get them delivered to your new restaurant and give the delivery person an opening night table as a thank-you!

The top three tips for renovation work that’ll first catch the customers’ eyes are:

1. The longevity of a business should be met by a long-term floor finish. Pick a top-of-the-range floor paint to seal and waterproof concrete, wood, brick or stone flooring.
   • Paint additives can be added to the paint for an anti-slip finish in the kitchen and food preparation areas, so the same colour theme passes throughout the principal areas, but health and safety, and anti-slip measures are accounted for where they are needed most.
2. When in doubt, always use a primer or an undercoat.
   • For difficult areas, where paint doesn’t seem to adhere to the surface – like on glass, aluminium or exposed brickwork/stone – it can be a miracle worker.
3. Open wide the colour palette.
   • Picking industrial brands and products opens a whole new world of colour scheme options – many high-end products offer the full RAL and British Standard colour range – something that smaller brands and products simply do not.

In for the long haul

Cutting corners on renovation work could see your dreams tumble down around you – basic products are not designed to last for extended periods and renovating on the cheap will mean considerable downtime when repair work and maintenance needs to be undertaken before the first anniversary party.

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