Anyone who has ever launched a business – restaurant or otherwise – knows that a “grand opening” is usually not the first time you’ve opened the doors. While that seems odd to lớn some, just imagine how weird “Hamilton” would have sầu been without dress rehearsals, or how much worse the Mets would be without spring training.
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When holding a restaurant soft opening, consider it a dress rehearsal for every part of your operations. It’s a chance lớn make sure your kitchen is functioning as intended, your staff is up-to-par with the menu and the workflow, và that your food has found a waiting audience.
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Sounds a lot lượt thích a grvà opening, no? Well, maybe, but it doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. In fact, if you spover enough time observing how your soft opening runs, you can gain valuable insights into lớn what you can expect (and what to change) before you open those doors for real.
Let’s dive sầu into a few restaurant grvà opening ideas for your soft opening that will ensure your actual gr& opening goes according khổng lồ plan.
Meet your neighbors
Unless your restaurant is secluded from the public, your restaurant soft opening is your first introduction khổng lồ the neighborhood. And, as we all know, first impressions are lasting ones. So this sự kiện should present your restaurant’s value proposition in every facet of the event.
Perhaps your soft opening is a private event, opening the doors only khổng lồ local merchants, fellow restaurant employees và other businesses. This immediately lets them know you’re a gracious and giving owner and are looking to contribute to lớn the community, not take business away from their own establishments.
Even if you have sầu bigger plans for the soft opening guest danh mục, something as simple as a local business happy hour would go a long way toward creating goodwill with your new neighbors. Because if local businesses turn lớn you for after work entertainment and enjoyment, that’s an immediate group of regulars khổng lồ build upon.
Offer a cross-section of your menu
Because you’ll be juggling a lot of handshaking & problem solving during your restaurant soft opening, it’s probably best lớn limit your thực đơn. (Besides, you want these guests to come baông chồng & see the rest of your surprises, no?)
Instead, pichồng a selection of menu items that best represent your restaurant’s brand identity – perhaps a signature burger or entree, alongside a specialty cocktail & a unique side dish. This will allow your kitchen staff to lớn get better acquainted with the tools at their disposal, as well as the workflow, without becoming overwhelmed.
Not to mention, they can focus on making these signature dishes perfectly, khổng lồ really impress your first customers. This will give them a chance to lớn shine in front of waiting guests, while also becoming more familiar with the new menu.
Most importantly, the restaurant soft opening will also allow you to lớn see which items might not be as successful as your target audience. If there’s a diverse spread of items, & one tray is completely untouched, that’s a good indicator that the selection isn’t right for your brvà. Use this information lớn make last-minute tweaks before the actual opening day.
Don’t hide your pricing
When food is given away for miễn phí, people tkết thúc to lớn be less critical. However, this does nothing for establishing an appropriate menu pricing strategy. When hosting your soft opening, keep the prices at the forefront, so you can get proper feedbaông xã on your plans. Perhaps those lamb sliders are divine… but maybe won’t sell at $21.95 for an appetizer portion.
One comtháng strategy is to lớn offer guests a 50% discount on food items alongside complimentary items (even drinks) throughout the evening. Though they will appreciate the discount, you will still receive sầu better feedback as khổng lồ which items will move sầu most readily at those price points, better preparing you for the grvà opening.