The Key To Site Selection For Your New Restaurant Franchise
Location location location. You could have the most incredible chef, restaurant concept and staff, but you still have to be discoverable and visible to be successful. One of the biggest reasons restaurants fail is poor site selection. It’s a big decision and should be treated with careful planning. Timing, location, and a lot of research are all players in a successful site selection.
1. Time
Tip number one is give yourself time. This isn’t a decision to be made under pressure. Get all the facts of potential sites, make pros and cons lists, do due diligence on each location. In order to make a good decision that will mean long-term profits and success for your restaurant, you need ample time to really mull over the facts.
2. Getting There
Think about roadways. How much traffic does the main artery get? Is it a main commuter route? How fast are people going on that road, ie will they be going slow enough to notice your restaurant? Is the storefront walkable? And don’t forget about parking lots and left turns. Once your guests have enjoyed a delicious meal, you don’t want them dreading getting out of the parking lot.
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3. Visibility
Big beautiful signs are important to attracting customers to your restaurant. Look into size limitations for signs, sandwich boards, and lighting options. If you have a specific idea for your sign and a space doesn’t allow it, you don’t want to spend the next month coming up with a new idea.
4. Your Ideal Customer
The next step is thinking about your ideal customer. Determining who they are, what their income is, if they have family, and when they might be hungry is key to restaurant placement. You want to be close to your customer, no more than a 5-10 minute drive is ideal. A 5-10 minute walk is even better.
The real key is patience, grasshopper. If you give yourself enough time to make a good decision know that you’ll come across the right site eventually. Site selection is tiring, and if you’ve ever house hunted, it’s quite similar. It takes time, it takes some disappointment, but when you find the right the site, it will all pay off in the end. A successful site selection could mean the long term success of your restaurant.