Operators need to adapt now so that in their future they can exceed customer expectations, drive projected revenue, and keep costs in line.

We have taken our original Restaurant of the Future diagram and made some new adaptations. These predictions continue to evolve from our experience, insights and forward thinking view. There is, no right or wrong and there are only ideas for everyone to use to conceptualize what their Restaurant of Future will be, both short and long-term.

The Menu of the Future

The menu of the future will need to follow the new behaviors that consumers have adopted during COVID. Restaurant patrons want what they wantNOT what the restaurant wants to sell them. Bloated menus that try to be everything to everyone will not be successful moving forward.

If you cannot execute a menu item, do not sell it. If it does not travel well, do not offer it.

Restaurants need to understand what their go-to items are. Those are the perceived comfort food items that their customers are craving. Doing variations of those items is a great way to innovate and expand your menu. Family meals and bundles are a natural adjunct to promoting these go to items.

You May Not Have All the Answers

No doubt running a successful restaurant or supplier business was complicated before COVID. You do not have to have all the answers. It starts with an open mind and the willingness to listen to others who have ideas that can support industry leaders with the tweaks necessary to be successful in the evolving new normal. Collaboration and seeking help from trusted partners and suppliers makes good business sense.

MORE FROM THE AUTHORS:

Whats working and what will become part of the new normal

10 reasons why curbside is here to stay

What the restaurant of the future will look like after COVID-19

Simplification becomes the new rallying cry for restaurants

Contact Kinetic12 to learn more about our Restaurant of the Future Scorecard which quickly highlight the areas in your business that Must Change, Should Change and Can Wait.

THE RESTAURANT OF THE FUTURE 2.0

Here are 10 key Focus Areas of our updated Restaurant of the Future:

Flexibility

The Restaurant of the Future will require flexibility within the whole footprint of the space. Things will change over the course of the life of the restaurant and operators will need to be prepared for that.

Flexible Kitchens. Kitchens, in the future, will be designed to execute a quality, properly sized menu that is innovative and can be serviced by most employees in the restaurant. Totally scratch cooking will become more focused on RTI (ready to innovate) ingredients that are quality, scratch starters that turn into fabulous, flexible recipes. Kitchens will be modular which will allow for stations to close during certain dayparts as well as be totally replaced (i.e., burritos to stir fry) as necessary with the cost of the change primarily being in the equipment.

Flexible Seating. Social distancing will continue to remain a factor and operators will want to maximize the capacity of their dining rooms. Flexible barriers made of a material, similar to movie screens, that can adjust up or down as needed can take a table of eight down to four 2s or any combination. Safety for the customer will be accomplished and maximizing revenue for the operator will as well.

Flexible Everything.Before anything is bolted to the floor, the operator must be confident that no changes will ever happen. It is essential to build for today but be ready for tomorrow. If you are nimble and can adjust and will avoid the down time that many operators faced when COVID started.

Off-Premises and Portability

Off-premises will continue to grow as a percentage of overall sales. Operators should embrace this change and not fight it. For many restaurants, off-premises became a defensive posture to generate any revenue they could. What they learned is that their consumers have embraced this as an option. It is not meant to replace dine-in, but instead provide quality options to increase frequency. Off-premises has evolved from take-out to a plethora of options to fit each consumers specific desires. The Restaurant of the Future will have more than one of these off-premise option:

To execute off-premises effectively, the menu items will need to be portable, which combines the right food and the right packaging. Serving below standards food for off-premises dining is a stop gap and ultimately only those who flawlessly execute will be able to maintain and grow this business. The size of the off-premises menu should be sufficient to satisfy customers cravings, but at the same time be simple enough to execute flawlessly.

Hands Free/Frictionless

Consumers, operators and suppliers are all pivoting and will continue to pivot as the new normal evolves. It starts with the customer having the options to get what they want, when they want it without concern for their safety. Self-serve anything may be a concern for the consumer and touchless everything will result in some added costs for the operator, but better efficiencies will reduce costs. Touchless self-serve beverages, condiments, doors, trash, ordering/payment, and much more are here and evolving. The restaurant of the future will require this. Manufacturer partners will be working hard to support this new touchless phenomenon if they want to be part of the solution.

Technology

The Restaurant of the Future will require technology to make the customer experience safer, faster, and more efficient. The Restaurant of the Future will not have anyone taking orders or payment. The customer will have options to choose what they want, when they want it and then how to pay for it.

APP and Website Improvement.Setting up your APP or website with the ability for customers to order and pay from home or anywhere else provides convenience, speed and efficiency and higher average checks for the operator.

3D Cameras added to Kiosks.Touchscreen kiosks will become no-touch kiosks by adding facial recognition enabled by 3D cameras.

Kiosks with QR Codes and/or NFC chips. Another possible option for frictionless ordering and payment is to add QR codes or chips to download menus with no touch.

Voice Activation.The Restaurant of the Future will use voice activation for placing and paying for orders as well as controlling kitchen equipment.

Simplification/Differentiation/Innovation

There will be no value in complexity in the Restaurant of the Future. Setting up systems, menus and processes that are simplified is the foundation moving forward. Differentiating will be crucial to success and keeping it simple and continuing to innovate will be the key to being different.

Simplification. Trying to be everything to everybody is a recipe for failure. Menu development for instance may be driven by defensive moves triggered by competition. Keeping menus simple will result in SKU reduction and from that less ordering, storage, production, waste, and most important, less mediocre menu items going to your guests. The Restaurant of the Future requires efficiencies to maximize sales and keep costs in line.

Differentiation. Why does a customer come to a given restaurant or brand? Once that is understood everything else will fall in line. Taking emotion out of decisions and focusing on the customer increases the potential of success exponentially. The idea of being better has no merit and is strictly personal. Differentiation defines a brand and it may be the small details that a customer identifies with.

Innovation. Great operators and suppliers innovate, but innovation does not have to be complex. It starts with variations on what your customers view as your go to products. Collaboration between partners will drive greater innovation with bold products being incorporated into multiple menu items.

Below is Section 2 of the Restaurant of the Future (Contact Kinetic12 for Section 1):

Originally posted here:

The Restaurant of the Future 2.0: Off-Premises, Simplification, and the Evolution of Dine-In - FSR magazine