After months, maybe even years, of planning and preparing, opening your restaurant is a big deal. And while finally opening your doors to customers can be exciting, the first few days, weeks, and months of operations will be directly influential on the long-term success of your business.
That’s why it’s important that the launch of your restaurant goes as smoothly as possible.
Rather than jump right into the deep end, it’s a good idea to test the waters first. Hosting a soft opening is a great way to do this.
Keep reading for tips on how to plan a soft opening for your restaurant.
What Does ‘Soft Opening’ Mean?
If you’re not familiar with how a soft opening works, we’ll break it down.
Leading up to your grand opening, you invite a select group of people (friends, family members, colleagues, industry influencers, etc.) to dine at your restaurant on a specific date and time. Treating them as customers, you provide service as you would on a regular day. At the end of the service, you can collect feedback from attendees about what they liked and disliked.
A soft opening is like the restaurant equivalent of a dress rehearsal. Your team can go through the motions of service without the pressures of a paid audience (in this case, your future customers).
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Why Should You Host a Soft Opening?
Organizing a soft opening for your restaurant can take time, but it’s absolutely worth it.
In the restaurant industry, first impressions matter. Customers, influencers, and critics are always looking for the next best spot in town and with the right marketing plan, you can get a lot of attention just by being the newest restaurant on the block. You’ll want to meet and exceed diners’ expectations when that buzz starts to build.
No matter how much planning and preparing you put into your restaurant, there will always be unexpected issues that come up. Hosting a soft opening is an invaluable opportunity to practice service systems, identify strengths and weaknesses, and make any necessary adjustments before customers start walking through your door.
How to Start Planning
Hosting a soft opening can be super valuable. However, it will take some planning and coordination to set up.
Let’s break down some of the basic steps of planning a soft opening for your restaurant.
Areas of Focus
Hosting a soft opening allows you to practice and test out many different aspects of your service. But if there are any specific areas you’d like to focus on, it’s a good idea to incorporate them into your soft opening plan.
For example, your soft opening is a perfect time to ensure your POS (point of sale) system is set up properly. Even if you don’t intend to bill your test customers, it’s great practice for your staff and can bring to light potential issues in advance.
Deciding on Dates
In terms of logistics, you’ll want to think carefully about when you host your soft opening. Depending on how much you’d like to work through before the official launch, you can choose to run your test service on a specific date or over multiple days.
It’s a good idea to communicate with your staff members in advance to ensure they’ll be available for work on your chosen dates.
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Building a Menu
Crafting a thoughtful menu is one of the most important aspects of running a successful restaurant, and it’s something you’ll want to test during your soft launch. However, you’ll need to decide whether or not you’ll make the full menu available to your test customers.
Some restaurants choose to do a limited offering for simplicity’s sake. This gives you less to manage while your kitchen staff are getting warmed up to service. It also provides the opportunity to focus on dishes that may entail complications or take longer to prepare.
On the other hand, offering the full scope of your menu also has its advantages. For instance, it gives you more variables to test. It can also give you early insight into what dishes stand out to customers.
Think About Invitations
Another important factor to consider is invitees. Remember, you’re not just hosting a dinner party; you’re looking to collect valuable feedback about your service and product. It’s a good idea to invite a diverse mix of test customers. The more perspectives you can get, the better.
Family and friends usually make great test customers. But keep in mind that they may sometimes hold back on the not-so-positive feedback (even if you need to hear it).
You should also invite other restaurant owners and chefs from your community. Not only can they provide helpful feedback from an insider’s point of view, but it also gives you a chance to build relationships within your local food scene.
Have more questions about restaurant ownership? We can help! Send us an email at ryan@carverealestate.com or give us a ring at 416-618-0054 to get started.
