Chances are, most have fallen victim to a poor restaurant floor plan at one time or another. When a guest gets lost on the way to the restroom, smack foreheads with a server rounding a tight corner or is forced to sit with strangers to allow someone else pass through an aisle way, a flawed restaurant floor plan is to blame.
When developing your own restaurant floor plan, avoid these
disastrous situations by analyzing your restaurant�s specific needs
before jumping into design.
Restaurant Floor Plans: Review your Restaurant Business Plan
Your
restaurant�s business plan represents its concept and vision.
Revisiting it will help influence your restaurant floor plan, reminding
you of your original financial projections, construction budget and
space requirements. It should also define any specific design or
operational needs for your restaurant, such as a bar or cigar lounge.
Your restaurant business plan must outline your branding strategy because it can often affect your restaurant floor plan.
When
redesigning its Cancun location following Hurricane Wilma, Se�or Frogs
incorporated its spontaneous and interactive brand into its new design
by placing a hot tub in the middle of its restaurant floor plan.
Additional floor plan space also had to be allotted for a waterslide
which dumps guests into a nearby lagoon outside of the restaurant.
Restaurant Floor Plans: The Basics
There
are several vital components that must be considered in every
restaurant floor plan � particularly the location of the kitchen,
dining areas and restrooms. Every restaurant should have a functional
and practical floor plan that takes into consideration the flow of wait
staff from the kitchen to the dining area or from the dining area to
the restrooms.
Hostess stations and waiting areas must be in the
front of the restaurant where people first enter your restaurant. Other
front-of-the-house areas include the dining room, bar and public
restrooms.
Restaurant floor plans for kitchens should also
encourage a natural flow of traffic, making it easy for employees to
move about quickly and efficiently. Designate space in your floor plan
for prep areas, cooking stations, a dishwashing zone and food storage
space. You may also choose to include an office, employee bathrooms or
a break room in the back of the house.
Restaurant Floor Plans: Staff Considerations
Each
member of your staff has different demands concerning the restaurant.
Your manager will be concerned with delivery access and security
issues, while your chef will be more focused on kitchen maneuverability
and functionality.
Make a detailed outline of your restaurant
floor plan, and examine the potential successes and failures of your
conceptual floor plan through the eyes of your managers, chef, servers,
bussers and bartenders.
Look at Other Restaurant Floor Plans
Study other restaurant operations before developing your own floor plan. Note what works or doesn�t work for them.
Fast
food restaurants are usually boxy floor plans so that guests can move
through them quickly. Casual and fine-dining restaurants are usually
divided into multiple dining areas to create a more intimate and
leisurely environment.
Restaurant Floor Plans: Make Specifications
Once
you have carefully considered the needs of your restaurant, you can
begin generating measurements and drawings for your restaurant floor
plan. A team of restaurant concept development professionals can help
draft your initial floor plan for maximum efficiency, taking the
overall circulation within the restaurant into account.
While
your restaurant floor plan is being drafted, you can begin determining
seating capacity, dimensions of restrooms, bar area and storage
facilities and locations for server stations.
The dining room
and bar must have adequate seating for your guests. Your entire
restaurant should be ADA compliant, meaning that people with
disabilities can maneuver through your establishment with ease.
Unlike menu covers or restaurant uniforms, floor plans are not easy to modify once they are in place.
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