It's not hard to see that experiential dining is on the rise. From Instagram-worthy tea bars to farm-stay tour meals to Eatertainment venues, consumers are demanding unique foodservice concepts that combine great food, good times and exceptional ambiance. Conversely, creating functional spaces, keeping costs down and meeting rollout deadlines when designing and building culinary spaces that wow and entertain is not easy. Complexities inherent in jaw-dropping concepts cause: hesitancy in investors, headaches for employees, cost concerns for accountants, and missed deadlines that disappoint everyone.
The key to lowering costs is to work with foodservice consultants and procurement experts who can identify savings while creating the one-of-a-kind magic and fun that keeps diners coming back. Look for these two identifying characteristics when choosing consultants and equipment and supply providers:
Find Consultants Who Are Out of the "Design Silo"
The more complex the foodservice concept, the larger the number of design experts that tend engage in a project. The design "team" in many of these complex projects can act as competing forces and can include: Architects, Engineers, Food and Beverage Directors, Corporate Construction Management, Owner's Representatives, Front of House Specialists, Corporate Chef's, Foodservice Consultants, General Contractors, Foodservice Equipment Companies, Interior Designers….. and more. Often, these forces are inherently self-interested or simply ignorant of the "big picture". Too often, work silos occur and the hierarchy of decision making is lost.
Also often lost, is the experiential concept that, if recaptured, comes at a very large price tag as well as compromises that are not brand positive. As spaces shift, utilities become scarce and seating and gaming areas shrink, costs rise and fingers begin to point. Specialized professionals lacking in cross-functional knowledge create scope gaps and situations that threaten the enjoyment of your diners and the balance sheet of your foodservice concept.
To eliminate "Design Silos" - where many highly-specialized (and expensive) professionals approach a highly-complex foodservice concept - it's best for brands to retain overall decision-making while employing a single Open Design Team that can guide the creation of an exceptional concept in totality. In Open Design:
A. Guest Experience and Back of House functionality create the core of a foodservice design.
B. Utilities, capacity, code compliance, construction concerns, and operating costs are considered with each decision that is made.
When a dining destination is more than a place to just grab a bite, hiring a Foodservice Consultant that can manage architecture, engineering, interior design and FF&E Selection is a must!
Leverage The Power of Full-Service Procurement Specialists
For concepts where multi-unit locations are neither unique or customized, buying in bulk from multiple vendors - equipment companies, small wares specialists, suppliers of various art and fixtures - makes a lot of sense. Conversely, this established workflow does not work as well - or at all - when building experiential foodservice chains.
Just as in the design-phase of a concept, the bidding and procurement process can also create silos where the end product is disjointed, ineffectively constructed, and diners feel like they have "been there before". Experiential concepts must truly be authentic while retaining the "special sauce" that makes the brand unique and function as designed.
Employing a knowledgeable full-service procurement agent for furniture, fixtures, equipment and decor is a route to creating multi-unit brands where each location feels - and truly is - unique. This doesn't mean that build outs and procurement become more expensive. Effective buying power can be created as a provisioner with a substantial procurement portfolio is able to source a large number of items for each location. By creating breadth and depth in a procurement package, a skilled supplier with cross-functional capacity can also lower consolidation and installation costs while coordinating an aesthetic that connects guest experience, back and front of house workflow, and your brand standards.
Checks and balances in the design processes can easily be maintained while limiting the number of design and procurement agents utilized. In fact, a brand that partners with three or less experience-creating-experts is better able to ensure accountability for meeting deadlines and driving down costs - knowing exactly who to go to for which scope of work.
To simplify and save when designing and building your experiential dining concepts, look for consultants who are out of the silo and procurement specialists who can understand your brand while having the knowledge and ability to source widely.
Author: Reach out to the author, Matthew Murray, at matthew@horizonequipment.com