Top 4 Design Tips for Restaurant Owners in 2019
Finding premium restaurant space in Toronto, can be difficult depending on your budget. Since commercial real estate is becoming increasingly harder to find, Restaurants are having to use smaller, more compact commercial units.
While renovating smaller units in Toronto can be stressful at first – with some planning, ambition and creativity you can organize and streamline your project to make construction as efficient as possible.
With the skill of design and organization, you can maximize the available commercial space to best suit your needs. The following tips can be used to help you improve your potential design and boost customer satisfaction:
Front / Entrance:
The front entrance of your restaurant should be one of the final areas of your design plan. As many restaurant owners make the mistake of running out of kitchen space in the planning stage, leaving the front entrance for the final area to design this will make sure your main priorities are covered.
However, this isn’t a way of saying the front entrance is any less important! In our opinion, the front entrance is one of the most important areas to design as it is the best way to impress your customers. This area should clearly represent your restaurant’s brand, your front entrance and main waiting area should be able to impress your customers with a warm, memorable and welcoming area.
Main Dining / Bar Area:
Standard design rules usually have the main dining area as 60-65% of your restaurant’s whole floor plan.
This area of your new restaurant should mainly focus on providing your customers with comfortable, inviting seating layout with large walking areas in between for your staff to safely transport food and beverages to the customers table.
As mixed seating options can help make the most of your given space, adding a variety of trendy counter-top tables around the perimeter will provide plenty of seating accommodation. This will also free up a lot of centre space for additional tables and/or booth options.
The Kitchen / Food Prep Area:
While your main dining area of your restaurant should be approximately 60% of your floor plan, the remaining 30-40% is best used for the “engine” of your restaurant – the kitchen! The kitchen is one of the most important areas of your restaurant as the food is ultimately what your customers are there for.
Designing your kitchen to be spacious with all of the necessary food equipment allows your chefs/cooks to work their magic – providing your customers with a memorable and delicious experience. Designing your kitchen well also helps reduce the risk of accidents or injuries as your staff is not running into each other while they prepare food. This helps your kitchen staff to navigate the food preparation area without the risk of injuries.
Commercial Washroom Area:
Helpful things to keep in mind when planning your commercial washroom space is:
- The current location of plumbing fixtures and hardware
- The comfort level of your customers
Firstly, when you place your commercial washrooms near your kitchen, you will save yourself a lot of hassle and unnecessary expenses when it comes to setting up your commercial plumbing and drainage system. Also, you should begin ordering your Toilet partitions and washroom accessories at this time to ensure that they are ready to be installed once construction has completed on your restroom. Our friends over at Specialty Product Hardware (SPH) are Toronto’s commercial washroom experts and can supply, deliver and install all styles of toilet partitions including powder coated metal, plastic laminate, phenolic, solid plastic and stainless steel. They also can provide all washroom accessories such as hand dryers, baby change tables, dispensers, and much more.
Secondly, having a commercial restroom that opens directly into your dining room area might make your customers a little bit uncomfortable and lead to less repeat business. Planning your restrooms in a way that are accessible but not visible from the dining area will ensure that your customers have a pleasant and memorable experience at your new restaurant.
Need more information about your new restaurant? Or maybe you’re looking to start construction? Give us a call at (647) 341-1030 to speak to a Toronto commercial construction specialist in your area.
