
In designing it, think about how it will best represent your image and objectives.

However, as mentioned before, your menu should be an expression of your restaurant’s personality. What works with some establishments fails at others. There are no rights or wrongs in when you design a menu. Does my menu offer more variety than theirs?ĭetermining these factors will help guide you when you design a menu for your restaurant.What can my restaurant menu offer that others in the area do not?.Knowing this, ask yourself the following:

Eighty percent of a typical restaurant’s business usually comes from the residents living within a 10-minute drive of that location. Also, look at vendors and see how they handle similar challenges, and read industry sources (trade publications, published research) to evaluate trends and successes.Īfter that, consider your location and how it relates to the immediate neighborhood around you. Then look at your competitors: examine their Web sites, menus and marketing efforts and try to see where they went right and how you could compete successfully with those traits. Examine your own numbers first, such as your restaurant’s prospective financial and marketing numbers and its sales mix. In the case of designing the right menu, that means collecting data from various sources. What steps should I take before I design a menu?Īs with most creative endeavors, proper results can’t be achieved without sufficient research. In addition, it must convey your restaurant’s brand in a manner that makes diners excited to be there, want to come back and to recommend it to family and friends. It also should create enough of an impression so that it stays with your client long after the waiter or waitress walks off with it. Your menu is your primary means of representation: It says exactly who you are and what you hope to convey personality-wise.

What should my goals be when I design a menu? When you design a menu it should express your eatery’s personality, focuses your overall operations, promotes profitability, establishes your budget, and keeps your brand fresh in your customer’s mind. A good restaurant menu design is key to any restaurant’s marketing plan.
