How to Make Your Restaurant Business Consistent Across Many Outlets in the UK

All restaurant businesses with branches in different parts of the UK must have consistency in all aspects of the establishment. The quality of the food and services, the menu, the aesthetic, and the theme must be consistent. As a result, your customers will feel like they’re in the same restaurant even if they’re seated in a different location. You can only achieve consistency through effective restaurant management. Your efforts will improve reviews from customers, which, in turn, will improve business.

Expansion is a common step for restaurant owners whose business has begun to yield tremendous profits. This process can be a great way to increase business and make the restaurant a recognised food business in all the UK. However, it is imperative that there is a high level of consistency among the different branches so that each out looks and feels the same to customers. If one branch is better than the other, the weaker branch will lose business, and that can potentially put you at a loss. Therefore, this article will go over some important restaurant management tips to ensure that your restaurant chain is operating as one unit.

Attention to detail and a dedication to maintaining clear and regular communication among outlets are paramount for attaining success in consistency.

Here’s how to make your restaurant business consistent across many outlets in the UK.

Make a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

An effective aspect of restaurant management is establishing a standard operating procedure (SOP). SOPs are written procedures and practices that guide restaurant managers and staff on how they must conduct operations at each outlet. Here are some reasons why having an SOP for your food business is necessary.

Keeps Vendors and Ingredients Consistent

SOPs should include details about which vendors to deal with and what ingredients are needed for the menu. This way, every restaurant branch will have the same taste and quality of food. Different vendors may provide ingredients with different quality, which can hurt your restaurant business.

Provides Instructions on Workflow and Cooking

Every restaurant has front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house operations. Therefore, all of these operations must occur in conjunction with each other for smooth restaurant management. After the operations and methods of communication are established, it should be standard among all restaurant branches, and SOPs help facilitate that.

Provides Instructions on Recipe and Meal Proportions

SOPs provide detailed instruction on recipes and meal proportions. Thus, the taste of the food will remain the same in all restaurants.

Include a Central Management System

It can help to have a central management system for effective restaurant management with large restaurant chains. It improves communication among all outlets due to real-time changes in the system. Eliminating a communication gap among outlets is necessary for keeping things consistent. Also, it can systematically ensure that all operations are carried out to a specific standard.

Managing Recipes with Ease

A central management system can ensure that a change in a recipe established in one outlet is communicated instantly to all other outlets.

Managing Vendors

It is vital to keep the vendors the same for all your restaurant outlets in the UK for consistent quality of food. The central management system can allow you to create profiles for specific vendors to keep track of them. You can then know if necessary shipments were made to all of your restaurant chain outlets.

Managing Menus

In some cases, you may need to include or remove some dishes from the menu. The real-time communication by the central management system will keep the menu the same across all branches.

Keep the Interior Design the Same

An integral part of how to make your restaurant business consistent across many outlets is to keep the interior design the same. You must remember that it is still the same restaurant, so the theme, aesthetic, and ambiance should not change. People associate the look and feel of your food business with your brand too. You could use the same vendors for interior design to maintain consistency. If that is not available, then try to keep the colours and look as similar as possible. A familiar design for your restaurant outlets can help return customers feel at ease at the new branches they visit.

Train Your Employees

Proper training goes a long way in ensuring that the customer service is top quality and consistent throughout the restaurant chain. Restaurant managers must establish the goals and objectives that the employees must accomplish. At the same time, managers should explain what is expected from employees in terms of performance so that a certain standard is set. Training guides can help with the training process. These guides are especially useful for new employees but also help experienced staff to refresh their knowledge. It’s in your best interest to also include the restaurant’s mission in the guide so that the staff knows what the restaurant is trying to achieve and how they must play an active role in that mission.

Read more on our post on how to train new restaurant staff

Keep the Equipment the Same

The right tools are important for achieving specific results in food and service quality in every restaurant. Therefore, you must aim to keep the equipment the same in all of the restaurant outlets. As a result, the product quality will be the same because of similar cooking procedures across the board.

One thing you must keep in mind if you want to know how to make your restaurant business consistent across many outlets is that you must strive to operate as one entity instead of individual outlets.

If you like this article and its details on managing your food business in the UK, then visit our website’s blog section. We have a plethora of articles on restaurant marketing and restaurant management. Our work aims to provide invaluable restaurant trade secrets that you can use to take your business closer to success. We can also connect you with skilled restaurant consultants for professional services!