How to get customers?

[Twiddy]

Hi everyone. Long shot but I am hoping to get some advice hopefully from people who have been in a similar situation.

My family and I opened a restaurant in January 2022. We opened to much fan fare - busy everyday for the whole of January and February, sold out every weekend and many weekdays. We had good press with BBC Radio and local papers visiting.

Then near enough overnight our trade stopped. Most days we are empty. We are lucky to get 1 or 2 tables on a weekend and definitely near to no trade on a weekday.

I have read article after article and cannot see our problem or what to fix.

We have 5 star reviews on every platform and social channel (only half a star down on Just Eat for slow delivery). We are told our food tastes and looks amazing consistently. We are told our service is great and the venue looks great. We actively post to all social channels.

Our new menu has just launched but brought in now extra traffic.

I am not sure what to do. All the suggestions in every blog I read we have implemented but do not see results.

Has anyone got any suggestions of what else I can try?

 

[MOIC]

Are other restaurants in your area suffering similar problems that you're aware of?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

What have you done to market the business?

Are you getting business via the delivery platforms?

 

[fisicx]

Have you got a website and google profile? Are you all over social media? Are you on justeat, Uber eats and others? Are you on a busy road where people are likely to see you and drop in?

And as already said: what marketing are you doing?

 

[Twiddy]

Are other restaurants in your area suffering similar problems that you're aware of?

Speaking to other restaurant owners in the area, they are saying they are quieter than usual - but they do have customers and regular trade.

What have you done to market the business?

Are you getting business via the delivery platforms?

We have been on local radio, BBC radio, several newspapers and local online press. We have done some paid advertising in a local newspaper. We are very active on social media and get fairly decent and growing organic reach (Facebook, Google, Instagram and now Tiktok).

We are on Just Eat and Deliveroo as well as a local delivery platform (but their support and engagement is low to start with). Just Eat is busier than Deliveroo (expected in this area) but very quiet. Most days and nights we have no orders. We are averaging £80 on Just Eat a week - other similar businesses in the area are taking £1500 per week on JE.

Have you got a website and google profile? Are you all over social media? Are you on justeat, Uber eats and others? Are you on a busy road where people are likely to see you and drop in?

And as already said: what marketing are you doing?

Yes we have a website and SEO is locally geared. We have a Google profile which posts updates - but doesn't show as well as in Google searches or maps as I would like it to for key search terms (I am trying to work on this). We are on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

We are on the high street with car park out the back with prominent signage.

 

[fisicx]

What's the name and location of the Restaurant?

 

[Twiddy]

Got Mallow in Hartlepool
www.gotmallow.co.uk

 

[The Byre]

We opened to much fan fare - busy everyday for the whole of January and February, sold out every weekend and many weekdays. We had good press with BBC Radio and local papers visiting.

So everybody came - but then -

We are lucky to get 1 or 2 tables on a weekend and definitely near to no trade on a weekday.

Ouch!

Without visiting your restaurant and trying your food, nobody can say what you should do.

But here are the reasons people do not go to a specific restaurant -

The food. I have tried all the restaurants in our area and they all suck. None of them can sell me a plate of food that I couldn't make at home and do a better job at a fraction of the price - and I'm including Indian, Middle Eastern and Chinese dishes in that lot. They all seem to think that frozen stuff is good enough - it never is! They all think that sauces come in large catering cans or bottles from some junk wholesaler like Brakes. They think that mayonnaise and ketchup are things one should buy ready-made and curries involve some ready-made gunk. In short, they are all lazy and clueless!

The location. Make a map of your area and plot the location of every restaurant and what type of restaurant each one is. Ask yourself what is missing! And most important - do people want whatever it is that is missing?

Decor. Not only is our local Indian curry house selling bad ready-made rubbish, but the decor is terrible. Nasty and cheap LED lights hurt the eyes and irritating pseudo-Indian Musak hurts the ears.

The economy. When times are bad, luxuries like eating out are the first to go.

The personnel. Slow, rude, sullen and/or just incompetent. In one local eatery, the cook can be seen smoking whilst cooking - a clear sign of dirty habits and an inability to taste the food. At another, the waitress had dirty fingernails, was obese and smelled funny.

The menu. Pretentious dishes are a big turn-off - you know the ones I mean, all that "Sniff a grape and nibble an orchid!" nonsense at silly prices. Also off-putting are large menus with 20 or more main dishes as it is a clear sign of over-prepping, usually aided and abetted by Chef Microwave!

So assuming that you do not have a microwave or a can opener in the kitchen and the deep freeze is only filled with certain types of red meat and given a decent decor and a simple menu and you have a good location and the cook is a non-smoker - it is probably the menu.

Perhaps you are selling the wrong food for that area, or you are specialising in some strange direction that puts many people off (kosher, vegan, whatever) or you just do not have any stand-out dishes that people cannot make at home for whatever reason. For example, a nice soufflé is usually too much hassle to make at home. Or how about (for Chinese dishes) simple vegetables that you can grow in the kitchen like bamboo shoots and garlic shoots or baby bok choys?

Sometimes it is just the simplest of things that has the punters coming back for more - shallow fried salmon fillets, boiled potatoes and some fresh green veg - but here's the difference - served with your in-house signature mayonnaise and finished off with a sexy lemon soufflé?

 

[japancool]

Looking at your website, I see you serve marshmallows. OK, I like marshmallows but I'm sure not going to go to a restaurant that specialises in them for dinner. Or for lunch, for that matter.

When would I go? Maybe if I was taking a young lady with a sweet tooth, but I can't think of many other reasons.

When the economy is the way it is, people aren't going to go to a restaurant just for dessert. If, in fact, you serve other food, I suggest you put it on your website. I don't want to have to join anything to see what you serve.

 

[Twiddy]

So everybody came - but then -

Ouch!

Without visiting your restaurant and trying your food, nobody can say what you should do.

But here are the reasons people do not go to a specific restaurant -

The food. I have tried all the restaurants in our area and they all suck. None of them can sell me a plate of food that I couldn't make at home and do a better job at a fraction of the price - and I'm including Indian, Middle Eastern and Chinese dishes in that lot. They all seem to think that frozen stuff is good enough - it never is! They all think that sauces come in large catering cans or bottles from some junk wholesaler like Brakes. They think that mayonnaise and ketchup are things one should buy ready-made and curries involve some ready-made gunk. In short, they are all lazy and clueless!

The location. Make a map of your area and plot the location of every restaurant and what type of restaurant each one is. Ask yourself what is missing! And most important - do people want whatever it is that is missing?

Decor. Not only is our local Indian curry house selling bad ready-made rubbish, but the decor is terrible. Nasty and cheap LED lights hurt the eyes and irritating pseudo-Indian Musak hurts the ears.

The economy. When times are bad, luxuries like eating out are the first to go.

The personnel. Slow, rude, sullen and/or just incompetent. In one local eatery, the cook can be seen smoking whilst cooking - a clear sign of dirty habits and an inability to taste the food. At another, the waitress had dirty fingernails, was obese and smelled funny.

The menu. Pretentious dishes are a big turn-off - you know the ones I mean, all that "Sniff a grape and nibble an orchid!" nonsense at silly prices. Also off-putting are large menus with 20 or more main dishes as it is a clear sign of over-prepping, usually aided and abetted by Chef Microwave!

So assuming that you do not have a microwave or a can opener in the kitchen and the deep freeze is only filled with certain types of red meat and given a decent decor and a simple menu and you have a good location and the cook is a non-smoker - it is probably the menu.

Perhaps you are selling the wrong food for that area, or you are specialising in some strange direction that puts many people off (kosher, vegan, whatever) or you just do not have any stand-out dishes that people cannot make at home for whatever reason. For example, a nice soufflé is usually too much hassle to make at home. Or how about (for Chinese dishes) simple vegetables that you can grow in the kitchen like bamboo shoots and garlic shoots or baby bok choys?

Sometimes it is just the simplest of things that has the punters coming back for more - shallow fried salmon fillets, boiled potatoes and some fresh green veg - but here's the difference - served with your in-house signature mayonnaise and finished off with a sexy lemon soufflé?

Thanks for the pointers above. To be honest - it is everything I have looked at and considered.

To clarify - we are a dessert restaurant but I can answer the points.

The food - We have had nothing but positive feedback on our food. We only use the best ingredients and everything is fresh.
The location - That is a good point. I will try this one, but we are high street facing and even push our drinks and cakes for the shopping trade.
Decor - The building went through a complete renovation. We took the property in September and had 3 months extensive renovations. We do get positive feedback and have been named as an 'Instagrammable hot spot'.
Economy - This is probably a contributing factor. But I am trying to figure out why other places are still getting some trade whereas we aren't.
Personnel - always positive feedback on customer service
Menu - We have launched a new menu this month to expand our reach. We now include breakfast and even non-dessert options to cast a wider net. We know some word of mouth has said we are expensive but looking at the menu of other similar eateries in our locality - we are cheaper or the same. I am not sure of how to get the message out that we are affordable.

 

[Twiddy]

Looking at your website, I see you serve marshmallows. OK, I like marshmallows but I'm sure not going to go to a restaurant that specialises in them for dinner. Or for lunch, for that matter.

When would I go? Maybe if I was taking a young lady with a sweet tooth, but I can't think of many other reasons.

When the economy is the way it is, people aren't going to go to a restaurant just for dessert. If, in fact, you serve other food, I suggest you put it on your website. I don't want to have to join anything to see what you serve.

Thanks for this insight. We did open with being unique in mind to stand out. We did attract a crowd and people do seem to love the products. Perhaps the economy is just the impact.

We have diversified our menu to include breakfast, bagels, sandwiches, pizza and more traditional desserts. To showcase this it is probably a redesign of the website to push this.

 

[MOIC]

The menu is very oriented to a sweet tooth, perhaps far too much so. Have you considered that the menu may be the issue?

Marshmallows maybe a 'one time' visit to check it out, but not for repeat trade, especially in the near future where funds will be much tighter than usual.

 

[fisicx]

The problem you are now known locally for being a desert eatery not a restaurant. All those people who came for the opening did so because it was new. But I don't go out in the evening for pudding. I go out for a meal. I suspect many of those who came for the opening feel the same way.

There are so many things wrong with the website - but you need to upgrade your membership to get a website review (but I will say: weebly - yuk).

I looked at your Google profile and it tells you do marshmallow. Nothing else. If I wanted to place and order I can't because it's a 404. The last time anyone left a review was 3 months ago - and some of those look fake.

How many of your initial customers have returned?

 

[The Byre]

Oh Boy! I mean - WTF???

The menu is wrong. The decor is wrong. Sorry to have to be brutally honest - but someone has to tell you the hard truth. If you keep it the way it is, you will fail.

Close the place down for one day and get busy! Take that silly cloud nonsense down, take those dreadful fairy lights down and put intimate hanging lights over the tables. Replace the catering tables and chairs with restaurant furniture made out of wood. Get rid of the artwork and the cushions. Paint all that purple over with Dulux Medium Warm Grey and/or Light Grey.

Pizza does not have Nutella on it - ever! Just reading some of the dishes on your menu makes me feel ill! I cannot find a single item anywhere on your menu that I would put in my mouth. Seriously! Fish? Steak? A soup? Broccoli? Just ordinary chips, for Pete's sake! Regular food that people will be happy to pay for! Right now, they are not paying and your prices are too low anyway!

My brutal summary - change everything! You may like that stuff - but you are not the customer. Running a restaurant is not a hobby - it's a business and a bloody hard business at that!

Pivot now or fail. It's that simple!

And once again - sorry to have tell you these things!

 

[Twiddy]

The menu is very oriented to a sweet tooth, perhaps far too much so. Have you considered that the menu may be the issue?

Marshmallows maybe a 'one time' visit to check it out, but not for repeat trade, especially in the near future where funds will be much tighter than usual.

We have considered this hence diversifying our menu. We have non marshmallow options and do push this on social media.

The problem you are now known locally for being a desert eatery not a restaurant. All those people who came for the opening did so because it was new. But I don't go out in the evening for pudding. I go out for a meal. I suspect many of those who came for the opening feel the same way.

There are so many things wrong with the website - but you need to upgrade your membership to get a website review (but I will say: weebly - yuk).

I looked at your Google profile and it tells you do marshmallow. Nothing else. If I wanted to place and order I can't because it's a 404. The last time anyone left a review was 3 months ago - and some of those look fake.

How many of your initial customers have returned?

Thanks for the insight it does make sense. We may need to remarket and communicate we are more than marshmallow some how.

I will take on board the Google search. May need to push our non marshmallow options more.

The reviews are interesting. I can assure none are fake - I remember each person commenting at the time I replied. Our most recent review is 3 weeks ago and a month ago before that. So not sure why only the oldest ones are showing for you.

We have some returning customers. We have a handful of 'regulars' who are every other day to weekly visitors.

 

[Twiddy]

Oh Boy! I mean - WTF???

The menu is wrong. The decor is wrong. Sorry to have to be brutally honest - but someone has to tell you the hard truth. If you keep it the way it is, you will fail.

Close the place down for one day and get busy! Take that silly cloud nonsense down, take those dreadful fairy lights down and put intimate hanging lights over the tables. Replace the catering tables and chairs with restaurant furniture made out of wood. Get rid of the artwork and the cushions. Paint all that purple over with Dulux Medium Warm Grey and/or Light Grey.

Pizza does not have Nutella on it - ever! Just reading some of the dishes on your menu makes me feel ill! I cannot find a single item anywhere on your menu that I would put in my mouth. Seriously! Fish? Steak? A soup? Broccoli? Just ordinary chips, for Pete's sake! Regular food that people will be happy to pay for! Right now, they are not paying and your prices are too low anyway!

My brutal summary - change everything! You may like that stuff - but you are not the customer. Running a restaurant is not a hobby - it's a business and a bloody hard business at that!

Pivot now or fail. It's that simple!

And once again - sorry to have tell you these things!

I am happy with honest feedback. However I do have to say that just because it's not your taste doesn't mean it isn't others. I am not opposed to changing the menu or direction but just to support my knowledge of the area...

- desserts are popular in this town. Steaks, soup and veg, not so much
- these new prices are cheaper in response to being told we are little on the high side. Being too low I do not think is the issue - our closest competition has a menu with the most expensive item being 4.50 - really!
- I do know this is a business not a hobby. I have another 2 businesses that are doing OK and trying my hand something new. I take this seriously. I have already invest £35k in this one so want to work, clearly!
- the decor is commented on. We only had the initial media storm because of our ceiling and the commissioned art work.

I an open to changes, but being another generic eatery does not work in this town. Granted this might be too out there but I know the area and sadly these suggestions will not work either for the client base.

 

[fisicx]

You may be diversifying but the name of the business is ‘get mallow’. Not ‘get mallow, pizza and breakfast’. If you were called ‘Twiddy’s then you wouldn’t be tied to one product.

 

[MBE2017]

I think your website comes across as confused, more like an ice cream parlour than a restaurant. Your menu is errrrm, interesting, nothing to my taste, the decor is garish, not somewhere I would take a lady, a ten year old maybe, but not a partner.

As mentioned you state you are the UK’s only marshmallow based restaurant, ever think there could be a reason for that? In my area we have a Heavenly Deserts place, it does well, but it has a broad range of quality deserts for people wanting a treat.

Do not expect figures like a real restaurant, and as also mentioned get rid of that Nutella pizza, plus a few other questionable offerings. I think you and your family need to sit down and have a very urgent rethink, you might like marshmallows, but I doubt they would come in the top 50 thought of foods these days.

Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear, just my opinion, I hope you can sort things out.

 

[Twiddy]

You may be diversifying but the name of the business is ‘get mallow’. Not ‘get mallow, pizza and breakfast’. If you were called ‘Twiddy’s then you wouldn’t be tied to one product.

Good point. A little rebrand might be needed! Will look into this.

 

[MBE2017]

- these new prices are cheaper in response to being told we are little on the high side. Being too low I do not think is the issue - our closest competition has a menu with the most expensive item being 4.50 - really!
- I do know this is a business not a hobby. I have another 2 businesses that are doing OK and trying my hand something new. I take this seriously. I have already invest £35k in this one so want to work, clearly!
- the decor is commented on. We only had the initial media storm because of our ceiling and the commissioned art work.

I an open to changes, but being another generic eatery does not work in this town. Granted this might be too out there but I know the area and sadly these suggestions will not work either for the client base.

Your prices should be dictated by your profit requirements, not what anyone else charges, believe it or not most will tell you you are too expensive, sounds like a treat? People pay extra for quality and treats.

As for generic restaurants not working in your area, did you not say competitors were doing £1500 a week on Just Eat alone whilst you are only doing £80? Figures do not lie, it sounds like generic restaurants do better to myself.

 

[Twiddy]

I think your website comes across as confused, more like an ice cream parlour than a restaurant. Your menu is errrrm, interesting, nothing to my taste, the decor is garish, not somewhere I would take a lady, a ten year old maybe, but not a partner.

As mentioned you state you are the UK’s only marshmallow based restaurant, ever think there could be a reason for that? In my area we have a Heavenly Deserts place, it does well, but it has a broad range of quality deserts for people wanting a treat.

Do not expect figures like a real restaurant, and as also mentioned get rid of that Nutella pizza, plus a few other questionable offerings. I think you and your family need to sit down and have a very urgent rethink, you might like marshmallows, but I doubt they would come in the top 50 thought of foods these days.

Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear, just my opinion, I hope you can sort things out.

Believe it or not - of the few coming in they pick either bubble waffle or Nutella pizza. But points noted. We will have a look at this over the weekend.

 

[Twiddy]

Your prices should be dictated by your profit requirements, not what anyone else charges, believe it or not most will tell you you are too expensive, sounds like a treat? People pay extra for quality and treats.

As for generic restaurants not working in your area, did you not say competitors were doing £1500 a week on Just Eat alone whilst you are only doing £80? Figures do not lie, it sounds like generic restaurants do better to myself.

Actually, the 1500 per week on JE were for other dessert outlets. The pizza parlours and pubs etc. are doing higher than that.

Sadly this town doesn't have high disposable income. We have set our prices based on profit margins. We have lowered our profit expectations to better match our competitors.

As a family that always pay more for quality - we are a minority in this town for that style of thinking.

 

[MBE2017]

Believe it or not - of the few coming in they pick either bubble waffle or Nutella pizza. But points noted. We will have a look at this over the weekend.

I can believe it, the question you need to answer, do you want these high spenders, or other clients who spend a lot more more regularly? You need a vision for your business and to stick to it.

Slightly different but when I sold on markets I bought the best quality gear, not cheap rubbish, I was 8x the cost of my nearest competitors, but also gave lifetime guarantees, excellent service etc. When price objections were raised, I always mentioned I had no competitors, because only quality shops charging double my rates sold my stock.

I outsold everyone else easily, at much higher profit levels than they could achieve.

 

[fisicx]

Sadly this town doesn't have high disposable income.

Which means a dessert parlour (or even a sit down pizza) is a special treat - maybe a once a year thing.

 

[MOIC]

Oh Boy! I mean - WTF???

The menu is wrong. The decor is wrong. Sorry to have to be brutally honest - but someone has to tell you the hard truth. If you keep it the way it is, you will fail.

Close the place down for one day and get busy! Take that silly cloud nonsense down, take those dreadful fairy lights down and put intimate hanging lights over the tables. Replace the catering tables and chairs with restaurant furniture made out of wood. Get rid of the artwork and the cushions. Paint all that purple over with Dulux Medium Warm Grey and/or Light Grey.

Pizza does not have Nutella on it - ever! Just reading some of the dishes on your menu makes me feel ill! I cannot find a single item anywhere on your menu that I would put in my mouth. Seriously! Fish? Steak? A soup? Broccoli? Just ordinary chips, for Pete's sake! Regular food that people will be happy to pay for! Right now, they are not paying and your prices are too low anyway!

My brutal summary - change everything! You may like that stuff - but you are not the customer. Running a restaurant is not a hobby - it's a business and a bloody hard business at that!

Pivot now or fail. It's that simple!

And once again - sorry to have tell you these things!

Brutal.

But the truth.

 

[The Byre]

Actually, the 1500 per week on JE were for other dessert outlets. The pizza parlours and pubs etc. are doing higher than that.

Well, there's your answer!

Sadly this town doesn't have high disposable income.

There are some extremely wealthy people around that area and I know of one country restaurant not far from you that runs its own farm and a plate is usually around £100+. One of the world's leading Aston Martin dealers is in your area.

Not every Hartlepuddian is a knuckle-dragging skinhead on the dole. There are doctors, lawyers, business managers and owners, engineers and builders and they want real food, not a Nutella pizza!

There is little point in being defensive about the direction you have taken - you have proven beyond all doubt that it was completely and utterly the wrong direction.

 

[japancool]

I found the menu - didn't look hard enough the first time, but it wasn't obvious. I was looking for a header item that said "menu".

Looking through your menu, you only have about 6 savoury items.

Now, I would never go to your place to eat. I *can't* eat most of the items on your menu. I'm diabetic, and unless I took a huge dose of insulin, your menu would probably kill me.

I *like* gourmet desserts. But as a follow up to a proper meal. A sweet treat is not, in itself, an occasion worth going out especially for. The only times I ever used to go into Patisserie Valerie was when I was travelling and waiting for a train. I most certainly would not take my family to your restaurant and subject them to all that refined sugar, especially not in this day and age when people are worried about obesity.

Sorry, I think it's the wrong concept for a sit-down restaurant.

People these days want to eat more healthily.

 

[alan1302]

Why would you be closed on a Sunday? Would that not be a main day for somewhere like this for families/teens off school?

 

[MOIC]

Being practical, if you want to keep the get mallow 'dream', perhaps keeping 5% of your current menu for the desserts, as well as taking the above advice (brutal but honest), can you change direction with a different focus?

As examples:

go pure vegan

go prime burger

go sizzling steak

go woodfired pizza

You get the idea . . . .

Keep your 'get mallow' for the desserts only

You'll need further investment in new kitchen appliances as well as a professional chef in the category you choose.

If you can walk out of your lease, it may be better to start again, as convincing people in your area you've changed, may take a lot of convincing, time, money & marketing.

Good luck with the decision you decide to take.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I haven't read all the responses, but my opener would be what market research did you do before launching this concept?

Assuming you didn't, now is the time to do some - until you know and understand your customer in depth you will always be just guessing.

The sub text is that you benefited from an initial surge of novelty value which has worn off.

You might be in a segment which requires a constant flow of new customers, but more likely you simply haven't found your ideal repeat customer

 

[fisicx]

There’s a place near my parents well known for fantastic puddings. They have something new each week but keep it a secret. People keep going back for dinner just to discover what’s on the pudding menu. If you post Instagram or wherever you get a two week ban. It works because it’s a surprise for everyone.

 

[Excel-Expert]

We have had a few places open up around here (south Wales valleys) that were very dessert focused and non of them lasted a year. People love a new treat idea and as a result, all of them saw an initial explosion of trade and media interest, but once everyone had tried it they went back to wanting regular meals.

The most successful ones were in the major town centres with high footfall.

What food are the businesses in your area selling to turn over £1500 on JE? If they sell more traditional takeaway meals you are comparing apples with oranges. People are not going to order desserts for an evening meal.

Some of the dessert based takeaways in this area experimented with teaming up with other takeaways, to get desserts added to their menus. They was some success with it, but I think the main stumbling block was different operating hours.

 

[Excel-Expert]

How much of this could be done from the back of a van/truck? (it would need to be well presented / sign written)

You could then go around the big enterprise estates and office parks selling fresh desserts from a truck. Plenty of burger/sandwich type vans roll up outside offices, beep their horn and sell loads. This was pre-covid days mind and I don't know how well they do these days.

You wouldn't get away with a daily route (no wants daily treats), but visiting an estate once a week could result in you becoming a part of a lot of office routines.

A van truck could then be used anywhere there is a big crowd (market days, local events etc)

 

[Mark T Jones]

We have had a few places open up around here (south Wales valleys) that were very dessert focused and non of them lasted a year. People love a new treat idea and as a result, all of them saw an initial explosion of trade and media interest, but once everyone had tried it they went back to wanting regular meals.

The most successful ones were in the major town centres with high footfall.

What food are the businesses in your area selling to turn over £1500 on JE? If they sell more traditional takeaway meals you are comparing apples with oranges. People are not going to order desserts for an evening meal.

Some of the dessert based takeaways in this area experimented with teaming up with other takeaways, to get desserts added to their menus. They was some success with it, but I think the main stumbling block was different operating hours.

On the other hand, ice cream parlours are positively booming - but again, it's all about knowing your audience

 

[Fagin2021]

Agree with many of the above comments. Your premises, website and menu give the impression of a one trick pony - marshmallow and alternatives with mallow creme. Reminds me of the Monty Python spam sketch...

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Would it be possible to get an alcohol licence and turn your parlour into a chic or trendy meeting place, like an oyster bar, but with the emphasis on marshmallow - perhaps with unique mallow-based cocktails like Pina Colada?

 

[BigDreamer]

Just my 2 cents, but I usually wouldn't go in to a desert parlour to have savoury meals such as a Cheese toastie or even something as basic as porridge. Also, a lot of the fancy deserts such as the Tacos and Hanging kebab sound too complicated. I would just want a place where I can order a simple Crepe, Waffle, Pancakes, Cookie Dough, etc. and just choose my toppings on it. It is nice to try a unique place with cool deserts such as Nacho pretzels and Nutella pizza's once or twice and take a few pics for Instagram, but after that, I would just want a good old fashioned Crepe or Cake with toppings of my choice when my sweet tooth hits.

Maybe have a display of cakes and ice-creams as well as some pictures of your other deserts as you can't really see much of what the products will look like which is what usually attracts me to want to want something sweet.

I always go to one specific café because they have a special cake that very few others have. Maybe have something unique to you like that? Marshmallows aren't really my go to desert, and I'd rather pick up a bag of them at Tesco for £1.

My go to dessert at dessert parlours is usually a Crepe with crushed Oreos, Kinder Bueno sauce, Hershey's sauce, and banana toppings with a scoop of ice-cream on the side (don't judge me )

 

[Mark T Jones]

I do a lot of work in the F & B sector, much of it with start-up independents ( I turn away a lot more that I take on)

This thread highlights exactly what goes wrong and why so many fail. (put it another way; everybody has a better idea yet 90% will fail if they actually do it)

My advice first and foremost is to completely ignore anybody's advice (including mine) on product, price colour schemes, licences etc and focus on what matters.


There are 2 things that matter; the first, by a county mile, is your customers. Until you know with absolute clarity who they are how on earth can you know what they want?

Next is process. Successful F & B businesses aren't built on a menu or colour scheme (they can change by the day), they are built on strong processes.

I picked up on an excellent quote from Ken Hom yesterday 'If you want to improve your restaurant's profits, look in the bin'. The boring, invisible detail that separates success from failure.

 

[MOIC]

'If you want to improve your restaurant's profits, look in the bin'.

Yep, perishables are a key component of the food business and why it's vital to employ a good chef, menu preparer and food buyer.

 

[Benjamin Brain]

Hi @Twiddy, congratulations on the excellent launch of your business and sorry to hear about the decline in business since.

Whilst there may be some excellent recommendations contained in these responses, I tend to find the trouble with these things is that it's always almost impossible to "read the label when you're in the jam jar".

I'm a big fan of Gordan Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares and it never ceases to amaze me how so many owners (and this goes for all businesses, not just restaurants) are completely oblivious to what seem like obvious issues when someone with a fresh perspective and fresh eyes takes a look for the first time.

Whether we care to admit it or not, we all have blind spots, biases and unfounded beliefs when it comes to trying to analyse our own business - it's impossible not too.

I would suspect there are a couple of options you've not posted about above that you perhaps know deep down might provide you with some valuable insight.

My two questions to you would be

1) How many of your target customers have you reached out to and asked, actually spoken to face to face, why they don't eat at your spot?

2) Who else do you know that owns a successful restaurant that you could reach out to and would give you honest feedback on where you've not got something quite right?

In any case, I hope that you're able to find the answers you're looking for and get business right back on track.

We usually know deep-down what the answer is, we just need to find the right question first.

 

[MOIC]

An idea . . . .

Children's themed parties for late afternoons?