3 Tips for Creating a Restaurant Menu That Works

The restaurant business is a tough industry. Consider these statistics:

• Competition is fierce — according to the National Restaurant Association , sales have grown for nine consecutive years.
• A whopping 60 per cent of restaurants close their doors within the first year. At the 5-year mark, only 20 percent are still in business.
• The average profit margin is a mere 6.2 percent , below the mean of 7.5 percent for most industries.

Your menu is more than just a list of the items you offer — it conveys your restaurant's personality. This single document is responsible for introducing customers to your concept and brand, and it is the most important marketing tool you have.

Unfortunately, if you don't give your menu considerable thought, the quality of your food won’t matter. Consider these three tips for ensuring your menu is working for your bottom line and helping you stand out from your competition.

You may assume when a customer opens your menu, they will immediately begin reading the upper-left page, just as if they had opened a book. A menu is not a book, however. In addition to text, a menu has graphics, design elements, and pictures.

Research showsthat the average person will look first on the upper-right page, then their eyes will scan to the upper-left, move down the page, then jump over to the bottom right, and finally, scan upwards and diagonally towards the middle of the opened menu. When you design your menu with these patterns in mind, you can strategically place the high-profit margin items in the best locations.

Did you ever notice the menu is changed often at national chain restaurants? That's because they understand two key points: 1) food cost can rapidly change; and 2) people are easily bored.

Between 2000-2019, the cost of food rose an average of 2.28 percent per year. This means $20 worth of food in 2000 would now be almost $31. You can't just keep using the same menu and prices for years and expect to make a profit. Another reason the chains change their menus frequently is people grow weary of a restaurant when the choices are always the same. A successful restaurant always offers their customers something new and innovative.

Additionally, food tastes change throughout the year. Most people don't want a heavy meal in the middle of summer, they want something light and refreshing. Changing your menu seasonally and designing your dishes around what is in season can also reduce your food costs while simultaneously increasing your profit margin.

also need to know what your overhead and operating expense are. Far too many restaurant owners fail to take the time and do the math. But if you don't, how do you know what to charge? Guessing won't get you anywhere but broke or out of business.

Once you have done the math, make sure there is a method to your madness when you decide menu prices. For example, your menu should not have some items for $X.29, some for $X.75, and some for $X.50. When items are priced this way, servers’ jobs more difficult if you don't use a point-of-sale (POS) system. This delays turning tables, which costs you money.

You may not want to invest the time and money to design new menu. But if you aren't regularly changing your menu, you are losing customers as well as money. Follow the national chains' lead and spend money to make money.

If you want to succeed in the restaurant industry, your menu must be a work of art, science, and psychology all rolled into one. Inkspot Printing can provide you with graphic design services as well as handle all your printing needs. Contactus today to get started creating your new restaurant menu.