Restaurant Tips

I’ve never ran a restaurant but if I did and it wasn’t making money, I would watch at least one episode of Kitchen Nightmares on Fox to find out how (elementary rules) to make my restaurant shine. This is Restaurant 101. It’s premise is simple: to help a failing restaurant succeed. Led by Gordon Ramsay he’s his classic self. Straight-forward and abrasive yet sincere. In this particular episode, he was called in to turn-around a restaurant, the Handlebar on Long Island, New York. Good food and cleanliness are not in abundance. And a disgruntled and ambivalent owner contributes to the drama.

To bring success to the restaurant Ramsay does the simple and obvious. Clean. Give patrons the (good) unexpected – free food. Timeliness. Good, hot food. Unfortunately, fixing what’s broke is more difficult than that. It’s revealed that the head chef doesn’t want to cook and is overwhelmed by a unmanageable menu. Furthermore, she doesn’t communicate when things aren’t going well. Like so many of the previous nights, this one ends in disaster.

Next, Ramsay’s crew does a complete interior makeover of the Handlebar and christens it Long Island’s first gastropub. The employees give blank looks until the concept was explained. Good food. Reasonable prices. To reopen the Handlebar, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister is brought in to promote the restaurant. Everybody goes on a motorcycle ride and passes out flyers. For the grand reopening, a reduced and simplified menu is presented to a packed house. Experiencing a few bumps, tims goes by, and everybody’s talking and the restaurant is making money.

What did I observe? A few life lessons in action. Hire people with enthusiasm. Find people that are inspired and passionate. Realize that everyone’s working for themselves and you should appreciate them. When you’re overwhelmed ask for help. Communicate. Learn to delegate. Accept criticism and be willing to change. Listen. Above all else, especially for a restaurant, keep your work areas clean. Pigs are clean it’s just that we don’t allow them to be. Be a proud owner and you’ll attract proud employees.

Note: The producer’s have removed the desire to want to shoot the messenger.