Restaurant in Small Town Request for Marketing Ideas

[suciudaniel98]

Hello! It's finally the first time that I found the courage, or better said, I have found the motivation and reason to start doing something and write about my life. I have finally decided to take responsibility for my life, and this post is the proof.

First, I will give just a short introduction of myself, my family, situation and values, as to understand my point

I have grown in an above-average financially family in a city in Romania, Eastern Europe.

When he was rolling high, he was spending huge amounts, and got into the spending spree of a rags to riches story. He was and still is very practical and resourceful, but he lost his momentum at some point. Due to some bad financial decisions, social decisions etc, my father has gotten into big amounts of debt and started to crumble several years ago. This is, in my opinion, important, because he moved away in a bigger city when he was making the monies. In this spending spree, he ended up buying a big restaurant back in his hometown, which he didn't necessarily invest in for a number of years (not being in that location, it was hard to do that). Mostly, he bought it for opulence. And that's the idea that I want to get to.

Fast forward a few years later, he decided that the best strategic financial choice is to re-open to long forgotten restaurant (which was now a warehouse mostly) and thus he started investing in this landmark. But, the people around the area (being a small town in a post communist country) were still seeing him as an opulent spender, coming back to his hometown just to brag.

Now, a few years later (to the present day) he still invests money in this place, even opened a new place (which doesn't really amount to the ROI that would be necessary to get the money back in this lifetime). Basically, overkill in a business in an area that has little money and with potential customers that don't go there to not 'make more money to the already rich guy'.

Now, I know this is all a very subjective story, and for sure this isn't the only reason there is. But still, I want to keep all these in mind and ask here, is it possible that with good marketing strategies, to change this outcome of an iminent failure/foreclosure, in theory. I know this is just a bit of the story, and it's hard to actually assess something like this, but maybe I am asking about ideas. Leads. Proposals.

So, long story short:

- The area does have potential
- Societal culture revolves around small communities of people
- Money is tight in these areas, a lot of factory workers, hard labors, farmers
- Education is minimal (4-8th grade, high school some, very rough for university numbers)
- Post communist country, still having the values of communism instilled as even my parents grew until mid 20s in that regime
-It's already too late to give up, it's kind of a all or nothing type of scenario, and we are closer to nothing right now

The target is to raise the business enough to be able to get a good price on it to sell it entirely, as no one will buy it if it's not working.

My plan:

Increase marketing strategies and online presence to maximum. Quality of products, service and location in general is great (subjective or course, but we also have lots of reviews that praise the quality)

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE to everyone, and to MJ DeMarco for his inspiring books, forum and call to action!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MrRado]

Hello Daniel. We share a similar life story as I am also into trying to improve a family owned restaurant in the Balkans. Do you mind sharing a little bit more detail about the restaurant so I can share my experience in this industry with you and maybe you will get some value from it?

 

[suciudaniel98]

Hello Daniel. We share a similar life story as I am also into trying to improve a family owned restaurant in the Balkans. Do you mind sharing a little bit more detail about the restaurant so I can share my experience in this industry with you and maybe you will get some value from it?

Hello mrRado and thank you for the reply!

We actually own 2 places in the same town. The first one was a restaurant, at it's peak (roughly 40-20 tears ago), in the community, it was well known and a lot of people were actually visiting, being a kind of a landmark for the local community. The other location is a cafe bar with an outside terrace, also with a high capacity. We have also installed 10 igloos, those types of plastic bubbles that people sit it. All in all, we are seen as very wealthy, and this adds (in my opinion at least) to the fact that people don't want to come to us.

Also to this, we add the temper of my dad. He is a great person, but he gets mad a lot and screams and tries to get in every little piece of process there is in the business (and I also know that people are kind of lazy, and the quality of good workers in a small community is very limited) so he has delegation problems, trying to micro manage everything in the business. That also gets very tiring for him and for the other employees, which often leave. We are left only with a handful of them.

I see all these grave problems in my opinion, and I have tried to tell him and correct these mistakes, but my pops is extremely hard headed, only wants to do things his way, and that will be his demise if I don't do something soon. He is also the type of person that expects people to come buy his product instead of him *needing* to actually sell (which in itself should work, but it doesn't at the target that he would like). Basically, I think we should orient ourselves more on the people side of the business.

Probably my best choice would be to try and get some part of the business (HR related problems, Marketing) and do them myself, and tell him that these will be my departments and let me do them. It's tricky to work with the family, but I know all will be well in the end. Also, the restaurant is called 'Restaurant Ursu Negru' in Simeria, Romania.

How about you? What's your story? What strategies and difficulties did you face along the way? How's working with the family going for you?

 

[MrRado]

Same story... very hardheaded father with bad temper. Restaurant was going down because of bad staff recruitment and bad service.
I took control of team meetings, recruitments and HR stuff. Now we have a strong team in the kitchen working hard everyday. I am overpaying my staff, giving big salaries and big bonuses but I can proudly say that we are delivering the best service in my local area.
I took control of marketing. As you know most restaurants in small towns, don't use facebook and google ads, so that's where we are taking advantage hehe. I made a monthly budget for ads which increased the sales significantly.
I searched for your restaurant and I think you can make a big difference if you start learning how advertising works and especially in small towns.
Another very important thing we were lacking at was finance and bookkeeping. I started learning the basics and soon created database that tracks every sale we make and every dollar we get. That way I can easily spot with strategy works and which doesn't.
IMO if your family business is on it's downfall, no matter if you want that to be your career or not, it is your responsibility to improve the game and implement strategies from 2024 to replace the ones from 1994 ( I know that your father thinks that he knows everything and the 1994 strategy is the best, but you know it isn't ). You need to sit down and have a long conversation with him about this. I warn you it is going to be a tough 1 hr and you are probably going to argue, but you have to get some part of the business and improve it. When he sees the improvement, he is going to change his mind.
If you need any help with any of the things I mentioned, text me and I will be excited to help.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[suciudaniel98]

Same story... very hardheaded father with bad temper. Restaurant was going down because of bad staff recruitment and bad service.
I took control of team meetings, recruitments and HR stuff. Now we have a strong team in the kitchen working hard everyday. I am overpaying my staff, giving big salaries and big bonuses but I can proudly say that we are delivering the best service in my local area.
I took control of marketing. As you know most restaurants in small towns, don't use facebook and google ads, so that's where we are taking advantage hehe. I made a monthly budget for ads which increased the sales significantly.
I searched for your restaurant and I think you can make a big difference if you start learning how advertising works and especially in small towns.
Another very important thing we were lacking at was finance and bookkeeping. I started learning the basics and soon created database that tracks every sale we make and every dollar we get. That way I can easily spot with strategy works and which doesn't.
IMO if your family business is on it's downfall, no matter if you want that to be your career or not, it is your responsibility to improve the game and implement strategies from 2024 to replace the ones from 1994 ( I know that your father thinks that he knows everything and the 1994 strategy is the best, but you know it isn't ). You need to sit down and have a long conversation with him about this. I warn you it is going to be a tough 1 hr and you are probably going to argue, but you have to get some part of the business and improve it. When he sees the improvement, he is going to change his mind.
If you need any help with any of the things I mentioned, text me and I will be excited to help.

These insights were amazing and I truly thank you! And very well said, it is indeed our responsibility first and foremost. I am decided to bring a positive change in this business. I have everything I need, I just have to start. That's literally the only problem. That first step

 

[MrRado]

You should have started yesterday, so don't f around and start today. You've got this.

 

[suciudaniel98]

You should have started yesterday, so don't f around and start today. You've got this.

How about you? What's your restaurant? I would love to see some of your ideas put into action. We will have a grand opening in around a week, after we have renovated the place and made it very nice and neat. I think this will have, or could have, a great impact in the community.

I was also thinking about different events interacting with the community, like a Fifa Championship for the youngsters, maybe even a bingo event for the elders. Trying to make a social hub, where people come constantly.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MrRado]

My restaurant was a bistro, which after Covid was remodeled into a takeaway barbecue restaurant ( which is now more profitable than the previous model. So now my main focus is providing the highest possible level of service so that not only I provide the best food in town but the best service. I am not sure if I can provide links here since I am new to the forum, but send me a message and I will provide you links to my socials and maybe you will get some ideas.
Make sure you run some ads on Facebook and Google about the upcoming grand opening so people will be aware of it.
Also make sure you read the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara because it will give you some insanely valuable lessons about hospitality and service in the restaurant.

 

[Johnny boy]

The only good way to run a restaurant (since they’re almost always all profitless time and money pits and full time jobs for the owners), is to make it “famous” for something.

“Oh you gotta go there they are famous for their giant pizza challenge”

“Oh you gotta go there, they have this special soup that was so good it was featured on X tv show”

Etc

 

[suciudaniel98]

The only good way to run a restaurant (since they’re almost always all profitless time and money pits and full time jobs for the owners), is to make it “famous” for something.

“Oh you gotta go there they are famous for their giant pizza challenge”

“Oh you gotta go there, they have this special soup that was so good it was featured on X tv show”

Etc

I definitely agree with this as well, or be famous and open a restaurant, because you already have a brand created etc. But still, it's my responsibility to work with what I have right now and try to make the most out of.

My restaurant was a bistro, which after Covid was remodeled into a takeaway barbecue restaurant ( which is now more profitable than the previous model. So now my main focus is providing the highest possible level of service so that not only I provide the best food in town but the best service. I am not sure if I can provide links here since I am new to the forum, but send me a message and I will provide you links to my socials and maybe you will get some ideas.
Make sure you run some ads on Facebook and Google about the upcoming grand opening so people will be aware of it.
Also make sure you read the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara because it will give you some insanely valuable lessons about hospitality and service in the restaurant.

I will make sure to keep an eye out for that book. My father keeps on saying that whatever applies to the international stage, can't really apply here because it's small, it's different, but I think that there can be some ideas that can be adapted and people will buy into. People pay for experiences now, but still, the area where we are located is very small, poor and with low-education hard laborers.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Johnny boy]

I definitely agree with this as well, or be famous and open a restaurant, because you already have a brand created etc. But still, it's my responsibility to work with what I have right now and try to make the most out of.

None of what I said necessitates being a celebrity it’s about having a “hook” that people talk about that attracts them.

Nobody talks about the sandwich shop that’s in the next town over because the service was “good” and the food was “good”.

They talk about it because it’s NOVEL.

It stands out.

“Dude I went to this restaurant where all the waitresses are rude, they called me a bitch, it was hilarious, I have to take you there”

“Omg Becky, I went to this brunch place and the food looked sooo good we should have all the girls go there tomorrow, we could take pictures of the food it was such a vibe. They have this wall of flowers it’s so pretty we can take pictures of us in front of it”

“Did you hear about the restaurant that got on that tv show because of how good their brisket is? We have to go. I heard it’s super expensive but we should still try it”.

You need to break away from “oh that was pleasant”. You need to break away from commoditization.

You need something where people will need to tell someone about it because it stood out.

Maybe everyone takes photos there and tags them because there’s a great photo opp for Instagram

Maybe the cuisine is so unique people drive 20 miles and make reservations to come there.

Maybe the experience is so different that you can charge $100 minimum per seat, and the margins on your food are 2-3x compared to anywhere else because people are paying for the total package and not just a simple sandwich.

Avoid being a commodity. It can be anything. But that’s how you market and succeed in that industry. If you don’t do something unique expect to get typical results. Typical results include working 100hr weeks to be lower middle class and tied to a single location.

 

[SnowLava]

None of what I said necessitates being a celebrity it’s about having a “hook” that people talk about that attracts them.

Nobody talks about the sandwich shop that’s in the next town over because the service was “good” and the food was “good”.

They talk about it because it’s NOVEL.

It stands out.

“Dude I went to this restaurant where all the waitresses are rude, they called me a bitch, it was hilarious, I have to take you there”

“Omg Becky, I went to this brunch place and the food looked sooo good we should have all the girls go there tomorrow, we could take pictures of the food it was such a vibe. They have this wall of flowers it’s so pretty we can take pictures of us in front of it”

“Did you hear about the restaurant that got on that tv show because of how good their brisket is? We have to go. I heard it’s super expensive but we should still try it”.

You need to break away from “oh that was pleasant”. You need to break away from commoditization.

You need something where people will need to tell someone about it because it stood out.

Maybe everyone takes photos there and tags them because there’s a great photo opp for Instagram

Maybe the cuisine is so unique people drive 20 miles and make reservations to come there.

Maybe the experience is so different that you can charge $100 minimum per seat, and the margins on your food are 2-3x compared to anywhere else because people are paying for the total package and not just a simple sandwich.

Avoid being a commodity. It can be anything. But that’s how you market and succeed in that industry. If you don’t do something unique expect to get typical results. Typical results include working 100hr weeks to be lower middle class and tied to a single location.

Can agree as a consumer. Theres a restaurant in my town that became famous because food is delivered in small electronic train toys. People would go there just to see that (that was the first restaurant with that facility) even if the food wasnt good .