It’s hard to keep a restaurant looking good. Restaurants suffer a lot of wear and tear; Floors get worn, tiles chip, and paint gets damaged and worn.
Customers don’t necessarily want to go to a run-down restaurant. So, if you’re facing a tired looking, shabby restaurant, what should you do?
A complete renovation could cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. What if your budget is much less?
One solution is to try a mini-renovation.
The advantages of going small are that …. first the budget is much smaller (great!) and second, you can renovate while keeping the restaurant open.
Here are some mini renovation ideas:
Paint, paint, paint — Paint is the cheapest, most high-impact renovation you can undertake. Painting covers up many problems — chipped surfaces, worn walls, etc … and by choosing modern colours, paint can modernise an out-of-date design.
Color — Put some pop into your restaurant with some bright color. That could include a feature wall, a bright coloured bar, or just some colorful artwork.
Refinish — If you have woodwork and it’s looking worn, just refinish it. You can refinish hardwood floors, a wooden bar or solid wood table tops. It’s relatively inexpensive and it will look great when done.
Upholstery — Chairs and booths don’t have to be replaced. You can have them recovered. Fresh upholstery can give your restaurant an entirely new look.
Art — Take down any tired, out of date pictures and replace them with more contemporary, bright artwork.
Lighting fixtures — adding a couple of new, modern-looking light fixtures can make a tired room look more inviting.
Plants and flowers — A nice flower arrangement will make any entrance look better…Plants can also soften the look of a plain, undecorated space.
Outdoors — There are a lot of things you can do to improve your outdoor spaces. Placing a couple of large planters can frame an entrance, and get passersby to notice you. New plants, shrubs and trees for your outdoor spaces can make them look like a place a guest will want to return to. A new firepit, or new brick surfacing outside can make your restaurant look more inviting and hip.
Remove the Clutter –this is the cheapest, fastest and easiest way to improve the look of your restaurant. Get rid of all clutter. That means old furniture, machines that aren’t working, big stacks of supplies, clutter on the bar or at server stations, anything in a cardboard box. Sell it, throw it away or put it in a storeroom, whether in the restaurant or off-site.
So whatever your budget, there is always something you can do to improve the look of your space.
