Unveiling the World of Chain Restaurants

 

The food and beverage industry is a non-perishable one, and with more and more restaurants mushrooming, you can only imagine it growing further. While many restaurants run as independent eateries, you may also come across franchised restaurants or a chain of restaurants that aren’t limited by territorial boundaries. If you are keen on exploring more about the realm of how chain restaurants work, we have you covered.

 

A chain of restaurants refers to a group of eateries nestled across different locations. They could be located in varied locations within a city, across different cities, states, or distinct countries. Such restaurants share the same brand name and function with the same concept. Moreover, they can be owned by the same company or work as franchises.

 

Chain restaurants aren’t restricted to a certain type of eatery. They could vary from fine dining to casual dining restaurants, cafés, pizzerias, and fast-pop chain eateries that have gained popularity with their scream-themed ‘stabby meals’ offer.

 

The Chain restaurant definition could also differ from place to place. For instance, in New York City, a food joint is called a chain of restaurants only when it has branches at more than 15 locations. However, in general, others refer to having more than three restaurants from the same company as a chain restaurant business. American restaurant groups such as McDonald’s and Subway feature in the list of restaurants with the largest chains across continents.

 

While there are a host of restaurants catering to large populations across varied locations via their chain outlets, a classic example of a chain restaurant is the Bahama Breeze. With restaurants like Bahama Breeze spread over more than 40 different locations in the United States, you can enjoy your scrumptious Caribbean-inspired meals, tropical beverages, and more even in the suburbs of the US. The restaurant was founded in 1996 by Darden Restaurants, Inc. with its presence in only three locations and later expanded to many more areas, including spots of tourist attractions.

 

If you are planning to run a chain restaurant, it is essential to understand how they work and are managed. After all, these restaurants have multiple outlets to be managed, although the brand name and business model are the same. Check out how chain restaurants differ in their functions from independent eateries.

 

 

Restaurants with multiple outlets will require more staff to cater to a large number of customers. Independent eateries can have fewer staff as they have to meet the needs of customers from a specific area. In the case of the former, along with more staff, your restaurant business will also have to allocate more resources towards staff benefits, as the staff headcount is expected to be much higher across chain restaurants than at a single restaurant.

 

 

Akin to staffing needs, the funding requirement at popular chain restaurants is also likely to be higher. Appropriate funds allow the business to invest in innovative ideas for better growth. Not only can you take more risks with more funds, but it will also aid in offering your staff better pay and benefits.

 

 

In an independent restaurant, you can create and run any concept at any time and serve it to your customers. From modifying your menu to changing or upgrading the restaurant's theme, the restaurant can be handled from a single point. However, when it comes to handling chain restaurants, there has to be a single point of management that oversees the entire operation across all locations. The parent corporation is responsible for maintaining quality in each location. However, if your restaurant functions as a franchise, no central ownership will be required.

 

If you are seeking ideas on managing your restaurant chains across multiple locations, you can use a reliable service to set up a cloud POS for your business.

 

Managing a chain restaurant is not easy; it can be done well only if you have a solid plan. Here are a few ways that can help you manage your business across locations breezily.

 

Lay the Foundation with a Streamlined Base Kitchen

 

Your base kitchen operations are integral to your business, as without setting this up well, your restaurant operations will go haywire. Streamlining these operations can ensure consistency across all your outlets. A restaurant management system can greatly help here, as it can provide comfort and accuracy in managing orders, raw materials, and service. If you have an online delivery facility, such a system can also help manage your deliveries.

 

A robust POS system for your restaurant can enable access to all the financial details, such as records of expenses for all your outlets. As prices of raw materials are likely to vary across locations, a streamlined system can help you organize, strategize, and track the performance of every outlet better.

 

Aside from maintaining consistency of recipes, cooking temperature, and presentation of dishes, a POS that helps with recipe management and more can help reduce overall kitchen waste. Less waste is equivalent to fewer chain expenses.

 

Another area that needs attention is the management of vendors. Raw materials are indispensable to your restaurant business, and compromising on quality can be detrimental to the health of your business. With the vendor management feature on your POS, you will be able to manage all vendor's profiles, including their price quotes.

 

Keeping a stock check daily at each outlet can appear to be a herculean task, but this can be made manageable with a restaurant inventory management service. For instance, if an item runs out of stock, your customers will not be able to place orders. To centralize the management of all stock, a notification system can come to your rescue. Hence, inventory management systems can help you keep track of stock and current restaurant orders for efficient management across multiple outlets.

 

For real-time reports of available stock across your chain eateries, a POS can keep the central management organization updated, thus helping maintain consistency.                               

Tracking restaurant sales is essential to assessing your restaurant's overall performance and growth. However, this can be made easy even for chain restaurants with a multi-reporting system. From the total number of bills your outlets generate to discounts and offers given away and footfall in every outlet of your chain business, you can track it all with a POS. An efficient POS can also compare your restaurant’s performance with that of competitor outlets. Such indicators can enable you to determine the gaps and facilitate making appropriate changes accordingly to bolster sales.

 

Considering your customer’s preferences is crucial to your restaurant’s success. In a chain business of restaurants, it is important to note that customer preferences could differ from outlet to outlet as it is dependent on various factors, including local eating habits or culture. However, as a restaurant with multiple outlets, you must design exquisite marketing strategies. 

 

This will also help customers connect to the food you sell, opening channels for repeat customers. Integrated digital software can help you run location-specific campaigns based on a customer’s order history. From increasing customer engagement to creating a unified customer database and building loyalty, a customer management solution can come in handy.

 

If you plan to expand your business and launch a few more outlets to your existing business, you can assure consistent service and easier restaurant management across all locations with classified facilities from OrderEm. 

 

Some of the top-rated American restaurant group chains, such as Starbucks, KFC, Taco Bell, and others, continue to outperform in their businesses. Whether they have lived by the food chain definition or created their own unique growth story, you can always take cues from their success in seamlessly operating chain restaurants across the world.