SPECIAL REPORT: 10 Common Practices of Highly Successful Independent Restaurants

While working with literally hundreds of independent restaurants over the past 25-plus years, one of the most profound things I've learned is that there are very few absolutes in this business. By that I mean there always seem to be exceptions to the conventional wisdom of what it takes to create and then sustain a successful restaurant business.

For example, I've seen restaurants thrive with much less than a prime location, no marketing, undercapitalization, using what I would call poor management practices and more. However, particularly in the past five years or so, I've observed definite patterns in what highly successful restaurants and their operators do in the areas of marketing, operations and business management. It's almost as if their operations have a genetic predisposition toward success.

The following is a brief description of those common practices and characteristics. The goal of this article is not to give you a checklist of things you must do to create a thriving restaurant business, but rather provide you with some real-world practices that many operators use to achieve impressive results. We hope this list gets you thinking and moves you to do a few things differently to realize more sales, profit and success.

1. Successful Independents... Work 'ON', Not 'IN' their Business

Almost without exception, highly successful independent restaurants today are owned by people who spend most of their time managing their business versus running the restaurant.

One of the most successful operators I've met lately told me "I don't cook. It's my job to work on the systems." By this statement it's obvious he has a very specific view of his role as the owner and what he should and should not be doing in his restaurant. It's not his job to be working in the restaurant but rather it's his job to create and refine the systems that will enable his employees to create the results he wants.

Without good systems, restaurants are unorganized, produce inconsistent results and the owner functions most of the time as another employee, not an owner. Examples of restaurant systems include the use of checklists for opening, closing and cleaning, written steps for selecting and hiring new employees, using standard recipes in the kitchen and having procedures for handling guest complaints, ordering products and doing a physical inventory.

There are several reasons why systems are so important in a restaurant. First and foremost, systems give you a much better shot at providing consistent dining experiences to your guests. Why do people come back to any restaurant? It's usually because they liked what they had the last time they visited. When they return and either the food or service isn't as good, they notice, and with so many other dining choices available, they often don't return.

Having good systems in place dramatically increases the odds for a restaurant to function the way it should without the owner having to be there working in the restaurant all the time. When owners are free from the day-in, day-out operational duties, they have the time and presence of mind to think and act more strategically and do things that pave the way to move the business to the next level of success.

Strategies of many successful owners include developing new marketing initiatives, creating new lines of business (like catering or delivery) and adapting to constantly changing local market conditions. When owners are totally involved in operations there isn't time for strategic activities, and restaurants tend to stagnate, lose their edge and eventually decline.

2. Successful Independents... Revolve Their Marketing Around a Customer Database