Increase your sales with a grocery store at your restaurant

To Increase your sales? in 2019, we want to talk to you about a trend that has been booming for several years and has worked very well for many restaurants. It involves combining a restaurant with a grocery store and thereby multiplying your product sales.

You might then ask yourself... What's the use in opening this new line of business if my table turnover rate is profitable?

We have found various reasons for doing so. For instance:

Attract more and more customers who want to combine two great passions: eating and shopping at the same establishment.

Expand the brand image beyond the restaurant, since customers will make these products a part of their lives.

Create a rendezvous point among customers, who will come to buy the products and also take the opportunity to have a drink.

Make dining customers curious about the store's products and incentivize sales of the same.

Continuously increase your sales and have other revenue streams, which are perfect for expanding your restaurant's objectives in the long run.

Which type of restaurant could set up a grocery store?

All of them! We believe that there are no limits in this regard, since any restaurant could increase their prospects with a grocery store. However, we are aware that it is a trend that is better suited for some restaurants such as:

Restaurants located in tourist areas, since the store would attract customers who are highly willing to purchase products and eat the restaurant's food.

Restaurants with extended hourssince they offer greater shopping availability to customers.

Cafeteria-style restaurantswith less-processed products that are easy to package for sale at the store.

Thematic restaurants whose culinary selection is based on a flagship product. Imagine a restaurant whose dishes are chocolate-based and which also sells products with this ingredient at their store. Customers would definitely like it a lot.

Which products should I sell?

Once again, the answer is: all kinds! As long as the products are consistent with the restaurant's storytelling and go well with its gastronomic proposition. To give you an idea:

There are restaurants that sell works of art, design objects, music, clothing from exclusive designers and even beauty products. Others opt for products that are more closely related to our industry such as original and creative tablewarethat is very attractive to customers who want to take with them a cup or dish like the ones that they were served at the table, for instance.

In addition to tableware, there are restaurants that also sell household products, cushions, decorative frames, blankets, designer tables, lamps and other objects in the style of the restaurant's decoration and that customers can take to their homes to furnish them in the same manner. It is a powerful brand penetration measure.

Naturally, the most typical thing to do is to sell edible productsthat can serve as the restaurant's original product line and other products from exclusive brands that go well with the culinary offering. For instance, a restaurant that specializes in homemade pasta could sell them packaged in their stores, along with products to complement these recipies. An ecological restaurant can sell products that are certified as such, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables from their same "zero-mile" suppliers.

Wine and gourmet products such as patés, cold cuts, preserves, jams, cheeses and delicacies are also ideal products for a restaurant with a grocery store. It would be a very strategic move to prepare entrees and shareable dishes with these same products and give customers the option to take them home.

Another product that makes customers' hearts flutter are desserts, so if desserts are a signature dish at your restaurant, you could consider opening a store to sell assorted cake slices— along with complete cakes, of course—as well as takeout versions of all your restaurant's sweet delicacies.

Ultimately, the goal of this trend is to have the customer incorporate the restaurant into their lifestyle when they leave home to eat out but also when they purchase their preferred foods or products. Are you now wanting to set up a grocery store to Increase your sales?? Fantastic! We are glad that this article inspired you.

Do you already have a store at your restaurant? Click here to advertise it on TheFork and you will see your table reservations increase along with visits to your store.