The Food and Beverage Magazine Guide to Restaurant Success

7Learn From Reviews and Opinions

You have unlocked the door, turned on the lights, prepared your team, and you have a full supply of food. You have opened your restaurant, and you can barely contain your excitement to tell the world so customers can join you in your new restaurant. You just know you will get great reviews, so you want to invite the press, food critics, and Yelp Elite right now as well as start your advertising and marketing.

Stop! Don't get trigger happy!

There are still things you need to work through before you have a horde of people walking through your door to eat. No matter how wonderful it would be to be sold out every night with every table full, you don't want that to happen yet. This is part of the process of working out all the kinks. You need to embrace the trickle of customers so you can continue to work at your restaurant to make it and keep it successful.

You must now ask everyone's honest opinion. This is why you need to reach out to everyone you know, even if they attended “friends and family night,” and get their opinion about the restaurant after the very quiet soft opening. You need to read the reviews that will pop up and speak with customers. Listen, just don't hear what they say, and write it all down.

You have your social media pages up, and you've launched your profiles on review pages. You are going to be bombarded with opinions and advice. Take a step back, catch your breath, and get ready for one of the most intense steps.

You need ...