Tips for Hiring a Restaurant Remodeling Contractor

Any owner will agree that restaurants are one of the most competitive industries on the planet. You need to understand your clientele, be on your game and have a penchant for cost control. But even that is no longer enough.

Outdated and worn restaurants simply can’t compete in a sea of freshly remodeled restaurants with innovative menus in the digital age. Today’s diners want a true Instagram-worthy restaurant experience.

Savvy business owners are finding that remodeling restaurants that meet guest expectations while staying true to their brand is an important competitive advantage. Whether you’re in the fast-casual or fine dining space, your restaurant needs to identify with its guests.  To help your restaurant stand out from the crowd, here are 4 smart tips for hiring the right restaurant remodeling contractor that will give you the competitive advantage you need to succeed in your marketplace.

Experience

It all boils down to experience. When looking for an executive chef, you’re probably going to hire someone who has substantial restaurant experience. This will give you confidence in his or her ability to execute a menu that your guests will crave. Likewise, when hiring a restaurant remodeling contractor, you want a company that has a proven history of building successful restaurants.  A place where guests will want to return time and time again.

Vision

In addition to experience, your restaurant remodeling contractor should be able to demonstrate their capabilities for executing your vision. You may have a great new concept on paper, but if the contractor doesn’t understand your vision, your restaurant will have issues getting off the ground. Even worse, the design may not meet your expectations when the build-out has been completed.

Reviews

Since history is often an indicator of future performance, check online reviews to gain insight into the experience of previous clients. Are reviews trending upward, downward or are they neutral? While some negative reviews are normal and par for the course, it’s often the way a contractor responds to a negative review that is more important than the review itself.

Tours

While a picture may be worth a thousand words, seeing is believing. If possible, visit one to three of the restaurants that are in the contractor’s portfolio to get a feel for the quality of their work. This is a great way to visualize how your restaurant may look when the remodeling is complete. Many restaurant owners are proud of their newly remodeled restaurant and may even be willing to give you a tour of the kitchen, bar, dining room and other areas of the building.