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How to Run a Restaurant


Know Your Audience!

How to Run a Restaurant


Know Your Audience!
By Nathan Gawlik
Nathan Gawlik's experience includes being a General Manager of a Hampton Inn and other front line roles such as a Banquet Captain, Front Desk Agent, Housekeeper, Catering Event Manager, and Director of Sales.

Denise said there is one key to running a successful restaurant, "know your audience!" As the owner of multiple small upscale restaurants with nearly 20 years experience, she would know.

Why is this phrase so important she felt the need to scream it at me? Well I hope that her following remarks resonate with you as much as it did with me and has for so many others.

Do you have any takeaways from your 20 years of experience being a small business owner, running a restaurant, and dealing with customers?

You can't sell your product whether it's a steak, a bottle of wine or a room, if you don't know your audience. I wouldn't put a $75 bottle of wine for sale in a lobby shop or in a pub but in the right restaurant it's an easy sell. I don't mean to stereotype by any means but by and large men order steaks and women order fish, salad or some lighter fare. Know your audience.

One of the most fun things about opening a restaurant is creating the menu. It's creative and collaborative. The chef is the artist and yet it is also a strategic business creation. Does it meet the needs of your audience? Is there something that will appeal to the male audience, the female audience, the vegetarian, the younger ones? Are the ingredients organic and locally sourced? Are they from scratch or pre-packaged? 
a meal on a plate
This will determine food prep time, labor costs and ultimately selling price. You don't ever want to talk down to your audience. Which words will you use to describe the menu items? Is it an aoli or a garlic mayonnaise? (hint, they are the same thing) And what will your audience feel comfortable spending? Are you appealing to a lower or higher-end market?

Dining itself should be an experience, not just a meal. Value for money is based on the total experience. People will pay dearly for an exceptional experience. I've always said a dining experience consists of three elements:

  • atmosphere (dining room: decor, lighting, seating, view)
  • service (attentiveness, timeliness, knowledge)
  • food/bar (choice, quality, execution, value).


Fail in any one of the three areas and you've lost the opportunity to impress. To not impress ends up as bad press. But when all three come together in unison, magic happens. Guests leave the experience with a glow of contentment, tell their friends and become regulars.

Denise went on to say that she really enjoyed the book Kitchen Confidential by the late luminary travel writer, Anthony Bourdain. Anthony Bourdain had a huge impact on not only her love for food, but the restaurant business and travel.

"Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you."

-Anthony Bourdain

"Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you." 

- Anthony Bourdain
stones balanced on top of each other on a valley mountain top

Tell Me How You Got Started

When my husband Paul and I first opened the Victorian cafe, we taught ourselves everything. One of the first pieces of advice we received was "surround yourselves with people who know what they're doing," so we did. We hired smart and pretended we knew what we were doing as we soaked up information. The breakfast restaurant proved to be profitable. In fact, breakfast is a better profit maker than just about any other meal. An egg costs about 10 cents and you sell it for $2!

As we went along, we noticed two things that made a difference in the success of restaurants:

1) Always invest in the restaurant property, if the business ever went under, you could sell the real estate. The investment should be the real estate and the business the income.
2) We noticed that people who opened second locations after the first successful restaurant often had problems and failed so we also decided that we would never franchise or open a second location. We were "hands on owners" and spread too thinly between properties was a recipe for failure as we saw it. The sequel is never as good as the original.

By year six I decided I'd had enough (of the tensions that tend to come between spouses that start a business together) and left the restaurant, getting a job working in home healthcare. I needed some autonomy and independence.

We never had children but I would often refer to the restaurants as my children. We birthed them, raised them and then when they were grown, left us. Soon after I got another job, we had restaurant child #2.

How would you describe the Kokanee Cafe?

The Kokanee Cafe is a rustic restaurant nestled amongst the ponderosa pines in the enchanting forest surrounding the Metolius River. We have been serving fine Northwest Cuisine for over two decades, and we offer a full bar to compliment our menu and eclectic wine list.

We have artfully created a menu that stays true to the Northwest Tradition of quality locally-grown and raised meats, fish and produce with a unique, artistic flair.
Expert Tip
Consider perceived vs intrinsic value. If you make something exclusive and hard to get people will want it.
Expert Tip
Consider perceived vs intrinsic value. If you make something exclusive and hard to get people will want it.
As my husband began to attempt to set up the new business, he realized that he couldn't do it without me and convinced me to come work for him in the family business again. He argued that we work hard all summer and then travel in the off season when the restaurant was closed. It was seasonal, open from May to November. And so I agreed. In the end Kokanee was an amazing success and to be honest the best days of my life. We worked hard 6 days a week. I waited tables and Paul was the host. 
two plates of meals
We had a very high-end clientele from Black Butte Ranch and Camp Sherman the "Hamptons or Martha's Vinyard" of Oregon. We had amazing chefs, used all local NW ingredients and wine list. We averaged $50 per head. We had three sittings and were booked solid a week in advance. A lot of the Oregon winery owners had houses in Camp Sherman and we knew them well. We were top sellers in the state for most of their wines and often got invited to stay at the wineries for free.

In addition to the outstanding food, wine and location, I believe it was Paul's personality and charm that won over the guests. He knew all our regulars by name. He knew their kids' names, their business and always asked about them. He would give the wife a kiss on the cheek and knew their favorite wine. I was particularly shy and introverted but learned from him how to go on stage and act the part. Together we made a great life and a successful business. 

Most of the staff worked for us all nine years we owned it with the exception of the high school kids who often replaced themselves with their younger siblings when they graduated and left town. It was a long commute from the largest city nearby but we carpooled with staff and it was like summer camp every year, partying late nights after the restaurant closed. There were two rooms for rent upstairs that we rarely rented and could stay there if we wanted to. And the best part, we were off traveling when we closed up for winter.

Most years we accumulated a few thousand in cash we kept in a safe deposit box and left for two months to some exotic country. We were turning a great profit and having fun doing it besides the normal issues that come up running a business.

Have you heard how some restaurants are starting to take deposits as a result of COVID-19? What are your thoughts on restaurants taking a deposit?

I think this deposit is a great idea and I've seen it here in the USA too. One of the "best" restaurants in Napa, French Laundry, has been doing this for decades. They take reservations exactly six months in advance and are fully booked by days end. Apparently people don't have a problem with it. They feel privileged for the opportunity to dine there. EVERYTHING is perception right? Make something exclusive and hard to get and you'll want it. I don't think French Laundry is the best restaurant in California or the US but if people are willing to pay $100 per head six months in advance then so it will be. And the restaurant is laughing to the bank because they don't care if you show or not. In fact they're hoping you don't! No food cost there.

We used to take a credit card deposit for eight or more. If they were a no show it crushed our night. It's an incentive to keep your plans anyway just like rooms. The management can waive at their discretion. 
man making a transaction online using his laptop
But of course if the restaurant does not have perceived worth no one will hand over their credit card. They'd rather just go somewhere else. In the case of hotels, you have a captive audience at a resort. Is the alternative dining in your room? Motivation done. Opt out at your own peril. But take a hotel in downtown Chicago, for instance. Forget about it. There are plenty of other choices. Unless of course, as I said earlier, the restaurant has an exclusive reputation and is highly rated as "must go"

Bottom line? People will do what is asked for something they really want. To get in at ALL during Covid? Exclusivity? But if it's cheap, plentiful and overrated, nope!

Consider the concept of intrinsic vs perceived value. Say a car, for example, gets you where you want to go – that's it's intrinsic value, but perceived value is what someone will pay for it based on intangibles like status and how it makes them FEEL!! Of course also part of intrinsic value is such things as quality. To some extent the hospitality industry is the same. The Waldorf Astoria verses Tru hotels, both are Hilton but one has status. People will pay more for perception and their ego.

Not ego related but perceived vs intrinsic on the restaurant front, you can put the same amount of food on a bigger or smaller plate and the perceived value will change due to it's looks. It will look like more food on a smaller plate but intrinsically it's the same amount of food. Or what about an all you can eat buffet? Perceived value but you will probably not eat any more food and the quality is probably less. 
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