Dining at Jim & Nicks outside Atlanta is always a treat and I often wonder about the key to their success. The place is always busy, unless you visit between shifts and the food is consistently good, piping hot and full of flavor. The sluggish economy has not really put a damper on this little jewel and it got me thinking about what the key to a successful restaurant is in this economy.

The answer is simple, restaurants who are doing well have a very clear vision of who they are and what their customers want from them. Today when a customer goes into a restaurant they want comfort, security in the emotional sense, good food, in some cases gourmet or sophisticated, all at reasonable prices. If you can deliver that you will be around through thick and thin.

The problem is some restaurant owners are either too blind or stubborn to change and that’s a shame. There are just too few dollars to go around these days, and if I have said it once, I will say it again. “Give me a reason to come to your establishment, because I really don’t have to.”

Remember the menu does not have to be huge, but simply fresh, sustainable and delicious.”A report released in January by the Washington, D.C. based National Restaurant Assn reported “Restaurant operators remain relatively optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead. Thirty-three percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared with the same period in the previous year), compared with 35 percent who reported similarly last month. In comparison, 22 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, and 21 percent reported similarly last month.” Grow is moving at a snails pace.

Hint: The top ten new restaurants in America are serving homemade pastas, home-style French, New England, Asian, and Mediterranean cooking; bite size Spanish tapas, farm fresh veggies, exotic innards (yep brains, livers, tripe, tongue, heart, and kidneys are back) and the traditions of the south and Louisiana; fried oysters, caramelized beef short ribs and sinfully luscious bandy soaked bread pudding.

Do you think comfort is here to stay…for a while?
Stensson, Annika & Donohue, Mike. (2010) News Release | National  Association. Retrieved March 07, 2010, from http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/pressrelease/?ID=1895