savvy eateries are connecting with a shop to stay ahead

Doubling up to beat competitors

With convenience stores potentially muscling in on restaurant territory, savvy eateries are connecting with a shop to stay ahead.

Convenience stores – they’re everywhere, filled with pricey everyday essentials and junk food but not much charm. Their key feature is their … convenience! But there’s a growing shift. Savvy operators have clicked that plenty of consumers will pay for QUALITY along with their convenience. Hence qourmet products, a deli range, fresh produce and deluxe meals-to-go are increasingly on offer. With such a selection just as grabbable as milk and bread on the way home from work, this potentially takes business from restaurants/cafes/bistros.

Industry blogger and chef Matthew J. Goudge fears this development is a real threat to the restaurant industry. With the trend working well for convenience stores he is convinced it’s set to increase.

One way for restaurants to reclaim territory is by connecting to a shop, deli or providore. Offering consumers restaurant-quality meals that are fast and able to be taken home adds in convenience for people who want a decent meal without waiting around or eating out. Also having a selection of products on offer allows these customers to pick up a few extras while they’re there, increasing business further. Let people get their bread and milk at your shop!

Fourth Village Providore (Mosman, NSW) is one such ‘double’ business: the restaurant adjoins a providore, an award-winning marketplace selling fresh produce, antipasto, cheeses, fine foods and take home meals made in-house. It is a beautiful establishment and a foodie’s paradise.

Owner Peter Quattroville has found having the two parts to be a successful business model: “The cross-over of the two is a perfect marriage.”

With a roughly fifty-fifty breakdown of trade between the two areas, Quattroville explains that “the majority of customers use both [sections]. Maybe not on the same day, but definitely at some stage.”

“It is also a unique experience for the customer, especially those who travel a distance. They come just for a coffee or a meal and then they can shop in the store,” he says. “It’s good for locals too. People meet and shop together, they come to catch up. There’s a real sense of community.”

Each business also benefits behind the scenes. The store produce can be used in the kitchen, and the two areas can share management and staff.

The downside is the increased complexity, Quattroville says.

“Obviously it is a lot to manage with a great number of variables. It’s not an easy thing to do … it’s more difficult to manage [than either single business].”

Unlike Goudge, Quattroville is not concerned about the encroachment of convenience stores: “You can’t compare the quality of takeaway convenience store meals to what’s served in our restaurant. Our market is well informed and appreciates a good meal, so they can tell the difference,” he says.

Of course it’s not in every restaurant owner’s budget, skillset or logistical situation to open a fully fledged product shop next door.

Quattroville stresses that a double business, while advantageous, requires expertise in both areas: “The important thing is it [the shop] can’t be seen to be an add on – it needs to be integrated.”

“It’s a concept that’s a lot of hard work with a high number of aspects that need to come together. It’s not for the fainthearted. I have 30 years experience. You really need experience in both areas,” he says.

He doesn’t recommend that an operator in one area just go plonking the other section in. Goudge agrees: he suggests teaming up with a convenience store, thus receiving the benefits without needing to run that side of the business. While negotiation and changes would be needed, the potential is huge.

Goudge also suggests a new concept as a middle ground: restaurants set up a corner in a convenience store. This maintains the convenience factor, but the restaurant section offers customers a more sophisticated way to sit and eat without a long wait.

Or at its simplest, this double concept could be started in any restaurant by stocking a small product range so diners can purchase something extra as they settle their bill. Conversely, as a customer pops in to pick up a bottle of their new favourite olive oil, they smell lunch cooking in the restaurant and decide to stay on – the areas feed each other, a positive for any business.

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