September 20, 2019

Must Reads: High Street Restaurants – The End Of an Era?

This month The Guardian published an article detailing further doom and gloom for the high street – with restaurants not escaping the fundamental changes that the high street is undergoing as a result of “changing shopping habits, new technologies and rising costs of doing business”.

Will the government step in to work out a way to save the high street? How does this apply to your food business? Below we take a look at some of the articles currently trending as food businesses look to duck and dive the challenges of both the online and offline food industry.

No Wonder Jamie’s Went Bust: Brits Have Lost Their Appetite For Samey Chains – The Guardian

In the last year we’ve seen the decline of Prezzo, Carluccio’s, Jamie’s Italian and Wagamama to name just a few. In this article, Tony Naylor explores the outdated concept of these mid market chains – bringing into question what food businesses should be considering for the highstreet in their place.

Read full article: No Wonder Jamie’s Went Bust: Brits Have Lost Their Appetite For Samey Chains

Jamie Oliver Says Opening ‘Posh Restaurants’ Would Have Been Easier – Eater London

It seems that Jamie Oliver also now sees that his mid market chain was the wrong target audience. According to the London Eater, Jamie Oliver believes that if he had aimed his restaurants at a different clientele then he would still be in business – and of course, his goal has always been to target inequality, so he wouldn’t have done it any other way. But if you have a choice, it might be worth considering the profitability of certain audiences and looking to work out ways of focusing on your ethical impact in other ways.

Read full article: Jamie Oliver Says Opening ‘Posh Restaurants’ Would Have Been Easier

Restaurants Are Now Employing Robots – Should Chefs Be Worried? – The Guardian

First it was checkouts, now it’s restaurant staff. Will the opportunity to reduce overheads through tech overcome the want to experience a waiter, or indeed know that your food has been cooked by a human chef?

This article explores the pros and cons of using robotics in restaurants – McDonalds already does it, and many other fast food chains, using tech to take orders – cutting out the middleman for a middlebot. Again, it comes down to what kind of restaurant or food experience you are looking to create, but the development of technology in the kitchen is real and could be a considerable factor in your whether your business makes or breaks it.

Read full article: Restaurants Are Now Employing Robots – Should Chefs Be Worried

Number Of Permanent Pub Closures Halve Across Start Of 2019 – The Caterer

It’s not all bad… well not that bad. The Caterer reported in July that UK pubs’ closing rates have declined in the first half of 2019, indicating that government interventions on business rates has had an impact, as well as the fact that communities are looking to support industries important to them.

Perhaps something for a food business to take heed of – that if you want to survive, you don’t necessarily need to just be good, but do good for people too.

Read full article: Number Of Permanent Pub Closures Halve Across Start Of 2019

Read More About Building A Successful Food Business

The above articles point more and more to the fact that if you’re looking to start a successful food business, testing it through a pop up or through a dark kitchen is a less risky way to start.

Regardless of if your food business is on the high street or online, our 7 restaurant KPIs to apply to your food business offers useful tips for creating your business plan, as do some of our other guides and food business interviews on our blog.


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