What is flex-casual?
Flex-casual restaurants provide diners with the convenience of counter ordering by day and full service at night. Think of it as a cross between fast-casual and casual dining and a way to offer your customers the best of both worlds.
The term was coined by Randy Murphy to describe his business model at American dining establishment Mama Fu's and the concept has since taken off in the hospitality industry.
The benefits
The flex-casual strategy presents an opportunity to capture both the lunch and dinner crowds. At lunch customers are often on a tighter time limit and are looking for a more economical option, making counter service the ideal fit. In the evening however, guests often prefer dining at a leisurely pace and tend to pay more with a higher priced dinner menu.
Not only that flex-casual allows restaurants to target different customer bases, for example busy professionals looking to grab something quickly at lunch and the family and couples crowd looking for a more relaxed sit-down meal in the evening.
Tips to go flex-casual in your restaurant include...
Consider your floor plan and furniture
It’s important that your restaurant can transition smoothly from counter to table service and that customers understand where to go instantly based on the floorplan. You could also consider a switch in lighting and music to set an appropriate atmosphere for the time of day and dining style.
Furniture and decor also need to be versatile to match both settings. Easy to clean and hard-wearing tables, chairs and booths are perfect for the quick turnover of a lunchtime rush, but they need to be stylish and comfortable for evening diners who will spend longer in your establishment.
Create a seamless transition
Ensuring that employees fully understand how flex-casual works and have been provided with training is the most important element of making the transition run smoothly. You may also need to consider which roles are needed when, for example, waiting staff will be needed in the evening to greet, seat and serve diners, whereas in the daytime counter staff will be essential.
Choose the best days to go flex-casual
Whilst some restaurant owners may try the flex-casual approach 7 days a week, others have found that it’s perfect for Monday to Friday, but they focus on table service through the weekend. This choice depends entirely upon factors like the kind of customers that frequent your restaurant, your location and even cuisine type.