You can’t always get your guests in the door when you want
to feed them. Some prefer to pick up food and go home. Curbside service is the
ideal way to get the food to the guest quickly and requires a minimum of
restaurant furnishings and a bit of good planning.

Plan For Easy Pickup

The way to maximize profit is to make your curbside service
quick and efficient. You will need to reserve a few spaces in front of your
pickup location that will be used just for guests taking food to go. Have those
spaces someplace visible to the servers in charge of bringing the food out. If
such parking spaces aren’t available, you will need to install a camera and
some sort of warning system inside.

Select the Menu

Not every dish you serve in your restaurant is suitable for
take-out. Dishes that have to be served sizzling or those that need to stay
frozen make poor choices. It is also hard to have the kitchen make a signature
dish taste as good if there is significant lag time between prep and eating.
While most guests will understand that, some won’t.

Take a good look at your full menu and talk to the chef
about which dishes will stand up best to waiting before eating. Are there any
instructions you can pack with the meals to improve taste once they reach their
destination? Can you pack sauces in a separate container, to be added just
before eating to preserve the crunch or mouth-feel of a dish? Arrange a menu that is specific to the
curbside service you provide for maximum satisfaction.

Package Your Food

Appropriate packaging will make the difference between foods
that stay hot or cold or dishes that stay in their containers. It is always
worth spending a bit more money to preserve the guest’s experience as much as
possible. Those packages also give you an opportunity to promote your brand.
Each container can include your brand, and bags should also display an easy to
read phone number. Consider throwing in a takeout menu each time too.

Set Up Furnishings

Unless you plan to store waiting meals on the hostess desk
(a bad idea), you will need a place to keep prepared food so it stays warm. You
might need a heating cabinet or lamps that will maintain temperatures until
your guests arrive. With these in place, the next step is getting the staff in
place.

Don’t Leave Pickup to Chance

You don’t want guests sitting in the lot waiting for their
food to come out. If you are offering curbside service, have curbside staff
assigned. They should have enough cash on them to make change for customers who
want to pay cash, and be able to run secure credit card payments at the car.
That can be handled by a tablet or smartphone with the right app.

With the right restaurant furnishings and preparation a
curbside service can significantly increase your take each evening. These tips
will help you get things right from the start.