7 Tips for Food Stalls to Stand Out in a Food Hall
Food halls can be tricky, but they are also a great place to try out new ideas. Having a food stall can help you start and keep your business going. It's also a good way to prepare to open your restaurant.
You can try out your menu, make loyal customers, and improve how you run your business without spending too much money.
Here are 7 tips to make your food hall an A-plus experience for your diners:
1. Offer Self Service Kiosks for Ordering
In some food halls, people have to pay each vendor separately for their food. This can be annoying, especially if they want food from different booths. Ask the food hall manager to set up a central self-service kiosk to make things faster. This way, diners can order food from any stall and pay all at once, without going back and forth.
If your food hall doesn’t have a central checkout area, you can set up a self-service kiosk at your stall. This makes paying easier and speeds up the ordering process.
2. Make Takeout More Convenient
Food halls are meant to be a fun experience, but some people want to pick up their food and go. To make takeout easier, you can use food lockers. You can even connect the lockers to your self-ordering kiosk system. This way, diners can order and pick up their food quickly.
3. Create an Experience
Food halls are not only about the food. They should attract and keep a crowd so vendors (like you) can sell effectively. If you're trying out a new restaurant idea, join a food hall that has:
- Event space
- Frequent pop-up events
- Happy hour or craft beer
- Live music
These features can help bring in more people and make your business successful.
4. Upgrade Your Point-of-Sales System
Point-of-sale (POS) systems make orders and performance easy to track. You can see sales and costs in one place, which helps you make smart decisions about your food business.
Sometimes food halls provide POS systems for vendors, but other times, you need to get your own.
5. Simplify Menus
Huge menus are hard to manage in a small food stall and can overwhelm diners, making them choose another stall.
Try simplifying your menu. Start with no more than 10 options and offer meal deals or bundles to make ordering faster.
6. Collaborate to Boost Traffic
Food halls bring food vendors together, so why not help each other out? Work with vendors to promote events or specials. By sharing audiences, you can both gain new followers. It's a win-win situation that benefits everyone selling at the food hall.
7. Offer Marketplace Products
Diners buy more than just meals at food halls. Sometimes they want to take home special ingredients or treats. For example, if people love your artisanal burger buns or famous salsa, you can sell them as packaged goods to boost sales.
In Conclusion
Food halls are a cool place for new restaurant ideas. You can try different things without spending lots of money. These tips help make your food stall the best it can be.
Use self-service kiosks for faster ordering. Make takeout easier with food lockers. Add fun things like events and live music to attract more people. Upgrade your point-of-sale system to track sales better. Keep your menu simple with just a few options. Work with other vendors to bring in more customers. And don't forget to sell packaged goodies too. With these tips, your food stall can be a hit.
Trouble finding an ideal space for your food hall? Contact Terra Alma for expert food hall space consulting in Atlanta.