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The
right time, the right place, and the right people:
these are the essential ingredients for success in any human endeavor.
Naturally, these are also the essential factors for a successful
restaurant!
Most
people will agree that the criteria for a good restaurant include:- good
food, good service, reasonable price, good atmosphere, and good location with
easy parking.
These are the easily understood ¡°visible¡±
factors. However, these do
not guarantee a successful business. From
a Feng Shui point of view, the most essential factor is the less ¡°visible¡±
factor of space energy (Chi). A successful restaurant always provides an
abundance of Chi (qi).
The Chinese science of Feng Shui has swept through the international world in
recent years, yet much of the interest and understanding of it remains
superficial, partially mixed with provincial folk practices, cultural
traditions, and superstition. However,
its deeper principles, based in the idea that form defines energy, carry a
valuable and enduring body of knowledge about good environmental design.
Feng
Shui emphasizes
harmony and balance, whether between people, between elements of a landscape, or
between mankind and his environment.
The indicator of this harmony or balance is the Chi: how abundant it is
and how smoothly it flows. If a place has abundant Chi, harmony and balance will
be there. Things
will naturally manifest in a positive way, and everything will fall naturally
into the right place.
If the place has good Feng Shui,
with abundant and smooth-flowing Chi, all of the above-mentioned criteria for a
good restaurant (good food, good service, etc.)
will manifest.
Following
are some primary pointers for a successful restaurant:
1.
Good location
What is a good location? A good location is one with the
four major Feng Shui features; a nice ground
to build on, a supportive feature behind the building (avoid a steep drop-off),
a good balance of buildings on both sides, and an open space in front.
Of these four, a nice open space is the most essential, and
metaphorically represents the Water feature of Feng
Shui. Front
parking space may be regarded as fulfilling this Water feature.
2.
Wholesome
form
The form of the restaurant and its interior spaces should be wholesome.
Rectangles with a moderate length-to-width ratio, squares, and
circles are regarded as wholesome forms. Avoid
choppy or triangular structures and space. Remember,
wholesome form produces wholesome energy.
3.
Good
energy flow
A good restaurant should have smooth-flowing Chi energy.
On the outside, this manifest as a good flow of traffic; the restaurant
should be easily accessible. On the inside, there should be clear, clean
connections between the space and the rooms.
When the restaurant is too closed in, with too many partitions breaking
up the space, the energy flow stagnates. If
it is too open, especially directly across from the entrance, or if there are
windows at the back with an expansive view, it does not retain energy and does
not retain business.
4.
Good
feeling
A good atmosphere is created by a good interior design,
good coordination of colors, decor and furnishings, and a good definition of
space. These balanced elements offer
customers a warm and welcome feeling.
If the above four criteria are fulfilled, the space will have a good Chi
and Chi flow, a good basis for a successful restaurant.
What is the role of good food and good service in this picture?
If the place has good Chi, it will naturally nourish these other factors.
To many people this might be difficult to understand.
Let¡¯s ask the question a different way:
Everyone knows good food, good service, good price, and good location are
important, and every restaurant owner will strive to reach these goals; so why
are some restaurants successful and others not?
Ultimately, it always comes back to the factors of Feng
Shui.
If
what has been said is too general, here are a few specific points important for
any restaurant business.
1.
View:
Make sure that what is directly across from the front door is not the back door
or a wall of windows (even if it gives a very good view).
In this case, the energy will flow out soon as it comes in.
It is a myth that view is important; just a hint of view somewhere inside
the restaurant, or when you enter the restaurant, is enough.
Once the customer sits down at a table, his focus is on the conversation
and the food, not the view.
2.
Color:
Four basic colors are associated with food and restaurant d¨¦cor: white, yellow,
red and green. White is the most balanced color, representing balanced emotions
and associated with cleanliness.
The basic color for the restaurant should be white, cream or beige.
Yellow is associated with appetite; in Five Element theory, it is the
color of the Earth element, associated with the stomach.
The color red brings excitement; red is associated with the Fire element,
and associated with the heart¡¯s desire. This is why people like deep fried
foods and roasted meats.
It is not surprising that successful fast food restaurants, such as
MacDonald¡¯s and Burger King, have a logo that uses red and yellow. (Another
similar chain only uses red in the logo, and their business does not seem to be
as good.) Green
is associated with nature and freshness.
As people become more and more conscious of healthy diets, green is
coming more into the picture.
Taco
Del
Mar uses a good color scheme of yellow, brown and red in its d¨¦cor.
Avoid the color blue; blue is the color of the Wood element, which
suppresses the Earth element (appetite).
In Northwest of United States, Ivar¡¯s Chowder House has wonderful clam
chowder, but uses blue as its logo and theme color, mistakenly using its
association with seafood and the ocean.
3.
Cleanliness:
It is essential for restaurants to be very clean; this is directly
associated with
an impression of the
quality and freshness of the food.
The
most important place to be impeccably clean is the restroom. Make
the restroom like a five-star hotel¡¯s restroom.
This is the best investment you can make for the customer¡¯s impression!
People will directly associate it with the quality of the food served.
4.
Service:
Make an energy connection with the customer.
Sometimes a restaurant is very busy, and the service tends to be slow.
Always make sure the customer feels he has your attention.
People do not mind slow service as much as they mind feeling ignored.
In
Asia
, many restaurants will bring two or three complimentary small dishes to the
table, such as peanut or pickle cucumber, even before the customer places an
order. This is a good way to show attention to the customer, when the restaurant
is busy or service is slower than usual.
5.
Space:
Many restaurant owners are too concerned with having a space large enough
to accommodate the maximum number of potential customers. Actually, it is better
to be too small than too big. This
is an energy issue, a Feng Shui issue.
When a restaurant is too big or too empty, people are uncomfortable about
going in; it¡¯s too Yin.
People don¡¯t mind waiting in a busy restaurant. They are unconsciously
attracted to energy, and the more people there are, the more energy there is.
6.
Energy
connection: Place a living
plant at the entrance to create an energy connection, and draw energy in.
Many Chinese restaurants have a fish tank at the entrance. Either choice
works, as long as the fish and the plants are happy and healthy.
7.
Cashier
location: Ideally, the
cashier should be on the right side (white tiger side) of the restaurant from
the inside looking out. Most important, the cashier should have a solid,
supportive wall behind him.
8.
Passion:
Passion is the vital element in all human endeavors, a pre-requisite leading to
success.
Passion is considered most important
factor in every successful business but most of marketing course at the
universities ignore this important factor they only emphasis on: Product,
Price, Place
and Promotion.
But passion
is a key factor of being a truly long term successful industry leader.
In
long run, passion
will give you ability to make a right decision in every key business strategy.
If the owners can show passion to their chefs, waiters and waitress,
receptionist as well as customers. And
all people working in the restaurant need to fully enjoy and proud of what they
are doing. Then, each of employees in the restaurant has passion
for what she/he is doing; every one is naturally enjoying her/his work. The
restaurant will have happy energy as every one supports each other.
It will create team work acting as one unit.
This kind of natural passion
will pass to the customers naturally from the employees.
The customers will feel comfortable; they are at ease enjoying their good
foods with warmth and passion.
They
will never forget and will remember those of passion
from the restaurant they enjoy. They are happy and they will come back with
their friends again. How could such a restaurant not be successful?
By:
Shan-Tung Hsu, Ph.D.
Blue Mountain Feng Shui Institute
Seattle
,
Washington ,
USA
www.fengshui.cwok.com
(affiliated with 
www.cwok.com )
www.fengshuisource.com
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