Creating a Grocery Corner in Your Restaurant: Our Guide

Diversifying your restaurant is an effective way to grow your customer base and stand out from the competition. How? For example, by creating a grocery corner or shop within your restaurant, which generates additional sales. Many restaurateurs have already made this choice. Here's an overview of the benefits of this approach, along with tips to make it a winning strategy for your restaurant.

Why Add a Grocery Space to Your Restaurant

1. Increase Your Restaurant's Visibility and Broaden Your Target Audience

Having a grocery space in your restaurant allows you to gain visibility, as the establishment will not only be perceived as a restaurant but also as a shop. Your customers will want to visit between meals, lingering longer at the storefront and on the displayed products…

The customer base will also expand, as people who came for the restaurant will discover the shop and potentially become customers, and those who came for the shop can discover the restaurant and decide to return for a meal.

2. Build Customer Loyalty

Beyond expanding the customer base, this will also foster loyalty. Indeed, if customers are impressed by the products purchased or, conversely, by the dishes tasted, they will want to return—either to repurchase a product they enjoyed at the restaurant or to experience the restaurant's cuisine again.

3. Grow Your Revenue

Opening a grocery section within a restaurant serves as an additional sales channel, generating a new revenue stream. However, it must compensate for any potential revenue loss incurred by utilizing space otherwise dedicated to the restaurant, depending on the area occupied.

Nevertheless, particularly with a compact grocery section, this can effectively monetize areas often too small for an additional table or the space around the cash register. Moreover, expanding and retaining clientele also contributes to increased turnover, making your restaurant's grocery corner potentially very profitable.

4. Enhancing Your Business Value

Selling the products served in your restaurant significantly enhances the business and the dishes offered. Consumers are increasingly keen to know the origin of their food and to discover the producers. Therefore, you can focus on products you genuinely appreciate, whose producers you know, and about which you can speak with expertise. Lastly, you can also package your own products, leveraging the "homemade" appeal within your grocery selection.

Four Tips for Success

Do not expect an immediate, substantial increase in turnover from the grocery section. Instead, consider that even if the revenue generated is relatively modest, it significantly enhances your restaurant's image and further promotes its products.

We nonetheless offer some advice to enhance your grocery space and ensure it generates increased revenue.

1. Start Small

When establishing your grocery section, start with a modest space and a limited selection of products. This approach allows you to test the concept with your clientele and evaluate product performance, identifying best-sellers and those to prioritize. You can then progressively refine and expand your offering.

Always ensure that the product display is harmonious and aligns with your restaurant's ambiance.

You can also choose to limit your grocery offering to a specific product range, such as jams, local terrines, or wine by creating a dedicated cellar space.

2. Leverage Exclusivity and Direct Producer Sourcing

To pique customer interest and differentiate yourself from competitors, emphasize the rarity and exclusivity of your products. If some of your offerings are difficult to find in other stores or conventional shops, seize the opportunity to highlight them. This will provide your customers with an additional incentive to visit your establishment: what they discover with you, they won't find elsewhere.

Moreover, by sourcing directly from producers, you increase your chances of acquiring products that are more challenging to find through traditional distribution channels. Direct producer relationships offer compelling sales arguments related to short supply chains and your in-depth knowledge of product origins. If you have the opportunity to work directly with producers, seize it!

3. Engage Your Customers

Incorporating a gourmet grocery section into your restaurant can also facilitate customer interaction, particularly if you showcase wine. Customers can directly select their wine from the dedicated "cellar" space you've arranged. This direct visual access to the bottle before selection makes them more inclined to purchase, as they can more easily visualize their impending drink.

Please note: if you sell alcohol in your retail space, you must ensure you obtain the off-licence to remain compliant with legal regulations. This can be acquired by making a declaration at the town hall.

4. Use the Menu as a Promotional Tool

To boost sales in your grocery section, prominently feature the products on your menu. By indicating that certain ingredients used in your dishes are available for direct purchase in your restaurant, customers will be more inclined to buy them, having already experienced their taste.

Also, ensure your team is well-versed in the products so they can effectively promote your grocery section during service.

There are numerous compelling reasons to add a grocery section to your restaurant, provided it remains consistent with your establishment's overall concept.

Conversely, the same principle applies: if you operate a gourmet grocery store, adding a few tables to offer some of your products for tasting alongside a glass of wine can also provide significant added value! Remember that today's customers are increasingly seeking an immersive experience; blending dining and gourmet grocery offerings enriches the overall experience provided by your establishment.

If, despite these considerations, a grocery section does not appear to be the optimal method for diversifying and evolving your business, other possibilities exist based on your establishment's layout and concept. For instance, you can enhance your reputation by diversifying your establishment through alternative means, such as incorporating coworking spaces.