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Restaurant versus diner – terms we often use in our daily conversations. But have you ever wondered why we say 'book a table at a restaurant' instead of 'book a table at a diner'? Or why some places serve food as a restaurant, while others are bars or pubs?
Restaurant, diner – terms embedded in our daily lexicon. But have you ever pondered why it's 'booking a table at a restaurant' rather than 'booking a table at a diner'? Or why certain places, while serving food, are labeled as restaurants, while others are deemed bars or pubs?...
What exactly is a restaurant? How does it differ from a diner?
1. Understanding the concept of restaurants
A restaurant (or eatery) is an establishment specialized in cooking and serving food and beverages to customers for immediate consumption. Additionally, many restaurants offer take-out services for customers to conveniently 'take away' their meals instead of dining in. Nowadays, many restaurants also provide delivery services, bringing food directly to customers' homes.
Depending on each country, region, and community, as well as the variety of dining services, serving styles, menus, dishes, and beverages, different types of restaurants with unique characteristics are distinguished.
It's essential to differentiate between types of restaurants and restaurant business models – these are two distinct concepts. In the following article, we will introduce you to popular restaurant business models prevalent today.
Types of restaurants and Restaurant business models are two distinct concepts
2. Common characteristics of a restaurant
Staffing structure: A typical restaurant comprises a restaurant owner, chef, and serving staff (waiters/waitresses). Depending on the size of the restaurant, staffing may be expanded to include additional personnel or additional departments such as receptionists, security, valets, head chef – main kitchen – auxiliary kitchen, etc.
Menu: A restaurant must have a specific menu for customers to choose from, arrange seating to serve, dishes, food, beverages... while also having the necessary equipment and kitchen space for food preparation.
3. How are restaurants different from eateries?
In reality, we often don't pay much attention to distinguishing between restaurants and eateries. Sometimes these two terms are used interchangeably to refer to the same dining establishments. It's all good.
However, the true distinction lies in the fact that the concept of a restaurant is differentiated from that of an eatery in that restaurants typically have larger scales (in terms of capacity, space, infrastructure, interior decor) and offer a more diverse and varied menu.
Moreover, it's not necessarily about the amount of money spent, but typically 'restaurant' is a term used when referring to dining establishments with a formal, elegant ambiance, often used for parties and celebrations. 'Eatery', on the other hand, is a common, everyday term used for more casual dining establishments, more like discussing taverns or bars. It's like, instead of saying 'Vietnam Women's Union', people would say 'Vietnam Women's Association'.
In reality, the concepts of restaurants and eateries don't need to be overly dissected
Classifying common restaurant business models today
To embark on a food business venture, you need to determine which type of restaurant you'll establish and which restaurant business model to implement. From there, you can accurately identify your target customer base and target market to begin your journey.
>> Below are the ways to classify common restaurant business models today:
1. Classifying restaurants by cuisine, country
Based on the characteristic dishes of a country's cuisine, region, or continent, restaurants are categorized into different business models such as French restaurants, Vietnamese restaurants, Italian restaurants, European restaurants, Asian restaurants, Korean restaurants, Japanese restaurants,... This is a common classification method and is widely used.
2. Classifying restaurants by scale
Scale here refers to capacity, space, interior, and infrastructure.
This classification method is often relatively subjective, sometimes it's very difficult to determine which category a dining establishment belongs to. They are typically divided into small eateries, family eateries, budget restaurants, mid-range restaurants, upper-mid to high-end restaurants, upscale restaurants, luxury restaurants, fine dining establishments, super luxury restaurants,...
3. Classifying restaurants by service type
The service type classification is the simplest and most common method. We have the following business models: Buffet restaurants, à la carte restaurants, fast food restaurants, wedding banquet restaurants,...
4. Classifying restaurants by food theme
These are restaurants that typically serve dishes based on one or two main themes. Classifying restaurant models this way, we have: Seafood restaurants, barbecue restaurants, hotpot restaurants, specialty hotpot restaurants for goat/beef/chicken,..., vegetarian restaurants, lobster restaurants, countryside restaurants,...
5. Classifying restaurants by geographical location
Based on the prominent features of the restaurant, we classify models into: Restaurants in hotels, restaurants in shopping centers, high-rise restaurants, rooftop restaurants, basement restaurants, riverside restaurants, river restaurants, floating restaurants,...
6. Classifying restaurants by collaborative partnerships
Depending on the restaurant's partnerships with other vendors to provide 2, 3 additional services at the same location, we have: Karaoke restaurants, restaurant - cafes, restaurant - bar - cafes, lounge restaurants,...
7. Classifying restaurants by ownership structure
This is a less common classification in Vietnam. It's mainly for investors specializing in restaurant business. We have types of models: Private restaurants, state-owned restaurants, joint venture restaurants, joint stock restaurants,...
8. Combining 2 or more models above
We classify restaurants such as: Korean BBQ restaurants, Japanese BBQ restaurants, seafood buffet restaurants, countryside à la carte restaurants,...
There are 8 common models of restaurant business classification in Vietnam
Operating a restaurant is a risky service industry, as it revolves around essential human needs, with many fluctuations. It can bring you wealth and success, but it can also deplete your finances. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will have more knowledge to confidently pursue your choice.
Wishing you success in your restaurant business endeavors,
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Source: wikipedia
