Nowadays, office complexes are not treated only as a work place. More and more frequently offices are designed in such a way to enable future tenants doing shopping, picking up children from kindergarten or visiting a gym in close proximity to their work place. A great asset for each office would be to provide the neighborhood of various gastronomic points which are perfect places for meeting with a very important contractor in working hours, and after work – with friends, without the necessity of travelling through the whole city. It is no wonder that gastronomic premises belong to the biggest group of tenants in service and commercial areas offered by investors in their office structures. It may seem that location of your gastronomic business in a building with hundreds of employees is doomed to succeed. However, several crucial factors have to be analyzed before making a final decision. Results of such analysis allow to devise an appropriate strategy. Except for such issues as concept and appearance, it should include a choice of a proper place for a particular office building where it is to be placed. At this stage we should ask ourselves whether we want our gastronomic offer to be directed only at employees of a certain office or to be open for everybody. And it is not the only aspect. What other factors should be then taken into consideration?
1. Location
Location of your restaurant, both in the building and on the map of your city, has a crucial impact on its business activity. In the first case, it is important to make your restaurant noticeable for potential clients who cross the building. It should be located in the front part of the structure. However, if there is no possibility to place it there, proper indication will be of great importance, e.g. trade sign and information how to get to the restaurant. When it comes to the second aspect, the best location for your restaurant business is certainly an office structure situated in the city center, where a lot of people appear every day – both tourists and inhabitants, that is potential clients of the restaurant. In order to make sure that the particular location which is taken into consideration by us is a good choice, we should analyze some research that presents the pedestrian traffic volume in its neighborhood. Such analyzes are often conducted by investors, for instance, by Senatorska Investment Sp. z o.o, on commission of which the pedestrian traffic volume was measured in the area of Miodowa, Senatorska and Podwale Streets located at the very heart of Warsaw and at the crossroads of which Plac Zamkowy – Business with Heritage was realized. According to data collected by the company, traffic volume in a common day in that place totals more than 55 thousand people per day and more than 85 thousand people in holy days. Why such information is so crucial for us? The pedestrian traffic volume rate is a kind of information that allows us to estimate how much people will potentially notice a trade sign or shop window of our restaurant. So if we are to consider several locations, it is worth comparing such data.
2. Surrounding, that is the closest neighborhood
While choosing a proper office structure for your restaurant, it is worth considering the neighborhood where that building is to be located. What is especially crucial for each restaurant is the proximity to shops, monuments and places of culture: museums, theaters or operas, where people often decide to eat dinner or supper after shopping, sightseeing or seeing a performance. In the context of the closest neighborhood, it is also necessary to analyze what is located in close proximity to the building in order to find out what is the view of the restaurant – beautiful view will certainly have a positive impact on attractiveness of the premises.
3. Building
A crucial issue at choosing a location for a premises by the owner of restaurant is the building. Except for technical aspect, aesthetics is equally important. Each building should be characterized by an interesting architecture which attracts passers-by. Taking technical condition into consideration, it is worth choosing new buildings or those which were thoroughly modernized in order not to bear additional costs related to renovation. The premises, in turn, should be easy in adaptation, equipped with proper devices, for instance, modern air conditioning, or have concrete architectural solutions, e.g. proper setting of premises or big windows which enable lightening of the interior or attracting attention of potential clients.
4. Patio
Next to appearance and condition of the office, it is worth paying attention to the fact whether the building offers a possibility of creating a summer patio, which is a crucial facilitation during hot days or evenings. This aspect often decides whether a potential client chooses this or other restaurant, especially in the summer period.
5. Potential savings
While searching for a perfect office structure for restaurant business, it is worth deciding on the one which was awarded BREEAM or LEED certificate. Why? Certified building in one of such systems is not only friendly to the environment but it also brings real savings related to exploitation costs of rented area by the application of pro-ecological solutions. Such benefits can be backed with concrete example. The already mentioned Plac Zamkowy – Business with Heritage, which was awarded BREEAM Interim at the Very Good level, uses 27.51 per cent less energy in comparison to the building without certification.