3 Ways Restaurant Trends are Impacting Their Space Requirements

CRE makes up the physical spaces where business happens.

Because of this relationship, changes in one sector have a strong impact on the whole industry. Once a new trend gains momentum, CRE tenants begin to shop, lease, and buy spaces differently.

This relationship can be observed in the evolving restaurant scene. As the food industry strives to keep up with contemporary consumers, dining trends are physically changing restaurant properties.

Let’s look at these 3 examples where space requirements are being altered by these 2020 restaurant developments:

Farm-To-Table Concepts

Sourcing local is an important aspect of today’s restaurant industry. A few years ago, this movement grew in popularity, establishing its current place in the US dining scene. Many of today’s restaurant guests expect locally-grown foods and delicacies to be on the menu.

In order to deliver this quality standard, restaurants need to consider their location. Serving local goods can be a big investment for restaurants. The best way to cut down on these costs is by creating a strategic delivery system. Moving the restaurant closer to the suppliers can greatly reduce transport expenses.

Locally-sustained restaurants are looking for CRE spaces that are close enough to their customers but not too far from the place where their ingredients get grown. Tenants may also be interested in fewer storage rooms and more cooking space since the fresh ingredients will need to be cycling out at a faster rate.

Self-Grown Foods

Stemming from the farm-to-table concept, many restaurants have chosen to simply start growing their own foods. Sourcing from local growers isn’t always easy in big metros around the country, where agricultural lands are far off and inconvenient.

The solution is on-site gardens where restaurants can grow their own produce. Green rooftops and courtyard areas are in hot demand for big-city restaurants who want to start cultivating easy-to-grow delicacies, such as herbs and greens.

Tenants will be looking for a restaurant space that can be developed into a hotspot for homegrown goods.

The Food Truck Fad

Food trucks are taking restaurants to their customers with more convenience than ever before. However, this method needs a lot of support from the CRE industry to attain long term success.

First of all, food trucks serve hot and ready food to their customers out of a miniature kitchen installed into a truck. While the mobile kitchens have the basic essentials, it’s not enough to run the entire business.

To combat this issue, it’s common for food trucks to have a brick and mortar restaurant space. This physical asset is the truck’s main location for storage, large-scale prep, and other basic logistics.

These tenants will be looking for tons of food storage and cooking room. If the property also serves as a restaurant space, they’ll be looking for a small seating area for guests. A CRE restaurant asset is essential for optimizing the food truck business module.

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