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Running a restaurant in a recession: how do you survive?

Running a restaurant in a recession means refreshing your concept in time, before guests start to drift away. When people spend less, regulars get used to what you offer and competitors copy it, even a successful concept loses its edge over time.

Which signs tell you it's time to change your concept?

After 8 years, Jeroen de Pauw of Canapé Apéro points to three signs: economic pressure in Belgium that has guests spending less, regulars growing used to the concept, and competitors adopting the same idea. An expensive concept is hit hardest by a financial crisis. The underlying behaviour can still hold: the aperitif remains popular in Belgium, it's just the format that has to evolve. Guest reviews often reveal these shifts sooner than your revenue figures do.

Why does a crisis hit expensive concepts harder?

In a financial crisis, guests cut back on spending and expensive concepts are the first to go. After 8 years, Canapé Apéro saw this clearly in what guests were spending.

When does a restaurant concept wear out?

A concept wears out when guests get used to it and other restaurants start copying it. At Canapé Apéro, that happened after roughly 8 years.

What survives a change of concept?

Guest behaviour often stays the same, even when the concept changes. The aperitif remains popular in Belgium, so the format changes while the demand stays.

As an entrepreneur, you really have to keep changing, keep coming up with new ideas and keep adjusting your concept.

Frequently asked questions

Why do competitors copy successful restaurant concepts?

A concept that does well attracts imitators. As more restaurants start working the same way, the concept becomes a trend and the point of difference disappears. Jeroen de Pauw of Canapé Apéro saw this happen with the aperitif concept in Belgium. That makes it harder for the original concept to draw guests on the strength of something unique, even if demand for the aperitif itself remains.

Should a restaurant replace its entire concept once guests get used to it?

Not necessarily. As long as the underlying need is still there, adjusting the format, the pricing or the business plan is usually enough. According to Canapé Apéro, the aperitif remains very popular in Belgium, even now that the concept itself is showing signs of wear. It's wise to first work out which part of the need still holds, and then decide what to change.

How can a restaurant spot early that guests are spending less?

Lower spending tends to creep in gradually, for example when guests come back less often or mention prices in their reviews. In general, guest feedback and reviews give you a picture of changing expectations sooner than monthly revenue figures. That's why it pays to collect and track feedback systematically, especially in a period of economic uncertainty like the one Canapé Apéro went through in Belgium.

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Video transcript

protected it over time. Because you see that even now we are working now 8 years and I see that it's, it's a little bit gone already because there is also a lot of, um, economic changing in, in Belgium. There's a lot of financial crisis, so people, they don't spend so much money anymore, um, and it's quite expensive concept.

So as an entrepreneur, you really have to change always. You really have to make new ideas. You really have to switch your concept, your business plan.

So I see that now it's a little bit the moment to change it already because we did it 8 years and people, they are a little bit getting used to it. More restaurants try to work like this, so it's also kind of trends. But the apero is still, is always very, very popular in, in, in our country.