Short advice from a cafe operator (Donald Burns) recommending restaurants focus on the guest journey at the moment guests enter — emphasizing tangibles (visuals, scent), cozy atmosphere, and small details that encourage repeat visits. The speaker cites two cafes they built (one in Fulton Market, one on State Street) as examples of spaces designed for warmth and time-out experiences.
One thing restaurants could do for the rest of 2025 that could just help them make more. I always take it back to focusing on, like, the guest journey, the moment they walk in your doors. Whether that's the tangibles, the visuals, the scent, people remember those things. You know, it's the little things that bring people back to your cafe. Like, the biggest compliment that I continuously get from my cafes is, oh, my gosh, you have the prettiest cafes in Chicago. You know, and people like the details, the warmth, the experiences, the atmospheres, because they do want to time out, be away from their work, away from even their loved ones, or going home. You know, like, you have to remember, like, a lot of people's homes are not their Zen space. Right. So where are you? Where can they go and create where they have that, like, time out for themselves. And I'm happy that the cafe that I. The two cafes that I've built, although they look very different from one another, their core is very cozy. They're both cozy and they have warmth. One is in a more urban setting in Fulton Market. The other one is, you know, of State street in a historic building. But I'm proud of both, that they bring a coziness to people when they enter. You know, you do have a great space. Yeah.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
