Conquering the challenges of ‘Family Dining’

Rezz Hotel Adelaide

The topic of this blog is one that many will be glad to have personally overcome.  It has tested the strongest of families at the best of times, and is pertinent to my family right now, yet had previously acquired very little of my attention:

Conquering the challenges of ‘Family Dining’  

It’s amazing how your perceptions shift and expectations towards food and hospitality are moderated once you have children.  My wife and I were exceptionally lucky with our first born, as we could essentially take him anywhere - breakfast, lunch or dinner - from a busy café to a smart casual restaurant, and enjoy a meal out without a gripe.  We hardly had to break stride for the first few years of his life, as we continued with our pre-child lifestyle which revolved around exploring local food and hospitality options and eating out whenever possible.

Enter child number 2, and WOW how that changed.  Never being one to show much patience for screaming children in public places, it was soon apparent that we were going to have to reconsider our dining out preferences and wait until we had the ‘situation’ under control.

Delighted to state that for our family (and those customers at adjacent tables), we are through that phase, and we can go out as a family again to engage with cafes, restaurants, and pubs with reduced concern.   You don’t realise how important this is until it affects you, where you feel unable to take your family out without risk of disturbing those around you.

Nowadays, we aim to select venues that are well prepared for families with young children, where our children’s needs are pre-empted, leading to a more enjoyable dining experience.

Bam Bam Italian

This recent imposed hiatus led us to reconsider what our key motivations are for enjoying a meal out with the family, and what must align for this to be achieved.  Suffice to say, it is no longer just the size of the wine list or the newest restaurant launch, or trending cuisine that is influencing our decisions.

The verdict on this is that there must be a balance across amenity, quality, service delivery and price.  The prospect of ticking all four of these boxes seems improbable, but each time we go out for a meal, we are striving for the quadrella.  Where the obvious challenge lies is that within a family there are vastly contrasting need states at play.

For the kids, it’s the colouring in pack or activity set, availability of hot chips, a space to play and seating options that allow them to sit comfortably at the table.  As trivial as these may seem, they from my experience are critical success factors of a meal out with the family and if these can be obtained, then we are well placed for a positive experience.

For us parents it’s more universal, taking into account the quality of the food, beverage and service, value for money, variety of F&B options and the overarching setting - comfort, design, safety and ambiance of the venue.  These aspirations often struggle to dovetail with those of the kids, with conflicting goals and purposes often impacting the outcome.

Amenity – Facilities & comfort

Quality – Quality and range of food and beverage

Service delivery - Customer service & operational delivery

Price - Value for money & appropriateness

Rezz Hotel Adelaide

It is this author’s perspective that these 4 pillars should be planned for and must coexist to deliver a holistic family-friendly experience, achieve business objectives and secure long-term customer visitation.

So how can it work? Why do some venues successfully achieve what from the outset seems improbable? What are the common factors? When is intervention needed to find the balance and safeguard a successful outcome?

To answer the above questions, it’s easiest to take off my ‘parent’ hat and put on my ‘consultant’ hat to ascertain the how, why, what and when.

• Above all, the foremost thing to credit for achieving successful outcomes is design. Early design intervention is fundamental in planning and consideration into spatial allocation is essential, well before the premises has been built. Limiting the impact created by families on other customer groups is pivotal in obtaining wide market appeal across multiple customer demographics.

•  Determining who your target customers are and what they want?

• Being clear as to who your core users are or will be and pre-empting their needs against the proposed concept or venue in question. This must occur well in advance of opening, so that the business, training, design, menu, aesthetics etc. are all influenced by the customer profiles and specific need states. A hospitality strategy must be devised that informs the future direction and must be a lot more robust than a ‘build it and they will come’ mentality.

•   Factoring in customer comfort, ergonomics and varied seating solutions is crucial to meeting a variety of customer needs, from the youngest to the eldest customer. Understanding how to maximise their experience levels, and in the process increasing dwell time and subsequent spend per head, can all be achieved by providing appropriate seating solutions for all customers.

•  Look and feel, including furniture, fixtures and equipment, is integral to the interior design of a venue and must be planned professionally and credibly to deliver a design-driven space that enhances the customer experience. A clean, well maintained, and modern environment is instrumental in attracting customers, yet it should also present as a space that families would be comfortable to engage with.

•  Safety and security is a non-negotiable for family-friendly venues, and through maximising the assurance of this, lessens the anxiousness of parents and leads to a more enjoyable visit for all customers.

• An impressive play space, playroom or games room designed into the venue is one dependable way of having kids beg their parents to return time and time again. Family meals and outings are in fact shared experiences, and businesses must understand that kids have the ability to influence decision making when deciding where to dine. If there isn’t space for a dedicated playroom, then consideration into a children’s activity pack is a great way to recognise that through keeping kids happy and entertained, you are going a long way to deliver a positive all-round experience.

• Operational planning and management are the linchpin for all quality hospitality businesses, whether that be fine dining or casual eateries, and this must be implemented correctly to establish a framework that can successfully guide the business. In a family-friendly environment, regardless of table service or counter service, a considered and tailored operational plan must be devised and followed to maintain expected standards and help shape the service and operational delivery.

• Menu planning and costing is vital in establishing a strong proposition that not only provides adequate choices (healthy, vegetarian, vegan, portion size, price points, cultural and age appropriateness, day-part relevance) etc. but resembles value for money to the customer.  From my experience, not all kids just want the standard options of spag bol, chicken nuggets or a burger.  Apply some creativity to the menu, plan for success and appreciate the rewards. 

• Quality control of food and beverage and constantly evolving and enhancing the offer to remain relevant and ensure that complacency doesn’t creep in.  The modern, discerning customer has expectations that must be met, regardless of whether they’re dining with or without a family.  They seek quality and consistency in their F&B interactions and will seek out alternatives if underwhelmed. 

• Staff training is paramount to building a team and organisational culture that truly understands the business direction and its objectives. Service delivery training and soft skills training such as building empathy and conflict resolution are core considerations when operating a family-friendly venue and ensuring that all staff are fully aware of the unique requirements of all customer segments.

Stomping Ground Brewery

 There are obviously many examples of where family-friendly dining has been successful, none more-so than McDonald’s and other fast-food majors, who have championed this movement for many years. These industry leaders have understood the importance of these customer segments and built their business around this. But as customers have become more discerning and more adventurous, dining preferences have shifted, and as a result of this, many more types of businesses have seen the need to reconsider their approach and overall F&B positioning.

More and more businesses are understanding the importance of becoming family-friendly, even if it is just to maximise visitation at off-peak times ie. early dinner periods, or mid-week lunches.  Attracting this customer segment can go a long way towards maximising revenue potential and building a new customer base who have the potential of spreading word of mouth recommendations, due to their positive experiences.

There are many reasons that alcohol-led venues are highly successful in achieving this, as their visitation numbers are severely impacted if they cannot present a genuine family-friendly setting. It’s no coincidence that beer halls, pubs, clubs and wineries are setting the standard across the industry and are utilising their large footprint venues to successfully allocate appropriate space to children and allow for ample separation to appease their customers.

• Stomping Ground Brewery

• Moon Dog Brewery

• Kaiju Cantina

• Felons Brewing Co

• Rezz Hotel

• St Huberts Estate

• Wenty’s Leagues Club

• Liverpool Catholic Club

We have also seen a shift in other restaurant segments that are adopting a more family-friendly approach to meet their customer expectations. Local suburban restaurants, such as Bam Bam Italian in the Yarra Ranges and Duchess of Spotswood, have dedicated key internal and external space to allow for easy moveability of prams and incorporated playgrounds to satisfy a key section of their customer base.

Liverpool Catholic Club Laneway Play Area Giant nets

More destinational, modern eateries and venues are also seeming to acknowledge this and are factoring kid-friendly spaces into their designs. The Glasshouse in Artarmon, Grounds of Alexandria, and Coogee Pavilion have proven that even on-trend venues, positioned for a higher spend per head, are not impervious to this. 

Coogee Pavilion

With over 150 stores nationally, Grill’d have opened their first ever restaurant with an internally designed playground in the Melbourne suburb of Eltham in 2022. This shift sees an acknowledgement of the local demographic and an understanding of who their customers are and what they may want from a new burger shop in this location.

Kaiju Cantina

So it’s evident that family-friendly dining is becoming far more accessible across major cities and suburbs and not just within the traditional types of venues that have already catered to this market previously.  Keeping families happy includes ensuring the kids are happy, and the best way to safeguard this is to interpret the need states of the customers and cater accordingly.

As a parent, conquering the challenges of family dining is no easy feat, but it is clear that venues themselves are now taking responsibility for contributing towards a positive outcome and experience.