The Importance of a Restaurant Mission Statement

When opening a restaurant, you’ll want to establish a brand to give your business its personality. An important part of restaurant branding is creating a memorable and strong mission statement. Customers, now more than ever, want to know what companies stand for, and your mission statement gives them access to your values and priorities. Those who identify with the same values can develop an emotional connection with your restaurant and possibly become loyal customers from there.

You may use the following links to navigate through the article:

• What Is a Restaurant Mission Statement?
• Why Have a Restaurant Mission Statement?
• How to Write a Restaurant Mission Statement
• Popular Restaurant Mission Statements
• Other Statements to Consider

What Is a Restaurant Mission Statement?

A restaurant mission statement is a brief description of a restaurant's goals, philosophies, and competitive edge with details on how those goals will be achieved. This statement is usually between one to three sentences and is concise and to the point. It is an opportunity to establish a foundation for your company while expressing the reason for its existence. Restaurant mission statements are usually geared toward a particular audience by being impactful and inspirational. They serve to advertise what your restaurant is hoping to accomplish.

Why Have a Restaurant Mission Statement?

A restaurant mission statement provides your customers, staff, and stakeholders with a connection to your establishment. It defines your restaurant’s values, purpose, and unique elements making your location more relatable and memorable.

Not only does a mission statement help you stand out from the competition, but it also helps your staff understand the role that they play in the mission of the company. By expressing your business values in writing, your employees can recognize the passion that led to the restaurant’s establishment and how they contribute towards the success of the company’s overall goals. The restaurant mission statement also provides a foundation for business decisions to come. It creates a standard that your company can abide by when making choices that can impact your brand.

How to Write a Restaurant Mission Statement

When writing a restaurant mission statement, you’ll need to brainstorm the information you want to include and craft your statement from that point. There are elements that are important to include and some aspects that should be avoided in order to provide you with a strong mission statement for your restaurant.

1. Brainstorm

The process of creating a mission statement for your restaurant begins with some brainstorming. Here are some questions you’ll want to consider as you think about the important information you’ll want to include. You may want to write out the answers to the questions so you can use them later for reference.

• Why did you open your restaurant?
• What beliefs and values impact how you set up your establishment?
• What does your business offer that sets you apart from the competition?
• What are you hoping to achieve with your restaurant?
• Who is your target audience?
• How does your location achieve its goals?

2. Research

After you have your answers written out, it can be helpful to research the mission statements of competing companies or businesses you admire to get some inspiration. Keep an eye out for the following features:

• How long their statement is
• What content they have chosen to add
• How this content advances their branding

3. Write

Once you have completed your research, you can compile the answers from your brainstorming into a paragraph. This may look long at first, but it will be consolidated down during editing. Identify the recurring themes in your answers that you can condense into a single declaration. Merge ideas that can function together to narrow your paragraph into a maximum of three sentences. A restaurant mission statement features strong adjectives and an active voice while being straightforward. Check back to make sure you have included these key points:

• Who: Who is your intended customer?
• What: What are you offering?
• Why: Why does your restaurant exist?
• How: How will you satisfy your customers’ needs?
• Your competitive differentiator

When you have finished, reach out to your advisers or business partners for feedback to make sure you have successfully articulated your point in a concise manner that will resonate with customers. A fresh pair of eyes can help identify areas that may have been overlooked, either in content or grammar.

4. Avoid

There are some elements to avoid while writing a restaurant mission statement to ensure that your statement ends up being engaging and understandable. Avoid:

• Being too general so that it might apply to any restaurant
• Being too wordy and long
• Using complex wording or jargon

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Popular Restaurant Mission Statements

You may choose to reference other restaurant mission statements for inspiration as you craft your own when opening a restaurant. Here are 6 examples from popular chain restaurants that may aid you in your process.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill: Ensuring that better food, prepared from whole, unprocessed ingredients is accessible to everyone.
• Dunkin' Donuts: Make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well-merchandised stores.
• Moe's Southwest Grill: To provide a one-of-a-kind experience that energizes everyone with an enthusiastic welcome, exceptional service, awesome food, killer tunes, and an unforgettable time.
• Panda Express: To deliver exceptional Asian dining experiences by building an organization where people are inspired to better their lives.
• Starbucks: To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.
• Wendy’s: To deliver superior quality products and services for our customers and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships.

Other Statements to Consider

Aside from writing a restaurant mission statement, there are three other statements that you may also create for your establishment. To avoid confusion, we have laid out how value statements, vision statements, and culture statements differ from mission statements.

Value Statement

• This lists the core principles of the company that are the foundation of decision making.
• It indicates what the company as a whole believes that guides the restaurant’s moral compass.
• This statement is mainly used by the leadership and management teams.

Vision Statement

• This is where the restaurant states its goals for the upcoming years.
• It is an opportunity to discuss where the company as a whole is going.
• This statement is used to guide management and encourage staff.

Culture Statement

• This lists how employees and staff members are expected to treat each other in the establishment.
• It establishes the professional environment of your restaurant.
• This statement is used for employee training and will usually be included in the employee handbook.

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With all the different aspects to consider when getting your restaurant on its feet, writing a mission statement may not be high on the priority list. However, creating a restaurant mission statement can help set up a foundation for important business planning decisions during your opening process. It can become a reference point for you, your staff, and your customers now and for years to come.