We’ve all been there. You’ve worked a long, hard day and all you want is a night off from cooking to enjoy a great meal with your friends or family. You decide to try out the new, locally-owned restaurant that is said to have the best burgers in town. Yes, the food was delicious, but the service and experience overall was subpar, leaving you unsure if you will even visit again.
A restaurant can have amazing food, but without a mission, vision, and values to drive the actions of employees, the restaurant overall will suffer.
Opening and running a business requires a copious amount of planning, organization, and dreaming. And being successful in the foodservice industry requires more than having a packed dining room, delicious food, or the newest and greatest equipment. When the organization has a purpose that all employees are working towards, that is when the success of the organization can be measured and achieved.
Mission, Vision, and Value
Mission, vision, and values are all parts of an organization that should be defined to create a clear picture of why it exists in the first place. What is the difference between a mission statement, vision, and values?
Mission: Serves as an organization’s goal and determines what you do today to work towards your vision.
Vision: “Photograph” of what you are trying to achieve and what you want tomorrow to look like.
Company Values: The fundamental beliefs on which your business and behavior are based that drive actions today to achieve the vision of tomorrow.
Each component is created to define how the organization should be run today to make it successful in the future, while always utilizing company values. When the mission of the organization is clear, employees and customers understand the brand identity – which makes it easy to build brand loyalty among the target audience.
How to Write A Mission Statement
Simon Sinek, the author of the best-selling book “Start With Why,” explains that leaders need a driving reason of why (the purpose) they are in business before laying out the processes or the products.
In other words, restaurant owners should not buy a location, print menus, and decorate the dining room before first formulating their purpose for starting the restaurant. And a purpose to simply make money is not a large enough why for starting the restaurant.
What is an example of a “why”?
- Provide healthy, fresh ingredients in exciting ways to improve the eating habits of the neighborhood
- Set a standard of sustainability in the industry while providing excellent food
- To provide fantastic tasting food at an affordable price point
- Put a smile on customer’s faces
There are countless “whys” for starting a restaurant and they will vary greatly in the industry. The important thing is that there is a purpose for being in business. Once your why is determined, you can utilize this purpose to begin writing your mission statement.
A mission statement should be a short statement that clearly identifies the goal of the restaurant’s operations.
Utilize the following questions for inspiration on how to clearly outline what your restaurant believes in, why it exists, and what employees should strive for on a daily basis. There is no standard format or wrong way to write a mission statement.
Questions to get you started:
- Why does this restaurant exist?
- What are our values?
- What makes us different than competitors?
Examples of great mission statements:
- Sweetgreen: “Our mission is to inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food”.
- Starbucks: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”
- Chipotle: “Ensuring that better food, prepared from whole, unprocessed ingredients is accessible to everyone.”
- Culvers: “Every guest who chooses Culver’s leaves happy”.
Central’s Mission
Central is a company of choices, founded on values, built on service
and focused on your success – every step of the way.
At Central Restaurant Products, we seek to equip those who feed the world. In order to do that, our mission is to provide operators with a plethora of choices in product selection, ways to shop, payment options, and to give valuable information through the buying process. Every one of our initiatives revolves around our four core values.
We are focused on loyal service to our customers and to our community to make an impact by giving back to those who shaped us. Our promise is to continue to serve you so that you can be successful, every step of the way!
Closing Remarks
The purpose of a mission statement is simple: it keeps the company’s direction clear and precise, with everyone working with a universal understanding of what makes the business successful. Having a clear mission statement will attract similar-minded employees, set you apart from the competition, and gives all involved direction. Once a mission statement is developed for your restaurant, operations will gain purpose as you work towards your why.
Hope has been a Content Specialist since November 2015, where she brings to the table years of experience in the food service industry in a variety of roles. Throughout her time with Central, Hope has focused on learning all things possible about everything from cooking equipment to concession and specialty products in order to empower operators with education on commercial equipment and supplies. Hope is a wife, new mom, avid crafter, and food lover (french fries please!).
