The Wow Factor

To increase customer visits, quick-service and fast-casual restaurants are finding it takes more than cost and convenience—two things diners today expect as standard. When consumers decide to visit a restaurant, they want something special: an all-encompassing dining experience they couldn’t get at home.

Diners seek something that’s not always tangible—a mood, feeling or emotional response—that connects the meal to the space, allowing them to leave feeling like they did more than grab a bite.

Consumers now spend 70 percent more on experiences and events than they did three decades ago, according to research from Eventbrite. More than 3 in 4 millennials—the nation’s largest consumer group, according to the Pew Research Center—say they’d choose them over possessions.

“[Diners] are looking for more than just a meal,” says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst for The NPD Group. They’re seeking something that’s not always tangible—a mood, feeling or emotional response—that connects the meal to the space, allowing them to leave feeling like they did more than grab a bite. 

To cater to this desire, consider focusing on the following.

Set the Mood 

After operating for two years as a food truck, Curry Up Now opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2011. Today, the Northern California Indian street food eatery has six locations and two trucks. Each is decked out with a look CEO Akash Kapoor calls “Bollywood chic,” featuring bright colors and murals by local street artists.

“On a food truck, it’s hard to give people any sort of experience beyond the food; a restaurant changes everything because you can plan the space based on the experience,” Kapoor says. “Our restaurants are very eye-catching; not stuff you’d probably do in your house—but people dine out because they don’t want to eat in their house. We really wanted to take them into a different world for a little while.”

Encourage Social Interaction—in Restaurants and Online

Customers can play games and attend weekly trivia nights at New Bohemia Wurst + BierHaus, which has seven Minnesota locations. To encourage guests to strike up conversations, the fast-casual eatery chose communal tables for its seating.

“It’s our interpretation of a German beer hall where everybody knows everybody,” says Chief Operations Officer Brian Ingram. “The whole concept is based on a sense of community.”

The theme is also carried out through a menu of shareable items, including a 3-pound pretzel. “We get people who won’t finish it and hand it to their neighbor,” Ingram says. “You go to [some restaurants], and no one is sharing. We wanted to see people talking to the folks sitting next to them.”

The social interactions encouraged at New Bohemia and the restaurant’s offering translate well to social media, where diners love to flaunt their unique experiences. “[People want to post about] alligator sausage when they’re eating it; that’s Instagrammable,” Ingram says.