by Kristen Wile

Each year, branding and marketing firm NiceDay and Southwick Architecture + Interiors put together a free guide to local restaurant trends. The guide examines market data in Charlotte and what restaurants should take away from that data. The guide is a passion project that provides some guidance to hospitality professionals on capturing business in an ever-changing market.

That shift in the market is leading to changes in how restaurants must woo potential customers. Today’s Charlottean is younger, more tech-savvy, and more dependent on branding and marketing to make decisions than generations before it. And there are more of those potential customers than ever, making the city an attractive destination for national and regional restaurant groups to enter the market.

Daniel Gibson, managing director of NiceDay. Photo courtesy

“There’s this just perfect blend of young people wanting unique experiences, ready to spend disposable income,” says Daniel Gibson, managing director of NiceDay. “One factor I left out is just great weather in the city of Charlotte, for the most part, affordable living. So all of that combined, you’re seeing this influx of growth from a population standpoint. It’s kind of a no-brainer [for restaurant group expansion].”

These large-scale concepts come into the city with a marketing and branding budget that smaller, independent restaurants can’t afford. Yet changing demographics are making strong branding a growing priority for restaurants.

“You’ve got all these outside restaurant groups storming in, building their next location because it’s a sound investment, and you’ve got local operators competing,” Bryan Southwick, Principal at Southwick Architecture + Interiors, says. “I think that’s why it’s become so hyper-focused; you want to have all the tools at your disposal to compete in this market. I really look at what I do from a design standpoint as maybe 10 percent of the equation. Brand was maybe not even a thought ten years ago. Now you can look at, is the brand more important than communication or design?”

Concepts such as Ford Fry’s Superica or Sam Fox’s Culinary Dropout, enter the city with a tried-and-true brand familiar to many diners. The menus have been tested in similar markets, as have the restaurant design and brand, and the social media accounts are a job of their own. Creating that level of identity for a small, independent restaurant is a large ask — both financially and in terms of the hours it takes to do well — at a time when the cost of restaurant operations is already increasing.

Blandine Mathieu, NiceDay creative director. Photo courtesy

But it’s not impossible, according to Blandine Mathieu, NiceDay creative director. And independent restaurants also have an advantage over larger groups: people love to rally around small, local businesses. Sharing that story in a way that is heartfelt and shows the emotion behind your business can help bring people to your doors, Mathieu says. Enabling your staff to show extra love to customers, whether through a free coffee or other small surprises, can also leave a positive imprint on a guest’s memory of their experience with you.

Before you begin sharing your story, Mathieu advises, create a brand guide, so that anything customer-facing, from your menus to website and social media posts reflect your concept’s voice as well as visual aesthetic, no matter who is doing the posting. Platforms such as Canva provide easy, affordable tools to help create visuals for platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which is where she suggests restaurants with limited bandwidth focus their time. Making sure that voice is consistent, however, is key. If your concept’s marketing is muddled, you may not even have a chance to impress a young customer with your experience.

“If they look at the social media feed of the great new restaurant concept that they’ve never been to, they’re going to make up their mind immediately on what the atmosphere is like. What is the food like? Instantly,” Mathieu says. “It’s a really interesting time that we’re in today, because food matters and the experience matters. But honestly, perception is the most important right now.”

Bryan Southwick, Southwick Architecture + Interiors. Photo courtesy

Much of this transition took place during the pandemic, Gibson says, as people adapted to a more digital world amid Zoom meetings and virtual events. These days, some restaurants don’t even publish a phone number on their website for reservations.

That makes a digital presence the deciding factor for many diners, but if they decide the messaging reflects their priorities, those diners can become an important part of your restaurant’s base.

“If you really believe in the concept or you believe in the story, and that’s reiterated through the menus and through the space, and then the digital and the marketing as well, you’re going to basically drive the guest to really believe in what you believe in, as long as the story is heard and it’s consistent,” Southwick says.

The hospitality guide from NiceDay and Southwick Architecture + Interiors is available here.