One of the most overlooked facets of organizing one’s restaurant staff uniforms is that owners forget the biggest reason to work in a restaurant: the cool factor.
Oh sure, the pay can be good, sometimes career-level-good if the place is posh enough, and it turns tables fast. But, it can be a huge oversight, affecting morale, performance, and [no joke] sales to assume the uniform is ancillary to the job, even for the kitchen crew.
As it pertains to work performance, confidence is way too big an egg to crack in this tiny omelet. That said, a big ingredient of confidence, at least in restaurant work, is how one feels about how one looks.
It’s a matter of comfort and style, yes, but let’s not overlook quality. I’m going to start with some key considerations like, what your restaurant proposes to be to its patrons, the look of that business, the environment, and especially the people that work there.
Your Brand Promise
This is business 101.
What your business proposes to deliver to its customers must be consistent, from the marketing materials you send out to the toilet paper hanging on the roll in the bathroom.
One can’t go bargain basement paper products and claim to be “white tablecloth.”
Assume you’re already determined your brand promise, then start there. This will be your guiding light through the decision-making process.
If your uniforms don’t reflect that promise, either your choices are off or you need to refine your promise. In that case, it might be a good time to pull over and look at your roadmap.
Environmental Details
Shorts or pants, buttoned shirts or golf tees, ties or cravats; there are so many options to consider regarding the environment of your business.
Environment is an umbrella word to cover many potential factors. For starters, the climate factors in huge. If your staff will be in and out of environments, they’ll need a uniform that flexes.
That could include walking in and out of freezers or in and out of doorways to your business. As such, you may be in a place where the weather changes, sometimes dramatically.
Consider uniforms which allow your team to flex with the weather.
Environment, as a concept, could expand far outside your restaurant. As one example, if you’ve dropped your eatery in the middle of the rainforest as some kind of foodie oasis, you have to consider if your place will blend with the green backdrop or contrast it.
The answers to these questions will help inform your workwear choices.
Demographic Profiles of Team
Most restaurants will prefer to keep as diverse of a team as possible, but in some cases, your business will be heavily influenced by location.
A simple solution to this aspect of your considerations is to engage your team. If you’re still hiring, make it part of the interview process.
Show candidates the uniforms you’re considering. (Just make sure they know it’s not a secret test.) You’ll win more than one way doing this.
The more involved your team, the more invested they will be in the final decision. Also, you will be happier because they will be happier.
Because fit matters depending on your demographic, also consider size options. A crew that likes their clothes to be loose will not be happy in tight pants.
If you want to get super specific on individuals, forget goofy nametags. Go the extra mile and have their name embroidered right onto their uniform, next to your brand.
Find out about All Seasons Uniform's uniform embroidery options.
What’s Hot for Waitstaff
The full-bodied apron is a hot ticket for many servers. Chef Designs makes a Tuxedo Apron, which works more formal restaurants, and a Premium version for more casual locations.
Functionally, aprons keep servers safe from spills. Many servers furnish their own shirts and pants or buy them from their employers. Purchasing replacements is a pain.
The downside to the bib is they can restrict movement. If your eatery is someplace warm, these will be too much cloth.
A three pocket waist apron works well in those places, either round cornered or regular three pocket design. Most restaurants go with black for three pocket aprons.
Your hosts and bussers should match your servers, but the right apron will differentiate their roles for patrons.
Kitchen Cool
It would be a huge mistake to assume your kitchen hides behind the line and therefore less relevant in the uniform department.
These team members are the foundation of your restaurant. Keeping them happy is everything, and how they feel about their uniform affects their work too.
They want to feel professional, but comfortable, part of the team, but with some small outlets for self-expression.
An easy way to give your kitchen staff a way to express themselves is through a variety of headwear. Today’s kitchens wear everything from traditional poplin chef hats to trendy ball cap chef hats.
Since pants are rarely visible from behind the line, some restaurants keep it all business [read: traditional white] up top, allowing their team to wear a wide variety of chef pants.
For tops, there are two brands that dominate, Chef Designs and Edwards.
Keep in mind that your actual chef may walk into the dining room. It may look silly if your chef has on pants or a hat that doesn’t match your brand promise.
Other Team Members
The look of your kitchen and client facing team members should help inform your leadership uniforms too.
Most businesses give their leadership team more latitude, but if you don’t at least set guidelines, you may regret it. A traditional manager may overdress in a casual restaurant, creating a weird air of formality.
Worse, they may underdress for your white tablecloth, but that’s more of a hiring mistake, right?
A good place to start for hosts and management is actually in hospitality clothing. It’s a broad category with many potential accessories so plan to spend some time with your options.
Before you put any of these uniforms in front of customers, put them all in one place to make sure there is a team look. Work with images and actual human models if possible.
Make it a hosted event with team members parading uniform options, weighing in, that sort of thing.
This will give you a chance to make sure your restaurant uniforms not only match each other but that they reflect your brand promise, match the environment and team demographics while still making everyone feel confident.
About the Author
Nick Warrick
Nick Warrick is the Sales Manager at All Seasons Uniforms. With over 15 years of experience in the work uniform business, he has worked with hundreds of clients across 20 different industries. Holding bachelor’s degrees in both Business Administration and Information Technology, Nick revamped the company’s online presence, offering its customers a new uniform shopping experience.