Planning Food Services Spaces in a Museum Environment

1. Planning Food Services Spaces in a Museum Environment

2. Benefits of Food Service • Is an expected amenity • Can increase length of stay • Can positively impact gift shop sales and membership • Employee/volunteer convenience and morale • Events can introduce individuals to the facility • Can generate significant earned income

3. Visitor Food Service • May be a café, restaurant, or kiosk, or a combination thereof • Serves museum visitor, employees, and potentially outside patrons

4. External (Third Party Catering) • Food and beverage supplied to groups of diners in conjunction with an event • Frequently occurs when the facility is closed to the public • Is generally the economic driver of the food service equation

5. Planning Visitor Food Service • Level of service (kiosk, café, restaurant) is frequently dictated by annual attendance • A museum with attendance of less than 50,000 may get by with a kiosk or small coffee bar • A museum with attendance of 1.5 million will likely have several outlets with different price points

6. Factors that Impact Demand • Length of Stay • Presence of Children • School Groups • Good Wayfinding Signage • Competitive Establishments • Ease of Re-entry • Member and Employee Discounts

7. Production Methods • Commissary Support • Full Cooking or Production Kitchen • Catering Pantry – different from a Café Production Kitchen • Production may be different for visitor food service and catered events

8. Factors Influencing Production Choice • Space Availability – if space is limited a commissary support approach might be best • Menu Concept – a menu with grilled or fried items will require a full production kitchen • Operating Hours – an operation serving dinner or seeking to be a destination will likely need a full production kitchen onsite • Catering Community – is commissary support approach supportable

9. Café Size (Seating Capacity) • Visitation is frequently seasonal, weekend oriented, or exhibit driven • Size to average (non blockbuster) peak day • Determine average number of visitors arriving from 10 am to 1 pm • Consider outside visitors and museum employees

10. Café Size (Seating Capacity) • If peak attendance is 3,000 visitors with 50% arriving between 10 am and 1 pm assume 15% - 30% of the 1,500 visitors will dine for lunch in the facility • This translates to 225 – 450 diners which requires seating capacity of 75 -150 (three turns for a café) • Assume 12 – 15 square feet per person for seating depending on local fire code

11. Space Requirements - Kiosk • Limited to kiosk space and some storage • Average kiosk 10 – 12 feet long and requires 6 feet of depth • 60 – 100 square feet with electrical access is generally sufficient • Dry and refrigerated storage and hand washing sink are required nearby • No food is prepared on site

12. Kiosk

13. Space Requirements – Small Cafe • Small café with front serving counter and back service counter could measure 20 feet long with 10 foot depth = 200 square feet • Assumes primarily ambient temperature items with limited re heating • Additional storage of 60 -100 square feet needed

14. Small Cafe

15. Space Requirements – Larger Cafe • Full service scatter servery (multiple stations) allocate 16 square feet per person front and back of house • 6 square feet servery, 5 back of house, 5 storage • Café seating 200 would require 5,600 square feet total (3,200 BOH/Servery, 2,400 seating)

16. Larger Station Cafe

17. Support Spaces to Include • Managers Office • Cash Room • Secure Liquor Storage • Lockers and Changing Rooms

18. Other Considerations • Will café or restaurant be located in a free zone? • An outside entrance to a free zone café or restaurant can double sales • Identify space for school children with bag lunches – do not want them sitting in cafe

19. Additional Destination Requirements • A separate dedicated ground floor entrance with street presence (signage) • The ability to be open for lunch and dinner and operate independently of museum hours • Activity generators in the near vicinity • Operator needs full control over the environment (hours, pricing, menu, décor)

20. Sample Destination Space Requirement • Restaurant seating 100 open for lunch and dinner • Seating 1,800 square feet • Back of House/Kitchen 1,100 square feet • Hostess/Bar/Entry 400 square feet • Restrooms 200 square feet • Office Lockers 200 square feet • Total 3,700 square feet

21. External Catering • Museum generates income from venue fee and percentage of catering food and beverage • Includes corporate, social (weddings, bar mitzvahs) and not for profit • Each type of event has different space needs

22. Planning Considerations • If event space is dedicated a slightly off the path location that allows early set up is ideal • Consider type of events and plan accordingly • Social events typically require a separate pre function space • Weddings need a small bridal suite with adjacent restroom • Conferences need breakout space

23. Space Requirements • Cocktail receptions generally require 7 -8 square feet per person depending on fire code • Seated dinners generally require 15 square feet per person depending on fire code • Sight lines are important for a seated dinner • A 3,000 square foot lobby with no permanent exhibitions could accommodate about 400 people for a cocktail reception or 200 for a seated dinner

24. Sizing Event Spaces • Research capacities of other cultural institution event spaces • Find the hole in the market and size accordingly if possible • Sizing to the Museum Gala may not be realistic

25. Support Requirements • Most caterers will produce off site • Catering pantry requirements are 15-20% of net front of house • A 6,000 square foot event space requires a 900 - 1,200 square foot catering pantry • Space cannot be laden with equipment • Support for each event space should be identified along with transport routes

26. Other Considerations • Identify the serving path and confirm it does not conflict with guest path • A busy catering pantry needs two doors (in and out) • Ideally restrooms are located in sufficient quantity on the same floor as the event • Will the museum purchase tables and chairs? If so allocate 12% of net front of house space

27. Other Considerations • A dedicated event space can significantly increase demand and earned income potential • If earned income is important be sure there are appropriate spaces for simultaneous internal and external events (inventory) • If the caterer is exclusive and does significant business add a meeting/tasting/conference room

28. Final Thoughts for Success • Prepare a feasibility study/business plan before beginning schematic design so the range of possible outcomes is known during planning • Gain consensus among stakeholders regarding concept early on • Develop institutional policies that support food service goals

29. Questions