The demands of running a restaurant, cafe or coffee shop are enough on their own. Signage and menu boards should not be an issue that causes any additional difficulty for food service owners. A bright and well-lit menu board can serve as the focal point for any retail food establishment. A customized menu board can be updated as needed with new items and pricing and it can be designed for ease of use for the customer. Perhaps drinks are featured on one side, daily specials fill a role in the middle, and customer favorites round out another column. There are as many ways to customize a menu board as there are possible food and drinks to serve.
Part of a pleasant customer experience is allowing customers to see their food and drink options along with prices and possibilities for customizing. A large, lighted menu board provides a visual service that allows a customer a moment to consider their choice and spend their money wisely. They are paying for a delicious mid-morning coffee, or a fresh mid-day lunch, and the menu board should be part of the experience.
A good menu board can also highlight important elements of the establishment. Perhaps there is a focus on organic produce or grass-fed beef. Clear signage can emphasize those aspects that set a restaurant or cafe apart from others. Why not provide a menu board that incorporates lots of green, fresh colors or illustrates the farm to table aspect of the retail space.
Menu boards also allow for quick changes to menu items or prices. In this wild time of food price inflation, having access to daily or weekly updates to the menu board may be more important than ever. We’ve all seen printed menus that have one price marked out by black marker and a new price written in. Not only does this look unprofessional, it alerts the customer to the change. With a digital menu board updates can be made quickly based on supply chain issues or pricing changes. In many cases, customers would not ever notice the updates. The menu board would simply continue to serve as their roadmap for a delicious lunch, drink, snack or dinner. In a shop with lots of variations on a dish or product, a good menu board becomes even more important. Allowing customers an easy view of their customizable options makes ordering easier and allows the process to move more quickly. Menu boards are just one aspect of a successful restaurant or cafe, but they matter as part of customer experience.