The formula for maintaining a great restaurant has changed quite a bit as of late. Customers have new expectations and tend to gravitate toward restaurants that cater to their various needs. The number of articles dissecting and discussing the qualities of a successful restaurant in business has raised to meet the reader’s expectation and general trend.
In 2011, Stephani Robson, a researcher from Cornell University, published an article discussing the possible strategies to find the ideal restaurant site. This article revealed that the most successful restaurants are in locations that are convenient for the target market. In particular, the author suggests that the best approach for business owners is to identify a gap in the market, determine the target customer's profile and then find the best site.
Another article, written by Bryan Keythman, provided a comprehensive viewpoint on the factors that can help determine the quality grade of a restaurant. The article emphasized on quality of food, customers experience, uniqueness, and management. Moreover, it also encouraged data scientists to find new standards in defining the characters and qualities of a restaurant. The purpose of our study is to utilize data-driven methods in analyzing the crucial factors contributing to the success of restaurants and thus provide data-science solutions to restaurant owners to help them to improve their business.
Two top rules to measure the success of the restaurant is review by customers and popularity. In the restaurant business, satisfied customers will return and provide positive word on social media. From the customers' perspective, the most effective way of getting reliable information of a restaurant is to check online review made by other customers. The higher rating represents a better dining experience, and the larger amount of reviews indicates the popularity of the restaurant. Therefore, social media such as Yelp and Tripadvisor became the start point to collect data.
Besides the view of customers, location and target market play a crucial role in the success of restaurants. From an article written by Steven Zimmerman, the key factors to consider in choosing the proper location of the restaurant are built out market, stable demographics, growth potential, diversified clientele, strong visibility and easy access, heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic, major market generators in the area. This study provides an insight to explore the neighborhood and demographic information around the restaurants.