Summary: How to make your restaurant or café look that much more professional with a hospitality uniform refresh.

Do you have a new restaurant? Maybe you’re after a bit of a refresh for your café? There’s nothing worse than walking into a restaurant or café and seeing mismatching elements, or a tired room and tired looking staff. In fact, there’s even been TV shows developed around the tired restaurant theme – Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey, anyone?

Once you tackle your décor and menu with a refresh, then it’s time to turn your attention to your staff. What are your staff like? Are they bored? Surly? It might be time to cut some of your staff loose, unless they start to change their attitude – which could happen if you get the place busy and happening.

And how about what your staff are wearing? Is it their own clothes? Have you provided a uniform? Is it old and mangy? What your staff look like really shows the professionalism of your eating house. If they’ve got some old embroidered polos when you’re running an Italian restaurant, then you really are selling yourself short.

What’s a good choice for a hospitality uniform update?

A good choice for service staff is an all-black ensemble, made in a thick fabric so that spills are easily scrubbed off across the course of a shift if necessary. Some places may like to vary this by adding patterned shirts, or a crisp white shirt instead, however black pants are standard. A maitre d is possibly the only service person who should be dressed differently for continuity’s sake. It is common for the maitre d of less formal places to wear their own dress clothes.

Less formal establishments might like to add an apron to the outfit, too.

The back of house

Although chefs generally purchase and supply their own uniforms, why not have a refresh and some continuity in the kitchen too? Choose from black or white chefs jackets which can complement the traditional chef’s pants.

Since chefs are known to get dirty in the kitchen (!) it is useful to get a couple of chef’s jackets per head in the kitchen to ensure everyone always has something clean to wear.

Show your restaurant or café’s professionalism by refreshing your staff’ work uniforms. Combined with other touches around the place such as reprinting dirty old menus, new tablecloths, a few new pictures around the place, and a lick of paint, it can make all the difference in making your establishment more enticing.

Shop online to find great hospitality uniforms at excellent prices, where you can easily order direct to your business’s door.