Food and Beverage Services - Outlets

Today, numerous types of food and beverage service outlets have come up in the market. They offer a wide range of food and beverage services that the customers can avail. The extent of service depends upon the type of service outlet. They include drive-through service of fast food where the customers can purchase their favorite food without having to leave their cars and pick-up points where food is delivered in minutes. There are also some elite class fine dining outlets which exhibit classy articles in the house and provide elaborate food services.

Here are some famous types of food and beverage outlets −

Outlet	Menu	Ambience	Service
Airport Lounges	Wide menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with hot and cold beverages, salads, main meals, and desserts.	Soft instrumental music, soft lights, formal ambience, all appealing for having meals at leisure and resting gracefully at the airport	Self or Assisted service provided 24X7, round the clock. The traveler selects food and beverage of choice, and takes to the table himself.
Bars	Wide menu of soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and light snacks.	Informal, relaxed atmosphere, energetic music, colorful flashy lights.	Push-low seating, speedy service of cocktails, mocktails, and snacks.
Cafeterias	Short dining menu with less food options. Follows cyclic meal plan.	Attached to educational institutes or industrial organizations	Self or assisted, pre-plated, low priced service.
Coffee Shops	Short menu with hot and cold beverages, snacks, and light meals.	Informal ambience with light music and moderate lighting.	Quick and mid-priced service for high customer turnover.
Discotheque/Nightclubs	Menu with snacks and beverages.	Strobe lights, laser lights, dance floor, lively music, informal and energetic atmosphere.	Entry permission for couples or members on charge, assisted service.
Family/ Casual Dining Restaurants	Elaborate menu of single or multiple cuisines which may change according to the operating hours.	Modestly furnished, Casual atmosphere.	Assisted, mid-priced service.
Fast Food Outlets	Limited menu of hot and Cold beverages with easily prepared and fast meals cooked in advance and kept warm.	Catchy trendy colored furniture, lights, and music.	Speedy service, minimum table service. The food is prepared in the kitchen, placed in the trays, and passed to the person at the counter, who then delivers to the customer. The customer picks up the trays and consumes it on premise.
Food Courts	Multi cuisine menu.	Multi-cuisine food outlets are located around modestly kept central dining area.	Speedy service with minimum personal attention. The customers pick up food and beverages of their choice from multiple outlets around and sit in the central dining area to consume.
Grill Rooms	Grilled meat or sea food with alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages.	Attached to star hotels, gardens, or independent, may have open kitchen. Eye-catching counters.	According to hotel policies.
Poolside Barbeque	Roasted meats, crunchy vegetables, and seafood with wines and beer.	Located near swimming pools, Informal, relaxed atmosphere, energetic music.	Self/assisted service.
Pubs	Mostly alcoholic menu with snacks.	Informal and social ambience with less lighting and more chatting.	Push-low seating, self, or assisted service.
Specialty/Ethnic Restaurants	Specific menus such as Chinese, Italian, Indian, Thai, or Mexican.	Follows specific theme. Interior Decoration is in line with the theme.	Uniform of the service staff, linen, and service ware are according to the theme and from the country where the food originates.
Take-away Counters	Limited or elaborate menu of food and beverages.	Frontend counter for selling is attached to the pantry.	Pickup service where customer places order, waits till it is completed, and picks the food and beverages to consume them off-premise.
Themed Restaurant	Limited menu that is based on the theme.	Architecture, lighting, and music induce the feel of the theme. Mostly informal ambience.	American/Assisted service.
Vending Machines	Pre-packaged chips, portioned foods, canned beverages.	Located in high labor cost and limited space areas such as transport hubs.	Complete self-service.

General Layout of F&B Outlets

Appropriate architecture of F&B outlet makes it prepare, present, and serve in optimum way and increase productivity. These are few basic considerations for various sections of F&B outlets −

Kitchen

It is farthest from the customers.

Store

It has large fridges, cupboards with multiple shelves, and lockers. It is attached to the kitchen.

Pantry

It is being the area where food or beverage is prepared ready to serve, it is located between the dining area and the kitchen.

Restrooms

There are two different schools of thought for location of restrooms − some experts consider that the restrooms must be near the entrance and some think that it should be isolated from entrance or dining area.

General Considerations for F&B Services Layout

While designing an F&B outlet, one needs to consider every factor that contributes to the smooth running of operations right from food preparation, cooking, dish presentation, serving, and all allied tasks.

While designing commercial F&B outlets, the following points are important −

• Target customer segment (Youth/Men/Women/All).
• Type of food (Light Food/Fast Food/Fine Dining).
• Manner of food production (Cooking/Grilling/Boiling/Baking/Steaming).
• Type of food distribution (On/Off Premise).
• Availability of carpet area.
• Number of staff required.

The kitchen is designed not to be directly visible. The chef cannot directly communicate to the guests. The guest tables and chairs are placed away from kitchen.