Restaurant Uniform Considerations

If you are looking for uniforms for your restaurant, here are some considerations to make the best choice for your staff;

• What are you trying to say? Your uniform conveys a message and will speak as loud as your advertising, décor and even your food. If you are trying to go into a fine dining environment, don’t opt for a T-shirt and jeans.
• Dark pants; consider black, navy or dark grey pants. This is an option that is easy to find, that will look nice, and that will suit different body types, styles, can be found affordable and are timeless.
• If you have a casual restaurant, you could consider sneakers, jeans and a branded t-shirt. If you have something more formal, find something with a collar and in crisp colours and styles.
• Remember stains happen; consider dark colours and materials that will be easy to clean and somewhat resistant to stains. Further, consider giving staff access to more than one shirt to make sure that the team are able to show up clean and professional.
• Comfortable shoes; servers, kitchen staff and bartenders require a comfortable and ergonomic shoe to ensure their safety and health. If you offer a few options or provide guidelines, servers can choose shoes that meet their needs.
• Vibrant colors make a statement; going with colors is an excellent way to make a statement. Consider using your brand colours or even changing your uniforms on a seasonal basis.
• Give staff some say; if you provide your team with a few options or allow them to join in and have a say in what they wear, the pay off will be motivated, happy and comfortable staff.
• Dress code vs mandated uniform; some restaurant owners and management will give their team a few options to choose from, or may even simply require something like black pants and a certain style shirt. Others have mandated uniforms that employees are given or that employees can purchase. This means that all employees are wearing the exact same thing.
• Are there any special considerations? Depending on the type of restaurant as well as the scale or level of formality, there may be special requirements or additions to just shirts, pants. For example, aprons may give servers or waiters a place to hold their pen and paper. Or perhaps kitchen staff require hair nets or specialized hats.
• Uniformity vs individuality; depending on the style and type of restaurant as well as who your audience is, you have to consider whether your staff will all be required to look the same or if they are permitted to add levels of individuality to their uniforms. This could be accessories like watches, jewellery or nail polish as well as hairstyles, etc.