FOOD & BEVERAGE_>>
feels calm and confident in their choice. Spacing is also strategy. White space gives the brain room to breathe. Too much text creates fatigue, while smart groupings build logic. At one tavern, sim- ply separating espresso cocktails from seasonal features doubled visibility for the house specialty. The guests did not read more. They just noticed more. Typography has its own psycholo-
gy, too. Serif fonts feel classic. Sans-serif reads modern. Italics feel personal. These details illustrate personality, and shape how guests perceive and connect to your concept.
staff personal favorites that get layered on, descriptions that only made sense three seasons ago. Over time, the clut- ter tells its own story—one of distrac- tion. The untidiness doesn’t just confuse guests, it slows kitchens, clouds priori- ties, and clogs profit. Strong operators treat editing as maintenance. Twice a year, they print a fresh copy and sit down with pens in hand. The team reads every line out loud. What sounds tired gets cut. What still earns its place stays. One chef calls the process “menu conversations.” It takes their team an afternoon and makes things easier and clearer for the guest. Every word on a menu costs some- thing. The best operators cut fluff, curate ingredients, tell the truth, and make an effort to romance. “Soup of the Day” is soulless. “Carrot-Ginger / toasted pump- kin seeds / spicy candied pecans” sounds alive. The same rule applies behind the bar. A cocktail named “Gin Fizz” blends into the background. Call it “Monashee Fizz with High Country Honey” and it suddenly sounds like it belongs to your mountain, not a chain restaurant menu written from 1,000 miles away. Consistency matters, too. If one section reads “fine dining” and another sounds like a food court, the guest senses and questions the disconnect. A unified tone reassures guests that someone is paying attention to the details. One clear word adds value; one vague word adds hesitation; two extra words add clutter. Each word should earn its place on the page the same way every ingredient earns its place on the plate.
EDIT LIKE IT MATTERS
Menus collect history and scars: specials that never left, typos nobody noticed,
THE LAST COURSE
A menu reveals priorities faster than any business plan or staff meeting ever could. Write it with purpose. Design it with care. Keep it alive. Guests notice the difference, even when they can’t explain why.
WAIT! THERE IS MORE.... To read Part 1 of the Menu Design series, visit saminfo.com/margins-in-plain-sight.
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