Feng shui can be used for restaurant owners wanting to boost their business revenues. Feng shui offers many opportunities to include elements, colors and auspicious feng shui remedies for problem areas.
Activate Important Elements in Restaurants
Restaurants are ruled by the fire element. Feng shui practitioners advise using this element and the colors assigned to it when designing restaurants.
Lighting Activates Fire Elements
To activate the fire element, you can use lighting. Light attracts yang energy. You can use a variety of lighting options from recessed, overhead, wall scones, and pendant lights. You also need outside lighting for illuminating the entrance and your restaurant sign. You can add landscape lighting that includes up lighting your building.
Fire Element Colors
The fire element color red has long been used in restaurants for its psychological impact that doesn't encourage lingering over meals so restaurants can move more customers in and out of their establishment. Other fire colors include pink, mauve, burgundy, and purples.
Introduce the Water Element
The water element has long been recognized as an auspicious inclusion for most businesses and restaurants are no exception. You can place a water fountain or aquarium inside the entrance of your business to attract yang energy. The yang energy in turn will attract customers.
Water Element Colors
Traditionally, the water element color blue wasn't recommended for feng shui restaurants. Water is considered to be counterproductive in feng shui applications since water destroys fire in the destruction cycle. However, that concept has changed.
Restaurants that break out of the mindset that they can only use a red décor with fire elements should thrive. These restaurants are successful because they are also selling liquor as a large part of their business. In fact, they often do better than when their décors were dominantly red.
When to Rethink Red Décor
Since liquor is considered a water element, this part of your restaurant business can suffer when dominated by the fire energy and elements. If your liquor sales are below expectation, or the norm, it may be time to consider redecorating and adding a few water symbols, such as wavy fabric patterns or metal decorations since metal attracts water.
Feng Shui Tips and Remedies for Restaurant Owners
Any feng shui changes or additions you make will affect your business, so you want to be sure you use these correctly for a positive impact. There are many feng shui tips that restaurant owners can use to increase their business revenue.
When and Where to Move Your Cash Register
You can relocate your cash register to the southeast (wealth) or north (career) sector of your restaurant. If your cash register is beside or near the restrooms, move it. You don't want your money going down the drain!
Keep a Well-Stock Kitchen
A well-stocked kitchen is auspicious since it demonstrates abundance. You want to have more than ample fresh food, condiments, spices, flour, and other cooking related ingredients.
Equipment in Good Condition
You want all of your equipment to be in good working condition. If something doesn't function properly, either get it repaired or replace it.
Mirrors to Double Business
One of the oldest feng shui tools for doubling business is easy. You need to add large mirrors to your décor. Many restaurants opt for floor to ceiling mirrors covering the wall. There are a few feng shui mirror rules you want to keep in mind. These include:
- A mirror that cuts off the heads of customers when they sit at the tables is inauspicious.
- Mirrors that reflect tables, a.k.a. food, doubles your abundance.
- A full wall mirror that reflects the tables and customers is a great way to double the number of customers you have.
- A large mirror placed so it reflects the cash register will double your revenue.
- The mirrors should not be placed directly across from the entrance to your restaurant. This placement will bounce your customers/sales right out the door.
Ideal Kitchen Location
The best place for your kitchen is the south sector (fire element) of the building. If this sector isn't feasible, then opt for either the east (wood element) or southeast (wood) sector. In the productive cycle, wood feeds fire.
Areas to Avoid
There are two areas you want to avoid for a restaurant kitchen placement. The northwest is the worst possible placement for any kitchen. Known as Heaven's Gate, this metal ruled sector robs the breadwinner (your business) and sets up losses. The north sector (water element) will extinguish your business since restaurants are ruled by the fire element.
Bar Location
The best sector for locating your bar is the north sector (career) since this direction is ruled by the water element. The next best location is the southeast since it is your wealth sector and ruled by the wood element that is nourished by the water element.
Best Feng Shui Floor Plan for Restaurants
You want your restaurant to be conducive to good chi energy flow. There are a few things you don't want in your floor plan, such as obstructions to this vital energy.
- There should be no obstacles or barriers at the front entrance of your business.
- Obstacles can include furniture, walls, columns, and any awkward flow from the entrance into the restaurant.
- You want the chi energy to enter your business and then freely disperse throughout.
- You don't want the restaurant eating area to be walled off, divided with half walls or other types of dividers or screens. This will stop the flow of chi and have a negative impact on your business.
Create a Bright Hall
There should be some form of anteroom at the entrance of your business. Many restaurants use this as a waiting area. However, this space, known as the bright hall should be a vacant space absent of furniture.
Purpose of Restaurant Bright Hall
The bright hall allows the auspicious chi energy to pool inside and then gently flow through your restaurant. Consider it to be a small foyer where customers enter before moving into the main part of the restaurant. You can energize your bright hall with lighting and color, wall art, or a wall fountain that faces and flows into the restaurant, never out.
Clutter Free Zone
It should go without saying that your restaurant should be spotless. The health department helps prevent poor housekeeping practices, but the ultimate responsibility falls on restaurant owners. Clutter can include more than dirty plates.
- Trash should never be collected at your restaurant entrance, so don't place trash receptacles at your restaurant entrance.
- Clutter can be something as simple as old scratched tables or dirty windows.
- In feng shui, tired décors in need of updating/renovating are considered clutter.
- Menus that are tattered or no longer up to date are considered clutter and should be replaced immediately.
- Table linens should always be spotless and wrinkle free.
- You want to avoid posters and stickers on your door, but an open/closed sign is fine.
Dining Tables Element and Shape
The ideal shape for a dining table is round. This alleviates sharp angles that create poison arrows.
- The best element for a table is wood.
- An oval table is also auspicious.
- The table seating capacity of six, eight or 10 is auspicious.
Windows and Feng Shui Restaurants
Windows at the entrance of your restaurant are good feng shui. Potential guests can have a glimpse into the type of dining experience they can expect. Windows on the wall directly opposite the entrance is inauspicious since the chi energy will shoot across your restaurant and out the windows. If you can't do anything about the architecture of your restaurant, you can either cover the windows with large pieces of art, window film, painted screens, or use blinds and heavy draperies that you'll keep closed at all times. You don't want to use any type of window treatment that is reflective.
Implementing Feng Shui Principles for Restaurant Owners
You can implement feng shui rules and principles to enhance your restaurant business. Make sure you completely understand the best placements, colors, and elements before applying to your décor design.
