Step-To-Step on successful restaurant?

SillyBam · June 2016

Okay so I'm having problem making a profit out of my restaurant (like most people on here do) and I've been reading the threads on the the tips there are but they don't seem to work for me. I'm starting to think I just started out wrong.
I've tried with both a Hamburger joint (eventually changed the menu the most expensive things) and then also an Italian (both from the prebuilt gallery ones)

I tent to promote and try and get the employees to the top as fast as possible. At what rate did you guys promote the employees etc.?

I try and get all of the reward thingys but then read something about some of them messing up other parts of the game. What are some traits you should avoid?

I also have a lot tables and chairs but maybe I should limit them?

I've tried different settings with the price, food quality, advertisement etc.

I'm mostly trying to get the Italian restaurant working right now and it used to be 5 stars and with 1 chef, 1 waitress and 1 host, so I put the food quality on the lowest, turned off ads, put the chef on fast and so on and the stars dropped to 4

I also don't seem to get any food critics anymore and if they do show up it's at the end of the shift when they've already worked 10 hours and I have to close.

That brings me to another question, I can never get the Do not allow new customers thing to work (which I've heard is a glitch) so everyday I have to close the restaurants which loads of customers still eating. How much do I lose to do so?

I apologize for the long post but I love the Dine-Out game, it just frustrates me that I cannot seem to get it running properly

Andiratyme · June 2016

I don't do any advertising, my food is the highest quality and set to 300% markup. All my staff is at the top. I usually promote to rank 2 around 3 or 4 bars, rank 3 around 6 bars, rank 4 around 8 and rank 5 when they're max. I have the most expensive items on the menu and took out a lot of the cheaper ones. You can close with people in the restaurant and provided the food hasn't been made yet you don't lose anything. If it's been made and waiting to go to a table you're better off waiting for it to be delivered. You'll get money and can still close with no penalties. I have about 8 tables so you might have too many. I also have 2 chefs, 2 waiters, and 1 host. I make between 3,000 and 7,000 a day. Hope this helps at least a little.

SillyBam · June 2016

Andiratyme wrote: »

I don't do any advertising, my food is the highest quality and set to 300% markup. All my staff is at the top. I usually promote to rank 2 around 3 or 4 bars, rank 3 around 6 bars, rank 4 around 8 and rank 5 when they're max. I have the most expensive items on the menu and took out a lot of the cheaper ones. You can close with people in the restaurant and provided the food hasn't been made yet you don't lose anything. If it's been made and waiting to go to a table you're better off waiting for it to be delivered. You'll get money and can still close with no penalties. I have about 8 tables so you might have too many. I also have 2 chefs, 2 waiters, and 1 host. I make between 3,000 and 7,000 a day. Hope this helps at least a little.

I don't feel like I'm doing much different from you which is so annoying

The only thing is I keep losing stars and the higher the price is and all of that, the more it goes down so I don't feel like I can do that.
As far promoting I usually promote the new ones every single shift to get them to the best standard but maybe I'm better of sending them on classes or whatever and let them work a little bit before promoting them?
The guest just keeps coming in and order more and more food, even if I did wait for one guest to receive their food, as soon as I'm about to close 3 or so more have had their food made if that makes sense?
Thank you for the help tho

Andiratyme · June 2016

I send them to training after every shift until they're max and promote at intervals. That way I feel they're working for the promotions and not just getting handed them. Read the guests feelings (hover over them) to see what they think. That usually will give you an idea of what needs to be improved. If it's food quality, that requires training, wait time, training also etc. Disallow new customers sometimes works and other times doesn't. It makes sense. If disallow doesn't work I wait for as many tables to get their food as possible and then close. If the food quality isn't good, as in your chefs don't have a high enough skill to make it good, then raising your prices will just make people upset.

RueSault · June 2016

If you have the funds to spare... You can... open your restaurant... give everyone training and then send them home... wait a couple of hours and repeat... until they are fully trained... I usually wait 8 hours... During this time I will usually paint so I can make money while I'm waiting. You can repeat this process until your staff is at a high enough level that you are more comfortable opening your restaurant... It took a while for me to start making real money... Invest in "patient customers"... that always helps.

SillyBam · July 2016

RueSault wrote: »

If you have the funds to spare... You can... open your restaurant... give everyone training and then send them home... wait a couple of hours and repeat... until they are fully trained... I usually wait 8 hours... During this time I will usually paint so I can make money while I'm waiting. You can repeat this process until your staff is at a high enough level that you are more comfortable opening your restaurant... It took a while for me to start making real money... Invest in "patient customers"... that always helps.

So you don't actually keep the restaurant open to make money in the beginning? Won't you loose money just to open up to get the staff to come in? Currently I'm trying with a couple of familys with loads of money so I can try different things to make it successful

CorkysPetals · July 2016

I set my menu according to what level my chef is at. Foods stay at level 1 until the chef gets to 4, then I increase the food to level 2. I wait until chef is at 6 cooking before I change the food to level 3 and so on. (I figure food level 2 = cooking skill level 4). When the food and service becomes good or excellent I'll raise the prices to 200%-300%. Your star rating increases this way, you'll get lots of customers.

I also check in with the sales every couple hours to see if I'm making any §§§. When the §§§ slow down I start thinking about closing.

Kfir21 · July 2016

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

rosemow · July 2016

Kfir21 wrote: »

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

Hello @Kfir21 .
I am sorry that you are having issues with your restaurant.

Do you have cc/mods in your game? If you do, move your mods folyder to the desktop. Then start the game and test to see if the issuea are still there. This is just to check that mods/cc aren't causing problems with the running of your restaurant.

Try resetting your sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your sims 4 folder ( that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there ) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then copy back the "options.ini" file and the "saves" , "screenshots" "tray" "custom music " and "mods" folders from the desktop sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folder, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders from the desktop sims 4 folder .

If the issues remain, try opening another restaurant and see if that venue works more smoothly and profitably for you.

Kfir21 · July 2016

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

Hello @Kfir21 .
I am sorry that you are having issues with your restaurant.
Do you have cc/mods in your game? If you do, move your mods folyder to the desktop. Then start the game and test to see if the issuea are still there. This is just to check that mods/cc aren't causing problems with the running of your restaurant.

Try resetting your sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your sims 4 folder ( that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there ) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then copy back the "options.ini" file and the "saves" , "screenshots" "tray" "custom music " and "mods" folders from the desktop sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folder, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders from the desktop sims 4 folder .

If the issues remain, try opening another restaurant and see if that venue works more smoothly and profitably for you.

I will try that thanks. by the way, do you happen to know if there's an option to move a restaurant? I know once you place lots from the gallery you can put them on bigger lots that's why I chose at first a small lot but now I cant figure out how to move it without losing my business.

rosemow · July 2016

Kfir21 wrote: »

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

Hello @Kfir21 .
I am sorry that you are having issues with your restaurant.
Do you have cc/mods in your game? If you do, move your mods folyder to the desktop. Then start the game and test to see if the issuea are still there. This is just to check that mods/cc aren't causing problems with the running of your restaurant.

Try resetting your sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your sims 4 folder ( that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there ) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then copy back the "options.ini" file and the "saves" , "screenshots" "tray" "custom music " and "mods" folders from the desktop sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folder, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders from the desktop sims 4 folder .

If the issues remain, try opening another restaurant and see if that venue works more smoothly and profitably for you.

I will try that thanks. by the way, do you happen to know if there's an option to move a restaurant? I know once you place lots from the gallery you can put them on bigger lots that's why I chose at first a small lot but now I cant figure out how to move it without losing my business.

Hello @Kfir21
I am sorry but you are unable to move a build from one lot to the other.

freindlylol · July 2016

lets face it dine out is not what we thought it would be i had families ready to run resturants they threw a curve ball which wastes our time and efforts

SillyBam · July 2016

freindlylol wrote: »

lets face it dine out is not what we thought it would be i had families ready to run resturants they threw a curve ball which wastes our time and efforts

It sucks. I was so excited for this pack but they've just made it simply too hard with too many problems. What's the point in having a restaurant if you can't make a living out of it?

Tomatplante · July 2016

SillyBam wrote: »

freindlylol wrote: »

lets face it dine out is not what we thought it would be i had families ready to run resturants they threw a curve ball which wastes our time and efforts

It plum. I was so excited for this pack but they've just made it simply too hard with too many problems. What's the point in having a restaurant if you can't make a living out of it?

I also found it hard in the beginning, but as I was earning perk points and training my staff my restaurant grew pretty fast. I think the most important factor for a successful restaurant is starting on a small scale, investing in your staffs training and using the perk points wisely. When customers like your food, you can set the markup to 300 % after a short while. My restaurant has 300 % markup, staff at almost highest level, silver advertising, fresh quality ingridients and some useful perks for saving money. I make about 800 simoleons a day from it, and I hope it will be more once I can afford better perks.

The fact that you'll lose money in the beginning is very realistic, as anyone who is familiar with starting up a business in real life knows. And most importantly, I really appreciate some challenge in this game!

Kfir21 · July 2016

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

Hello @Kfir21 .
I am sorry that you are having issues with your restaurant.
Do you have cc/mods in your game? If you do, move your mods folyder to the desktop. Then start the game and test to see if the issuea are still there. This is just to check that mods/cc aren't causing problems with the running of your restaurant.

Try resetting your sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your sims 4 folder ( that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there ) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then copy back the "options.ini" file and the "saves" , "screenshots" "tray" "custom music " and "mods" folders from the desktop sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folder, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders from the desktop sims 4 folder .

If the issues remain, try opening another restaurant and see if that venue works more smoothly and profitably for you.

Hey,
After taking all my mods out, taking the sims 4 folder out and replacing my older info with the new one, I opened a new restaurant. I still barely earn money. I don't have more than 8 sims and they keep getting up and wondering around talking with other sims...

AussieAdoresSims · July 2016

even though i wish my sims could be the waiter/host/chef i really do enjoy sending my sims to a restaurant on a date, hanging out with friends, etc etc etc. i do not find the game a waste of time as a whole.

rosemow · July 2016

Kfir21 wrote: »

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

Hello @Kfir21 .
I am sorry that you are having issues with your restaurant.
Do you have cc/mods in your game? If you do, move your mods folyder to the desktop. Then start the game and test to see if the issuea are still there. This is just to check that mods/cc aren't causing problems with the running of your restaurant.

Try resetting your sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your sims 4 folder ( that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there ) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then copy back the "options.ini" file and the "saves" , "screenshots" "tray" "custom music " and "mods" folders from the desktop sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folder, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders from the desktop sims 4 folder .

If the issues remain, try opening another restaurant and see if that venue works more smoothly and profitably for you.

Hey,
After taking all my mods out, taking the sims 4 folder out and replacing my older info with the new one, I opened a new restaurant. I still barely earn money. I don't have more than 8 sims and they keep getting up and wondering around talking with other sims...

Hello @Kfir21
I am sorry that you are having issues.
Repairing the game may help. To do that, right click on the sims 4 picture in Origin and click repair.

I wrote this in another post and it may help you also.
Sometimes having a bar, or aquarium or dance floor /music player or musical instruments can cause issues with sims getting up , so if they are causing issues for you, try removing them and see if that helps.
Have your manager sim keeping on checking on them when they are sitting down at the dining table.
When your sim first welcomes them, wait until they are seated before he welcomes the

Kfir21 · July 2016

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

Hello @Kfir21 .
I am sorry that you are having issues with your restaurant.
Do you have cc/mods in your game? If you do, move your mods folyder to the desktop. Then start the game and test to see if the issuea are still there. This is just to check that mods/cc aren't causing problems with the running of your restaurant.

Try resetting your sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your sims 4 folder ( that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there ) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then copy back the "options.ini" file and the "saves" , "screenshots" "tray" "custom music " and "mods" folders from the desktop sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folder, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders from the desktop sims 4 folder .

If the issues remain, try opening another restaurant and see if that venue works more smoothly and profitably for you.

Hey,
After taking all my mods out, taking the sims 4 folder out and replacing my older info with the new one, I opened a new restaurant. I still barely earn money. I don't have more than 8 sims and they keep getting up and wondering around talking with other sims...

Hello @Kfir21
I am sorry that you are having issues.
Repairing the game may help. To do that, right click on the sims 4 picture in Origin and click repair.

I wrote this in another post and it may help you also.
Sometimes having a bar, or aquarium or dance floor /music player or musical instruments can cause issues with sims getting up , so if they are causing issues for you, try removing them and see if that helps.
Have your manager sim keeping on checking on them when they are sitting down at the dining table.
When your sim first welcomes them, wait until they are seated before he welcomes the

it seems you didn't finish, what were you trying to say about welcoming sims?

rosemow · July 2016

Kfir21 wrote: »

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

rosemow wrote: »

Kfir21 wrote: »

I'm really struggling with my restaurant. all my workers are at max level and max job level. my price is 300% , the most expensive food and the biggest advertising package. for some reason I barely get more than 8 sims at once and most of the hours im losing money rather than earning. idk what im doing wrong

Hello @Kfir21 .
I am sorry that you are having issues with your restaurant.
Do you have cc/mods in your game? If you do, move your mods folyder to the desktop. Then start the game and test to see if the issuea are still there. This is just to check that mods/cc aren't causing problems with the running of your restaurant.

Try resetting your sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your sims 4 folder ( that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there ) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then copy back the "options.ini" file and the "saves" , "screenshots" "tray" "custom music " and "mods" folders from the desktop sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folder, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders from the desktop sims 4 folder .

If the issues remain, try opening another restaurant and see if that venue works more smoothly and profitably for you.

Hey,
After taking all my mods out, taking the sims 4 folder out and replacing my older info with the new one, I opened a new restaurant. I still barely earn money. I don't have more than 8 sims and they keep getting up and wondering around talking with other sims...

Hello @Kfir21
I am sorry that you are having issues.
Repairing the game may help. To do that, right click on the sims 4 picture in Origin and click repair.

I wrote this in another post and it may help you also.
Sometimes having a bar, or aquarium or dance floor /music player or musical instruments can cause issues with sims getting up , so if they are causing issues for you, try removing them and see if that helps.
Have your manager sim keeping on checking on them when they are sitting down at the dining table.
When your sim first welcomes them, wait until they are seated before he welcomes the

it seems you didn't finish, what were you trying to say about welcoming sims?

I am sorry ! The letter on the word of the word was missing.

Have your manager sim keeping on checking on them when they are sitting down.
When your sim first welcomes them, wait until they are seated before he welcomes them.

svdizon · July 2016

SillyBam wrote: »

...

I try and get all of the reward thingys but then read something about some of them messing up other parts of the game. What are some traits you should avoid?

I also have a lot tables and chairs but maybe I should limit them?

I've tried different settings with the price, food quality, advertisement etc.

....

That brings me to another question, I can never get the Do not allow new customers thing to work (which I've heard is a glitch) so everyday I have to close the restaurants which loads of customers still eating. How much do I lose to do so?

Fast easter tends to be glitchy, maximum sim in a game play is not more than 20, so 20 chairs is enough. the " do not allow new customer" doesnt really do anything lol

rosemow · July 2016

Hello
For simmers who are having issues with the "Disallow new customers" interaction, you may like to press ' me too" on the AHQ EA site thread that refers to the issue or post feedback there.
http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-4-Bug-Reports/OPEN-DO-Disallow-customers-doesn-t-work/m-p/5387626#M26491

Christie_the_Sim · December 2018

I wish you could make your own sims host and wait on customers themselves :( I had critics coming into my restaurant, only to be completely ignored until they leave with a 1 star review. :(

EA_Cian · December 2018

Hey there! I'm going to be closing this thread as it's about 2.5 years old at this stage and is more focused on steps to having a successful restaurant as opposed to wishing for new features. As always, please review our Necroposting resource: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/946943/necroposting#latest.

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Step-To-Step on successful restaurant?

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