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owner guide

Who are my restaurant's real competitors?

Define competition by guest decision, occasion, distance, and offer instead of copying a generic list of nearby restaurants.

Your real competitors are the places a guest would choose instead for the same occasion, not every restaurant inside a radius. Build the list from the decision your guest is making, then check each candidate against the same facts.

  1. Name the occasion first. Lunch near work, a family dinner, a quick drink, a birthday, and takeout can have different competitors. Write one sentence such as “a guest wants a fast weekday lunch under a set amount.” That sentence is more useful than “restaurants near me.”
  2. Set a practical boundary. Use the distance or travel time a guest will actually tolerate for that occasion. A destination restaurant may compete across a city while a weekday lunch may compete within a few blocks. Record the boundary and do not quietly change it when the list becomes inconvenient.
  3. Search public maps and menus. Capture the candidate name, address, hours, booking or ordering link, menu link, and the date you checked them. These are observations about public pages. They are not proof of revenue, customer counts, or quality.
  4. Group by the job the guest wants done. A sandwich shop, a full-service bistro, and a grocery prepared-food counter can compete for one lunch decision. Keep the group broad enough to reflect the guest and narrow enough to guide a menu or service decision.
  5. Compare the offer in a simple table. Use rows for price band, speed, service model, signature item, dietary fit, booking or ordering path, and hours. Use the same wording for every candidate. Empty cells are useful because they show what you do not know.
  6. Remove decorative competitors. A famous restaurant that serves a different occasion may be interesting but not operationally relevant. Keep it in a separate inspiration list. The working list should be small enough for a manager to inspect before service.
  7. Recheck changes, not rumors. A closed listing, a changed menu, or a new opening can change the set. Save the public source and access date each time. If a fact cannot be verified, label it unknown rather than turning a review or a post into a business claim.
  8. Turn the list into a decision. Choose one question: should we change lunch pricing, add a reservation path, clarify our offer, or adjust a service period? spotr can organize public observations and show the evidence behind a draft. It cannot decide which guests your restaurant should serve.

See this for your restaurant

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