On Decision Making regarding High-business-strategy Café Menu Selection

In contemporary popular leisure trends, modern restaurants have been innovative regarding all aspects of the restaurant business, such as food, leisure, and consumption, thus evolving into cafés with unique characteristics and styles, which differ greatly from traditional restaurants. In order to meet consumers’ preferences of delicious food and beautiful decor, many new cafés have opened, and new café dishes are introduced. The first impression of the menu content alone can determine the success or failure of a café. Although not all newly opened cafés are successful, opening a café is still an entrepreneur dream for many people. In Japan, it is commonly believed that café is equal to gourmet food, which is also often the key to sustainable management of a café. However, how is the menu content decided? As the menu content cannot satisfy all guests, cafés have their own operating strategies to determine the structure of a menu. This study aims to explore the decision making of café operators to create a high-business-strategy menu, and use Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to discuss the selection of café menus to help the cafés achieving sustainable development. The research methods included literature review, expert interview, and AHP. The findings can serve as references to café operators.