Restaurants at a Zoo entrance, question

[Jaggid Edje]

Has anyone built restaurants right at the entrance to their zoo, and how well do they do? I've built a ton of restaurants but have put them farther into my zoo always, but am starting a new zoo where I'm thinking of having a nice restaurant at the entrance.

I'm asking because restaurants are pretty pricey as far as food goes and I visitor spending is tied to their level of education, so I'm concerned that entering visitors (with 0 education) won't like the restaurant prices.

[Overeagerdragon]

I built as smallish restaurant some 3 blocks diagonally from my entrance and I regret it.... its q's are absolutely insane and I have no way to expand the restaurant xD

[Jaggid Edje]

Does it have 20 tables?

I'm okay with queues near the entrance, I'll just plan to have enough space for a line. That's good news to me, as it means my planned location will get business.
Thank you for the response!

[Overeagerdragon]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Does it have 20 tables?

I'm okay with queues near the entrance, I'll just plan to have enough space for a line. That's good news to me, as it means my planned location will get business.
Thank you for the response!

it has 12 that are full about 90% of the times and usually there's a 14ft Q waiting to get into the place xD Hence why I said I regretted it BECAUSE I have no way to expand to the full 20 tables xD

[Jaggid Edje]

That's what I thought you meant, I just wanted to make sure. :)

I'm thinking I'll save space to put in a 2nd restaurant in the area when the zoo gets bigger based on the information you have shared. Given that you clearly recognize the frustration later on of not having the space to do a renovation in the entrance area, you've really helped a lot by sharing your experience with me. Thank you so much.

Edit: Btw, have you considered going vertical to get in 8 more tables? Restaurant tables don't need path access or anything, so you could go up, or even down (below ground) with them.

[Overeagerdragon]

no problem...I had the same question so I just ended up trying in a park that was going downhill due to glitches (false flagged escaped animals etc etc) but out of everything in that park that didn't work...that restaurant certainly wasn't one of them...

[grampers62]

It's still good to have a few shops near the entrance. The restaurants have the option of putting tables into habitats which make it better to put them between a couple of habitats and have fun watching what happens when you put tables in there.

[Jaggid Edje]

@grampers62, the restaurants are so efficient at fulfilling visitor food and drink needs that in my last zoo I had very few regular shops. Just a handful here or there between restaurants. I find it a nice change from how the game was before restaurants were added where larger zoos had to have (what I consider) a ridiculous number of shops.

For this zoo that I'm starting right now, I'm going for as close to zero food shops as is possible while still having happy visitors. It's the first new zoo I've made since restaurants were added....all the other ones I've been playing have been zoos I had in progress already when they were introduced.

[grampers62]

So, do you use the food trucks at all Jaggid?

[Jaggid Edje]

Just in one zoo so far. They are a pretty cool addition. So are the narrow vendor stalls. I like those a lot. I'm thinking those will be the only ones I use (other than restaurants) in this new zoo. Just for variety's sake.

[Jaggid Edje]

My big challenge right now as I get started is that I want to move the zoo entrance farther in from the edge of the map than the default. And I'm playing in franchise mod so I can't just tear it down to move it.

I'm starting the zoo in a mode where everything I build until I get to where I want the new entrance to be is cheap and disposable. Once I get that deep and have the money for the new entrance, I'm going to close the original one and demolish everything between it and the new one.

[grampers62]

I use the shop counters a lot myself especially near restaurant areas. It's a great way to boost drink sales without using a ton of space. Just don't like the food truck model in any of my zoos yet, but who knows what I'll do next.
I too hate having to use the generic entrance they provide. wish they would just let the players place one themselves as a thing to do before the player can do much else.
In my current zoo based on Diamond Head crater. that old entrance is buried in the mountain and closed and new entrances are now in the tunnel leading into the crater. The only thing is stuck staff will get transported to that gate which means it has to stay connected to the path system.

[Jaggid Edje]

Oh, crud, I forgot all about stuck staff teleporting there even when it is closed. Thanks for the reminder. I hadn't planned on leaving a path connection, but I'm okay with a staff path back there, I guess. I'm going to obscure the original entrance with forest, but a winding dirt path to connect it to the main park path system will look okay.

[audiolady]

Have you put restaurant tables on the roof?
Plus, one of my restaurants has 2 loos, and 1 each of the non food shops stands attached.

[Jaggid Edje]

Finally got to the point in the new zoo where I wanted the restaurant and new entrance to be. I put in the restaurant, full 20 tables, and it was instantly so busy that visitors were turning away unhappy due to the line. This with only 1300 visitors in the zoo (the current limit I have set).

My vendors were at 3 stars so I have to finish training them up, which should help the line. I put in a food stand to relieve some of the pressure for now, but it looks like getting a second restaurant in the area is already a priority.

Thanks again for your input @Overeagredragon....you weren't lieing that the entrance is a perfectly grand spot for a restaurant.