Monday, August 12, 2013

Opening a Restaurant? 5 Things to Keep in Mind.

People love to eat.  And judging from the number of new restaurants opened each year, people also love to open restaurants. According to a recent article in Forbes.com,   nearly 3,000 new restaurants opened between 2011 and 2012. If you are thinking of joining the fray, there are certain things you'll need to consider. A great concept, location and restaurant supplier  are just the beginning. What else is there? 

1. Your business plan. Restaurants fail for a variety of reasons but your restaurant won't even get off the ground without a business plan. Your business plan is a road map that will help guide you through development and beyond. Having a plan is essential. 

2. Legalities. Opening any business involves a sea of red tape. There are also local, state and federal regulations and policies your restaurant must adhere to. If you don't have a good head for sorting through bureaucracy, make sure you get help from someone who does. 

3. Your menu. With your plan in place and the fine print sorted out, you can focus on the fun stuff - the food! However, there's more to choosing a menu than simply picking out and featuring your favorites. Consider your overall concept, your target market, your location and your competition. These all should factor in when deciding your menu. 

4. Your layout. Your decor will be largely determined by your menu. However, you want to make sure your restaurant is designed so that diners will be comfortable, and servers will be able to easily maneuver between the kitchen and the diners. 

5. Your staff. Your employees are one of the most crucial elements of restaurant success. High quality chefs and wait staff are a must not only because of the jobs they do but because they represent you and your vision.

 Keep these five things in mind and your restaurant will be off to a fantastic start.

Bonus tip: Make sure you get excellent equipment. Appliances that you would use in your home are not going to cut it in a restaurant setting when you need to serve many people at one time. So make sure you purchase commercial kitchen equipment in order to maintain efficiency.

3 delicious comments:

betchai said...

one of my childhood dreams then was to have my own restaurant, actually, I even really started a catering business as my hobby and 2nd income back when I was younger and have the energy for it, but when I moved to US, my 2nd income had been blogging and I enjoyed it so much that I just content now with serving hubby and myself :)

lencilicious said...

I'll definitely keep these in minds sis. Especially my husband and I have a plan of building this type of business someday.

riablahgs said...

This is something I should remember sis. My daughter wants to be a chef and eventually open up a pastry business. We can always refer to this in the future. :)

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