For many people, opening a restaurant is their ultimate business dream. Perhaps they just want to open one for themselves. Or perhaps they want to start a family business that will be passed down through generations. Whatever the reason, you need to be prepared for a lot of hard work. And you need to remember that that hard work can pay off in big, big ways.
Do you have an inkling that you might want to start a restaurant? Many do, but haven’t turned the idea around in their heads enough to get a solid plan going. Here are some tips that will help your brain get into gear and you into action.
Decide what food you will specialise in
This should be the first thing you think of. For many people, they have a litany of great recipes that they want to share with the world. If those recipes already largely fall under a common food category, then this step will be much easier. If you have recipes from several different cuisine “genres”, then you might have to narrow it down to better target to certain customers.
So what will it be? Do you want to specialise in a specific ethnic cuisine? Examples of this would include Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese or Indian. There are obviously many kinds, but these tend to be the most popular. Perhaps you want to open a seafood place or a steakhouse. Or maybe you want something simpler, like a coffee shop or a bakery. Why not a mix of both? Whatever it is, ensure you have a strong food concept in mind.
What kind of property will you acquire?
There are a few ways you can go about this. Perhaps you’ve got your eye on a place available for rent that’s already a restaurant. But what if it’s not in the location you want? Maybe you’d prefer it to be in a busier part of the city. But maybe the only available property there would require a complete conversion into a restaurant.
You will have to do a lot of research for this. The ideal solution, of course, would be to find a property that has already been established as a restaurant. If you can find this in the area you desire, then that’s the kind of place you want. But even though it’s more difficult, you shouldn’t be scared away from the idea of converting a property into a restaurant. After all, location is ultimately the most important factor, here. The biggest challenge is building a suitable kitchen from scratch. But as long as you’re in touch with the best building contractors and stud welding services, it’s achievable.
Find out how much it will cost you
This is the scary bit! You can’t really put off cost estimates for too long. But how do you go about getting the most accurate cost estimate?
The truth is that you’re probably only going to get a ballpark figure this early in the process. If possible, see if you can speak to local business owners – especially restaurant owners. They will be able to inform you about the costs of rent, insurance, permits and utilities. Remember that you probably won’t be doing things the same way that they do, though, so the cost will just be a rough estimate. You’ll also need to find out how much it will cost to acquire a property in the area you want. You can then find out what financial arrangements you need to make to get started.
