Opening Your Own Restaurant? 4 Tips to Get Started

Restaurant businesses are attractive for the plain fact that people will always need food. It’s one of humanity’s basic necessities and so demand rarely dials down throughout the year. Yet while the customer base for restaurants is stable for decades to come, there is a lot of competition in the food business and that can make it hard to get in. Here are four tips to help you get started on the right path.

Figure Out Your Food Concept

There are dozens of restaurants in every five-mile radius. This means a lot of competition for newly established restaurants. Figuring out what your food concept is and then executing it at the highest possible level will help you establish the uniqueness of your brand. In any neighborhood, there’s always that one “pizza place” or “steakhouse” that everybody knows about and flock to whenever they feel a hankering for such cuisines.

Figure Out Your Serving Approach

You’ll need to know your food concept as well as your target customers in order to decide your style of serving. In general, there are three primary approaches of getting food from the kitchen to your patron’s tables: quick-service, mid-scale, and upscale. Location will also play a huge factor when deciding the serving style. For example, restaurants in the greater Manhattan area usually employ an upscale type of service since customers expect to get exceptional service for their money.

Design a Business Plan

A well-detailed business plan is important for two reasons. You’ll need it to guide you through day-to-day operations, and you’ll need to provide a copy of your business plan to lenders and investors. This is extremely helpful when you’re looking to bring people on-board or if you are planning to borrow money to start the business. An effective business plan will include the food concept, target customers, menus and proposed pricing, overhead expenses, etc.

Invest in Good Quality Equipment

Commercial-grade restaurant equipment, such as pans, food processors, display cases, stoves, dish tables, liquor displays, meat grinders, and even the kitchen doors, are what runs everyday operations. Investing in professional-grade restaurant equipment ensures prolonged usage of these equipment. Poorly manufactured equipment may cost cheaper, but you’ll likely spend more over time as you purchase new sets more frequently. In addition, the equipment being used can have a slight impact in food flavor, wherein poorly designed equipment can rust away and leak chemicals into the food.

Opening your own restaurant is an exciting moment in life, and probably a lucrative one in the future. Follow the four tips aforementioned to get started with your dream business the right way. You can also do your own research and follow additional tips to ease the stress of starting your own business.

Author: Emma Sturgis is a freelance writer currently living in Boston, MA. She writes most often on education and business. For restaurant equipment, Emma suggests Budget Restaurant Supply. To see more from Emma, say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2