How to Start a Restaurant Business

 

Enthusiastic entrepreneurs often dream of opening a restaurant and turning their passion for cooking into profit. Of course, you know you'll need to choose a decent space, create an appealing menu for your target customers, hire the right staff, and market your new restaurant before you open its doors to the community. However, there are many steps to follow before diving.

Starting a restaurant will give you a whole plate of responsibilities, so before you open a restaurant, you'll want to make sure you're ready for each step. Industry veterans shared their tips for running the business and launching a successful restaurant.

1. Do your homework.

In any industry, doing your due diligence before you start is critical to success. This is especially true for the restaurant industry, where knowing good food is not enough.

Joe Erickson, vice president of RestaurantOwner.com, said thousands of independent restaurants fail each year because owners aren't prepared or don't know what to do.

"Do thorough research on the financial metrics of a profitable restaurant, the systems successful restaurateurs use to promote consistency and predictability, and the type of culture that will attract the best workers," Erickson said. "[Potential owners] need to understand the challenges of owning a restaurant before spending their savings."

Even if you've worked in a restaurant, there are still plenty of legal, management, and marketing lessons to learn. One area that many aspiring restaurateurs overlook is local licensing and sanitary regulations. Michele Stumpe, a Georgia-based attorney who specializes in liquor and hospitality licensing litigation, stressed the importance of knowing your restaurant's legal policies, especially since state laws and even counties may vary. Aspiring restaurateurs planning a launch should consider the length of the permitting and inspection processes, Stumpe advised.

2. Get as much industry experience as possible.

Navigating the restaurant industry as a beginner can be difficult. If you don't have experience in the business, it's important to partner up or hire someone who does.

When Costanzo Astarita opened his restaurant Baraonda in Atlanta in December 2000, he and his partner had worked in both food preparation and industry management, but knew little about commercial leasing.

"I wish I had figured out how to trade them when I started," he said. "I think any new restaurateur who is unfamiliar with commercial leases should hire a lawyer who specializes in this area."

Tony Doyle, owner of HK Hospitality Group, has worked in the restaurant business since he was 12 and has opened several successful restaurants, but he still had a lot to learn when he opened his first establishment.

"There were a lot of things that I had never dealt with before: employees, payroll, taxes, managing bank accounts, etc.," Doyle said. “You need to have a general understanding of how the business works before you start. There are a lot of problems that people don't see.

3. Pick the right location.

Without a good location, your restaurant is doomed, no matter how good it is. In 30 years of activity, Paola Bottero has moved her Manhattan restaurant three times before settling in its current location. Marco Pipolo, owner of New York's Marcony Ristorante, has learned valuable lessons from each of the five restaurants he owns, but one of the most important is that location can make or break your business.

Even with a mobile restaurant, location can still present an issue. Daniel Shemtob, co-founder and executive chef of Los Angeles-based TLT Food, recalled a harrowing first day on the job at The Lime Truck.

“[My co-founder and I] were in the middle of nowhere — we had no propane to cook with and the truck wouldn't start,” said Shemtob, who recalls having to plug in the truck and wait for someone. come. help them.

“Then there are other factors, like traffic,” he added.

4. Be adaptable.

While consistency in food and service quality is important to success, the restaurant industry is far from static.

“I've discovered over the years that to be successful you have to constantly update, renew and evolve with the ever-changing taste of the audience,” Pipolo said.

Shemtob agreed, noting that their menu is constantly changing to allow for newer and more innovative dishes. When you create your concept and your menu, they should be flexible enough to adapt when your customers ask for something new.

5. Put your customer first.

Everyone knows that a successful restaurant should serve delicious food, but there are many other factors that contribute to the success of your business, and most of them boil down to satisfied and loyal customers. If there's one thing Bottero wishes he had known when he started, it's that building loyalty is hard and time-consuming, even if your menu is top-notch.

"Customers make way," he told Business News Daily. “You have to earn their trust by making sure they are taken care of and giving them the best possible service. In today's market, you also cannot succeed without social media. Good food is important, but so is good technology.