A Brief Guide to Opening Your Restaurant

When Orson Welles said  “Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch” and Emma Bombeck said “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart”, they meant life is too short to worry about things that are not food.

Regardless of our ethnicities, race, and culture, food has the ability to unite us all. For years, we have flocked to restaurants with our families, loved ones and bonded over scrumptious meals.

As adults, I am sure some of us have a secret desire to open our own restaurant someday, serving food that we cherish or cuisines we find interesting.

If you’re that someone who has finally decided to make that dream come true, then this guide is for you.

Opening a restaurant may seem like an easy feat, but it’s not. The process is long and you need to be thorough. That’s why, in this guide, we are going to explore all the essentials you need to keep in mind for opening a restaurant.

11 Essentials for Opening a Restaurant

1. Concept

After you’ve decided that you want to open a restaurant . The first thing that comes to mind is financing the restaurant and here’s a quick guide to getting a loan for a restaurant after you have sorted your finances for the same, it’s important to decide the core concept you want to follow. Whether you want to open a bakery serving freshly baked loaves of bread, a low-key cafe filled with books, or a polished restaurant serving family dinners. This will be the building block for your restaurant.

2. Location

Once you’ve decided on the concept, the next item on the list is location. Depending on what sort of an eatery you’re planning on opening, you need to scout a good location keeping your target customers in mind.  A high-end restaurant would be better in posh areas and an easy-going deli serving food on the go would do well near workplaces.

3. Space

The amount of space in your location will determine the logistics of how many people you can seat or if you prefer opening just a delivery joint.

4. Licenses

It’s essential to sort out your legalities or contracts with investors before opening your restaurant to customers. Licenses can differ for different eateries, for example, food trucks need different permissions and licenses than restaurants.

5. Cuisine

Keeping your location and the type of eatery you want to open in mind, you must settle the type of food you want to serve. You may require a larger kitchen to serve certain cuisines or require seating for the consumption of food that can’t be delivered. It’s imperative to set your menu smartly, serving limited items that you can control the quality of and manage serving in large numbers throughout the day.

6. Staff

Good employees can make or break a restaurant. Having excellent chefs on the team is as important as having great servers that can handle all sorts of customers. The reputation of your restaurant will rely on the overall experience of a customer, from the ambiance, speed to the quality of service. Some restaurants are famous simply for their seamless service.

7. Pricing

The prices on your menu should be set in accordance with the expense you’re incurring and the price at which your competitors are selling their food. You could offer lower pricing for a competitive edge if you have enough funding or have managed to secure a loan or have gotten great deals from vendors.

8. Quality control

This is an essential aspect of running a restaurant. A regular fresh supply of vegetables, meat, fruit, and dairy is important in maintaining the quality of food. Enforcing mechanisms that do not allow recycling stale food to be served as fresh food, ensuring cleanliness in the kitchen, and retention of staff will all contribute towards controlling the quality of food being served.

9. Marketing

Offering discounts during the opening or offering drinks on the house are all marketing tactics used by new restaurants to lure or acquire new customers. Good marketing plays an important role in creating a reputation for the restaurant and a good experience will make your restaurant popular through word of mouth.

10. Infrastructure

Ensuring that your customers are seated comfortably and your staff has all the facilities to function smoothly is crucial in making it a seamless experience for everyone involved.

11. USP

A unique selling point will set you apart from your competitors. It could be a dish that your restaurant specializes in or it could be something about your ambiance that sets your restaurant apart. Maybe you serve breakfast all day long or decide to fill your shelves with books for some quiet reading and food. A USP must be an experience that pulls the crowd in.

Lastly,

The most famous well-functioning eateries in most cities are usually the oldest ones serving the simplest food. After all the success of a restaurant lies in the heart that’s put into its food.