Opening a restaurant is a very exciting process – and one that many people have dreamt of for many years. But there are so many aspects that you need to consider before opening your doors to customers to ensure that you’re fully prepared.
To help with this, here are 8 things you’ll typically need to start your own restaurant business:
- A Comprehensive Business Plan
In order to appeal to investors and access loans for your restaurant, you’ll need to develop a comprehensive business plan for it. This detailed plan will typically list the following:
- Your branding
- How you will attract customers (including your plans for marketing)
- Where you’re planning on setting up business
- What your business has to offer
- What Point of Sale system you’ll use
- Licenses and Permits
To open a restaurant, you’ll need to first obtain several types of federal, state and local licenses and permits. As well as researching what these are, it’s worth contacting a lawyer to ensure that you have the right ones. Without these, you won’t legally be allowed to operate – so make sure that you have these organized in advance.
- Experience Within The Industry
Ok, so this isn’t necessarily essential. But it will help in understanding what it takes to start your own restaurant business. If you have experience working within the industry, say as a manager, you’ll have an insight into what it’s like to run a restaurant and the day-to-day routine.
- A Functional and Stylish Space
Once you’ve done your research about a certain area, then it’s time to start looking for premises. When hunting for a premise, you’ll want to find one that’s the right size for the type of business you’re setting up and that it possibly has certain features already fitted (i.e. plumbing and heating).
The type of premise that you go for will, of course, also depend on your budget – as a space that requires little TLC will be higher.
- Motivated and Skilled Staff
Once you have a premise, you’ll want to hire motivated and skilled staff members to help your restaurant to thrive in the long term. Viewing numerous CVs and interviewing candidates, you’ll want to find potential employees that seem like the right fit for your restaurant.
If you are opening a specialized restaurant, such as one that focuses on pairing food with wine, then you’ll also want to look at hiring staff that are experienced in that field.
- An Extraordinary Menu
One of the first steps you should take before opening your restaurant doors is to create an extraordinary menu. This should include the type of cuisine you wish to specialize in – whether that be seafood, Pizza, Steak or food from a particular country, such as Italian.
When creating your menu, you’ll not only want food that’s bound to please your guest, but a design that will impress. Which is where menu templates can come in. Consider choosing a design that not only reflects what you have to offer but your business’ brand as a whole.