Business
Opening the Doors for Business: 5 Things You Need to Do When Opening a Restaurant
Opening a new restaurant is always exciting, but it takes a lot of planning and hard work, as well. Inexperienced restaurateurs sometimes overlook details that can undermine the chances of a brand-new establishment. Take care of the following five things before the first scheduled service, and your next restaurant should get off to a strong start.
- Make Sure Your Entire Restaurant is Properly Furnished, Appointed, and Stocked
It takes a lot more than a love of food and some fresh ingredients to launch a successful restaurant. All the furnishings, accessories, and supplies that a restaurant is equipped with will impact its odds of success, as well.
Many newcomers to the restaurant industry pay plenty of attention to front-of-house details, and that will always be helpful. After all, guests who sit down on shabby-looking chairs or pick up cheap-feeling forks will become less favorably disposed to a restaurant.
How a restaurant is set up behind the scenes will always matter just as much, though. Investing in high-quality food preparation tables, for instance, will help the talents of cooks shine.
As those who need more information will discover online, back-of-house acquisitions can be some of the most cost-effective of all. Stick to a budget when equipping your restaurant, but make sure to allocate your spending strategically.
- Hire Talented Workers
Many new restaurants approach their launch dates with skeletal payrolls that need to be expanded quickly. Unfortunately, that can cause problems, as it sometimes means feeling forced to hire anyone with a pulse.
Even rank-and-file staff members like kitchen stewards and food runners will help determine whether a new restaurant succeeds or fails. Have a couple of surly servers on the payroll, and a restaurant can open to complaints instead of praise.
- Make Sure to Get the Word Out
Some restaurateurs and investors become so enamored of their own plans that they start to believe the whole world must be watching. A poorly marketed restaurant opening can doom an otherwise appealing, well-planned venture to failure.
It will always be best to develop a comprehensive, thoughtful strategy for how a restaurant will be marketed both before and after it opens. Counting overly much on word of mouth will inevitably leave too much to chance.
- Plan for the Unexpected
Putting plenty of effort into developing a solid business plan and an appealing menu will always be important. On the other hand, restaurateurs often get blindsided by unlikely-seeming outcomes that could have been handled better.
Before actually opening your restaurant’s doors, think about how you will respond if a number of staff members walkout or a supplier jacks up prices. Even long-shot possibilities generally deserve at least a bit of attention.
- Get Some Practice Before the Moment of Truth
The idea of a “soft opening” might have become something of a cliché, but it got that way for a reason. It will almost always be best to treat friends, investors, and insiders to a meal or two before opening your restaurant’s doors to the public.
That will allow you to identify any issues that need to be addressed before your restaurant gives rise to the surprises that help make the industry so interesting. Some experienced restaurateurs even make a habit of running invitation-only services until everything seems to be under control.
Preparation Pays Off
Restaurateurs who keep these five requirements in mind tend to enjoy the smoothest, most successful launches. There will inevitably be plenty of challenges that need to be overcome later on, but preparing appropriately for a restaurant’s opening should ensure some welcome early momentum.
