7 Things to Know Before Opening a Restaurant

Opening your own restaurant can be a great adventure as well as being a fantastic way to keep a regular income for your family. However, it is certainly easy said than done as in today’s financial environment, despite signs that things are steadily changing, opening any new business is a risk, and a restaurant is no different. On the flip side, if your restaurant is a success and you have guests filling the setting every night, you could soon find that your business is leading the way when it comes to overall economic recovery and your restaurant has quickly become the talking point of the local area.

It is important to get an initial idea of what you are letting yourself in for when deciding to open a restaurant and some of the aspects you need to bear in mind, so detailed below are seven things you need to know before opening your own restaurant;

#1- Running a Restaurant is a Job

If you think that running a restaurant will be an easy job, you’re going to be very surprised. Time, effort and commitment are required from a restaurant owner and you’ll have no choice but to put in the hours, especially early on, to push your business towards success. Late night and weekend work are also a given as a restaurant owner, so prepare yourself for tiring days with the likelihood of little sleep come the end of them.

#2- Draw Up a Clear Business Plan

A business plan will open your eyes to all the ins and outs associated with being a restaurant owner, which is even more essential should you be entering this industry for the first time. From licensing to tax laws and health and safety, your business plan will have everything clearly written down so you can refer back at any stage of the process and ensure your plans on the right track.

#3- Don’t Assume Instant Success

It is important to not assume that you will become a overnight success following your launch as whilst you may well get good numbers through the doors for the first few weeks, there is every chance this could tail off as the allure of something new for people in the local area wears off. It is then that you need to work even harder to draw people back in and make them regular customers, so consider offers, theme nights and giveaways to get that buzz about your restaurant back again.

#4- Assess the Competition

Competitor analysis is crucial when opening a restaurant as you need to know what you are up against in the surrounding area. An important tip when visiting a competitor is to separate your personal preferences from business as whilst you might not be keen on a particular area of service or how they have laid out the setting, if it is pulling in customers and leading to them being successful, it obviously appeals to those in the local area. By asking yourself why people go to that competitor, you’ll be in a strong position to implement the right features in your restaurant as you’ll have a clear idea of the answers.

#5- Consider the Comfort of Customers

The comfort of your customers is paramount to how successful your restaurant is in the long term as if people don’t feel comfortable when in your establishment, the chances of them returning are slim. With this in mind, consider comfortable features in the initial design including seating and the installation of air conditioning to keep the temperature inside your restaurant at a comfortable level throughout the year. The fact that you have considered the comfort of your customers within your design plans is a sure fire way to impress guests and ensure your business sets off on the right foot.

#6- Choose a Great Location

The location you choose for your restaurant is undoubtedly going to have a big impact on long term success as should your setting be easy to find and in a great location, it is going to be far easier to attract customers inside. If however you have settled on a location out of the way of many other amenities, you could be restricting your appeal no matter how great the food and service you present to the customer is.

#7- Create a Mind Blowing Menu

Your menu needs to be unique and offer dishes that are going to last long in the memory of guests so they will return whilst also spreading the word about your great food. It is of course vitally important to make sure your food does the talking as the dishes can look great on paper but if they don’t live up to expectations when on the plate, it certainly won’t go down well with guests, both present and future.

Opening a restaurant is going to be a difficult task however if you get it right, it can be one of the most rewarding professions and provide the financial rewards that you will undoubtedly have desired at the outset. With these seven points in mind, you should have a strong foundation from which to build upon and make your new restaurant business great.