Whether it’s your lifelong dream or a newly-found business venture, opening your own restaurant is a huge achievement. As with any major accomplishment, it’s also one that takes a considerable amount of work and planning to see through.
The pandemic has made it clear to entrepreneurs that restaurants are volatile businesses, but when run by the right minds, they can be incredibly adaptable and resilient. Pandemic or not, the restaurant industry can often be unpredictable and difficult to navigate, so considerable research and strategic planning are necessary first steps towards opening your restaurant. Of course, there are also fun parts, like designing a unique menu and getting creative with your restaurant space. Here are some key steps to get started on your restaurant adventure!
Brand Identity
A restaurant is more than just a place that sells food. If the type of food being sold was a restaurant’s defining factor, Wendy’s, Burger King, McDonald’s, and other famous burger joints wouldn’t be able to coexist successfully. What makes all of these places different isn’t necessarily the food they sell but the identity that they bear and what that means to their customers.
Define Your Concept
Your restaurant’s concept is sort of like its theme. Creating a restaurant concept means considering what kind of experience you want customers to have when they eat at your spot and any time they come into contact with marketing materials from your business.
A restaurant’s concept incorporates aspects of its brand, including business values and mission, plus things like:
Menus
A well-thought-out menu is the key to helping your restaurant stand out as unique and desirable. Decide on the overall type of cuisine you’ll sell, and also consider how it will be sold — will you serve shareable platters, small plates, family-style dishes, customizable meals, casual eats, or something totally unique? Consider pricing, kitchen size, staff, and demographic when crafting a menu that will sustain your business. A company like MustHaveMenus can help you create a stunning, well-thought-out menu in no time at all.
Elements of Design
Every material that comes from your business should be distinctly branded, from your logo to your social media posts to your takeout menu design. Come up with a color scheme and voice that defines your unique brand, and never waver from using them. Even your restaurant’s interior decor should be creatively designed to fit no other brand but yours.
Interior Space
A restaurant’s interior space says a lot about its brand. When customers enter your restaurant, they should understand what type of experience they will get. Whether you use only high-top tables and barstools to create a social, fun environment or plenty of secluded, roomy booths to create an intimate space for couples and groups, your restaurant layout will influence the way customers feel at your spot. Likewise, things like lighting, color, and music should be carefully considered with your brand in mind.
Get to Know Your Target Audience
Successful branding must be created with the customer in mind. Branding aims to create an identity that your target audience can relate to and want to interact with. Define your target market by considering demographics like age, gender, lifestyle, and location.
When opening a restaurant, location is a good place to start as you’ll want to consider your local competitors, the socio-economic status of your potential customers, and things like seasonality and lifestyle. If you’re hoping to open a high-end Hyde Park sushi shop catered toward a health-conscious crowd, you’d better ensure you’re not in a low-income, land-locked city full of fast-food-loving diners. Honing in on your target market will help you create a unique brand that caters to their needs and creates demand.
Create a Business Plan
A restaurant is primarily a business, so you’ll need to develop a solid business plan before things get moving. You’ll have to plan a brand and business concept, a structure for ownership and management, a payroll strategy, market analysis, and much more before you even turn on your neon signs.
Financial Strategy
From expensive kitchen equipment to paper napkins to branded merchandise, there are endless costs that you’ll have to account for in your business’s financial strategy. You’ll have to first seek funding to get started, whether you borrow capital from investors, take out loans, or use business credit — and be prepared for the possibility that your restaurant may not turn a profit for up to two years.
You’ll also need to consider the cost of the ingredients needed for your cuisine and your audience demographic to create sustainable and profitable menu prices. You’ll have to budget for things like unexpected breakages, emergencies, seasonal market changes, payroll, and more.
Marketing Plan
Before purchasing land or space for your restaurant, conduct an extensive market analysis. Analyze the population, consumer habits, and competitors in the area to ensure your restaurant will thrive in a particular market. Likewise, create a marketing strategy, including budgets for things like advertisements, social media marketing, marketing materials, and more. Consider the costs of these things and/or the potential costs of hiring a marketing specialist.
Staff
Hiring staff is a vital facet of opening a restaurant, and it’s often a step that restauranteurs struggle with. Any entrepreneur wants to hire the best of the best for their business, but in the restaurant industry, that’s not an easy feat.
Between inventory, utilities, marketing, and economic volatility, restaurant costs can be higher than might seem profitable. Restaurant owners have historically relied on paying most staff minimum wage by default. Still, in the post-pandemic world, it is difficult for them to hire capable, adequately-qualified employees. Take time to strategize a hiring plan, considering how skilled your staff needs to be, how you’ll compensate and train them, and how you’ll build a strong, loyal team to support your restaurant.
Do the Necessary Paperwork
Opening a restaurant means having fun with creativity, but it also means lots of blue tape and paperwork. Boring as it might be, this stuff is a necessary step when starting any business.
Legal Stuff, Permits, and Licenses
First and foremost, you’ve got to obtain a business license and decide on your restaurant’s legal structure. Most restaurants are opened as sole proprietorships, partnerships, or limited liability companies (LLCs). You’ll select a legal structure based on the size of your business, your financial standing, and whether or not you have business partners.
Next, you’ll need to apply for an employer identification number, known as an EIN. This will be your business’s tax identification number for the IRS. In addition, you’ll need to research the area’s zoning and occupancy laws and regulations. Usually, you’ll need a certificate for occupancy, a sign permit, sales permits, plus any permits for parking, live music, dumpsters, or serving food or alcohol outdoors.
Lastly, there is a slew of food service-related permits and licenses that you’ll need to acquire. To run a restaurant, you’ll need a food service license, food handler permit, health permits for both your business and employees and a liquor license. Many of these permits and licenses vary by state and by the kinds of food you sell, so be sure to conduct extensive research or hire an expert to check all the necessary boxes.
With the assistance of an online ordering system specifically designed for restaurants, establishments can easily start accepting orders online. These dedicated solutions streamline the process of online ordering for restaurants, allowing customers to browse the menu, customize their orders, and conveniently submit them through the website. By implementing an online ordering system for restaurants you can enhance thei customer experience by providing a convenient and efficient way for customers to place orders from the comfort of their homes or on the go. This not only increases customer satisfaction but also helps restaurants expand their reach and boost revenue by tapping into the growing trend of online food ordering.
Make Your Restaurant Dreams Come True
While there are some painstakingly lengthy procedures, lots of paperwork, and plenty of potential hoops to jump through to open your own restaurant, the work is worth the reward. Take plenty of time to thoroughly draft a business plan, consult with experts and experienced professionals, and strategize as much as possible. After that, get creative and have fun making a space all your own for customers to enjoy for generations to come!