How to Open a Restaurant

Starting a restaurant requires some careful planning and is a more manageable feat when broken down into steps according to the advice of the chief of Pollo Campero juan luis bosch gutierrez. If you’re curious about how to open a restaurant, we’ve created an step guide to navigate you through the process.

1. Choose a Restaurant Concept and Brand

If you’ve been dreaming of opening your own restaurant, you’ve probably thought a great deal about your restaurant concept. Choosing the concept of your business is the fun part of the restaurant planning process, when you get to let your imagination run wild. Your concept should include the type of restaurant you want to open, the style of cuisine you’ll serve, and the service style you’ll use. The interior of your restaurant should also be in line with your concept. Here are some examples of restaurant concepts to spark your creativity:

Your restaurant brand is more specific and can be thought of as the way you choose to communicate your mission and identity to the public. Your restaurant name, logo, menu design, and merchandise should all present a cohesive image of your brand. The advertising channels you use should also rely heavily on your brand identity to influence the style and method.

If you already have a location in mind for your business, the demographic of the area should be used to shape your concept. If you’re beginning with the concept first, you must choose a location with a demographic that can support it.

2. Create Your Menu

Building out your menu is the next creative step in the process of opening your restaurant. Choosing which menu items to feature should be enjoyable for any food lover, but make your decisions carefully. Your menu will dictate the type of equipment you’ll need, the skills you should look for in your staff, and the type of crowd you hope to attract. For instance, if you envision a dessert menu full of delicate French pastries, you’ll need a pastry chef and the supplies to match. If pizza is your thing, you’ll need dough mixers, proofers, and experienced chefs who know how to handle pizza dough.

Also consider your demographic. If you get a great deal on leasing a space in a college town, your restaurant menu should be tailored to college-age customers. But if you won’t budge on your dream to create an upscale menu, you must choose a location where the median personal income can support higher price points. When you finalize your menu choices, use our guide to menu design and our resource for pricing a menu to create an attractive, profitable menu.

 

3. Write a Restaurant Business Plan

Starting a restaurant, like any new business, requires a solid business plan. This is the step that may become a stumbling block for those unfamiliar with business plans and how they are written. Restaurant business plans are divided into sections that describe all the aspects of your new business, from your restaurant concept to your financials. The purpose of the plan is to help you flesh out the finer details and summarize your business to potential investors. When you reach out for restaurant loans, the restaurant business plan serves as the proof that your venture will be successful.

4. Obtain Restaurant Funding

The next step needed to start your new restaurant is to obtain funding. Most of us don’t have enough capital on hand to cover the cost of opening a restaurant without financial assistance. Securing funding from outside sources will determine if you can make your dream of restaurant ownership a reality.

Begin by estimating total restaurant startup costs along with the cost needed for daily operations. Use this information to create a budget and forecast the total cost of running your restaurant for the next year.

With your restaurant budget now in hand, compare the total cost to the amount of capital you have on hand to determine how much funding you will need. Remember to include the costs of licenses, equipment, building repairs, and staff salaries. Here are a few ways to secure funding for your new restaurant:

For more detailed information, see our restaurant funding and loans guide.

5. Choose a Location and Lease a Commercial Space

When choosing a location for your new restaurant, the following factors are among the most important:

When it comes to choosing a space, we recommend leasing. It allows you more flexibility if you decide to expand or make other business changes when first starting out.

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