So, You Want To Build A Restaurant?
Many waiters, chefs, and others who share a delighted interest in gastronomy, often have dreams of opening a restaurant of their own — or sharing a venture with a partner. Some soon to be restaurateurs decide to leave their big job in the corporate mill to go back to an earlier period in their life. This is a much simpler time, where they worked in the restaurant industry.
They take their savings and wholeheartedly decide, this is it, this is what I’ve always wanted to do. Then, they begin to scan local newspapers and commercial real estate listings in a variety of publications. They drive past an old restaurant on their way to work each day. Then, they think about how they can change it. They think: “That owner never knew what he was doing, with all of my business experience, I can really do a better job”. Creative Chefs and General Managers, who have risen to an executive-level within an operation, often have these same visions. “Why should I stay here? Not only am I bored with the same old, same old, every day. I think I could really make an impact by opening my own restaurant.”
Restaurants and Passion
I’ve met many of these people. Some have succeeded and others have not. Interestingly, the common denominator for those who have succeeded can be reduced to one defining characteristic: passion. Passion is strong and barely containable emotion. The good restauranteurs seem to have this kind of ethereal drive and when I meet with these often-animated stunners. They are bursting with ideas, painfully trying, where pathos prevails leading me to immediately want to help them. A restaurant is like a blank canvas or piece of clay. It is the medium for the restaurateur, ready to be turned into a sensational art form. Like all artists, restaurateurs are fueled with ideas. These ideas to create, to choreograph, and to execute this major production, require a lot of hard work and discipline.
There is nothing as wonderful, as marvelous than to participate with an eager new owner in this synergism. Our job, as people who support these wonderful owners, is to make sure that passion does not get lost.
Opening a Restaurant: Think Right
One of the pitfalls in the creation of a new restaurant is an obvious left and right brain dichotomy where the business head gets so tangled up in paper planning that it does not focus enough energy on the creative aspects of development. Additionally, restaurateurs often begin to construct elaborate business writings, pay someone for an evaluation of their marketplace. They set up meetings with firms to secure financing, hire lawyers to review lease and/or purchase agreements with real estate agents, and begin to contact major equipment vendors with only a cursory sketch of what kind of restaurant they plan to create. Many times, prospective owners fail to find a chef-for-hire to develop some of their own basic menu ideas. Or, they don’t know how to go find a good architect or designer to aid them in the development of their concept.
Also, the reality is that some skilled restaurateurs have started wonderful restaurants in concrete block basements, empty warehouses, kiosks on sidewalks, and even garages — with simple, but wonderful menus and limited decor so that the focus remains on the food. What is on the menu, presentation, and the related ambiance attracts patrons to restaurants. Finding a good chef and designer to assist in concept planning is the first step, unless, of course, you are a chef/designer yourself — and they do exist.
Opening a Restaurant: Think Slow
Being enthusiastic about your restaurant is fine. Obsessing about growing fast and being huge is not. Your restaurant venture should opt for a slow course of solid and steady development. That way, it will grow roots so that it will have longevity in your marketplace. Also, saying that, “Relationships that start with a bang usually end with a bang,” applies. To promote a relationship between restaurant marketplace that is lasting, it takes hard work, personal attention and time. Same goes for the careful hiring and cultivation of your staff.
Opening a Restaurant: Think Realistic
As a first-time owner, you will likely be working 365 days a year, and thinking about your restaurant all day. Prepare to work in every position in your restaurant, so that you can completely familiarize yourself with all of the nooks and crannies of your operation and until you can afford to hire and marshal a full house.
Opening a Restaurant: Think Conservative
After you pay the startup costs and hire the best chef that you can afford with adequate support staff, you may find there is little money for much else. Also, as the CEO of your restaurant, you must watch your cash and keep all expenditures to a minimum with an active eye towards good investment futures. Spending money on labor, for example, if the business is not there to support it, is financial foolishness, but I’ve seen it happen everywhere. The restaurant should, at the minimum, support itself, and ideally, support you, plus. Continually pumping your own money into the restaurant will only distort the restaurant’s financial picture.
Opening a Restaurant: Think Ahead
Personal cash reserves should be set aside to pay your salary and expenses. This should be for at least the first six months of operation, or the second six months — in case you have a grand slam opening and then business tapers off, as it sometimes does. You should also have on hand a minimum of three months of projected revenues for lean times — at all times.
Being a good restaurateur requires the total immersion of yourself into the operation at least until success reigns and you can comfortably entrust your responsibilities to one of your subordinates and cheer from the sidelines. Furthermore, without passion for your product, without enthusiasm for this business, without devotion to your staff and customers, and the zeal to reach your goals, all the business planning, paper agreements, operational checklists, and money, will not produce success.
What I do to Help Restaurants
I specialize in helping restaurants optimize their operational performance through proven solutions. Business owners benefit from our market research, a revamp of their menus, team training, chef coaching, cost reduction specific to their situations. Learn more about what I can do for your food business. Contact me today, I have a foolproof plan for you.
Keep control of your project but have a professional advisor on hand to answer your questions and see clarity. Whatever you prefer, I have “Done with You” and “Done for You” solutions.
Book a free 30-minute consultation. To learn more, visit my restaurant consulting or restaurant coaching services pages. To acquire new skills, visit our Online Culinary School and start making change.