So, I've got the idea of opening a restaurant. How I do it?

It is not easy to open a restaurant, but with hard work and perseverence, it is a good investment.

The first step in opening a new restaurant is deciding if you want a traditional restaurant, a fast-food or what kind. A casual dinner? Do you have a specific type of cuisine you plan to serve such as Italian, French, Indian, Mexican, Greek or Hungarian? Perhaps you want to specialize in one area, like a pub. Before you move to the next step, you have to decide what type of restaurant you open and how many customers fit in.


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The location can give a positive or negative atmosphere to the restaurant. The location you have in mind is a place with plenty of traffic? If not, is there enough traffic? Have competition there?

How are the most nearest restaurants, do they have customers, what type of customer and what is the offer and the price?
Another big step is to write up a business plan (both text and financials). Make sure it will work in the area in which you plan to open the restaurant.

Try to work in team. Put together a team whose skills complement each other. Before to accept credits from the banks, try to access your funding opportunities, including friends and family, venture capitalists, etc.

Create a calendar for your team to make sure you have a plan as to what needs to get done when, and by whom. And pay attention to each task to be delegated to each team member and specified in the calendar.

For all the plates and a very attractive menu, hire a good chef if he is not already a part of the team, and begin t calculate how much is costing the menu options for one month.

Another tricky step is to negotiate contracts with your food and liquor vendors. Here you have to be very careful with the payment terms and the price.

As an owner, should be aware of menu, that is going on at all times.

The restaurant business is synonymous with long days and longer nights. Indulge in dialogue with your customers, friends and family to access and refine your concept, menu, etc this enables you to create and maintain a venue with a strategy to compete with the finest.

Applying for permits: I advice you to hire an expediter to handle these, You will save money handling them yourself, but without experience, you may lose time and money making mistakes, missing deadlines, etc.

Ideally, businesses are built on trust. But people do change, "things happen," and conflict or distrust is often present…Be sure that you have checks and balances in your operating agreement so that conflict can be resolved. You must know that business partners improve and uphold the communication and maintain a smooth atmosphere.

Partners should have frequent scheduled meetings or calls to keep updated. A point person should send minutes to all the partners regarding the process and status of the project.