Are you considering starting your own restaurant and want to make sure you’re as prepared as possible? Then take a look at the guide we’ve put together below. It features advice for those just starting out in the restaurant industry, as well as useful business tips. Keep reading to learn more.
Table of Contents
Identifying What Kind Of Cuisine You Want To Specialize In
The most successful restaurants usually are those that specialize in a certain area of cuisine and master it. For example, would your specialty be Italian food, sushi, or Mexican? It’s easier to build a good reputation for your restaurant if you can become renowned for your food. For this reason, you should also consider having a signature dish that you cook to perfection.
Finding The Right Premises
Choosing the right premises for your restaurant is one of the most important business decisions you will make. The location you choose to launch your new venture could be the difference between whether it succeeds or not. You should do plenty of research before deciding on which premises to go with, and always go and look around it first. You need to make sure the premises has all the facilities you’d need or at least the room to install them. Factor in things such as the size you want your restaurant to be. Are you going for a cozy, intimate vibe or do you want to go larger scale?
Location
In terms of location consider where you will be able to target your customers the best, and where you will get the best visibility, footfall, and customer parking. Locating your restaurant near bars is a good idea as people will generally want to go for food after they’ve finished going out for drinks. Or if you’re a more family-focused food venue, then locate yourself near places such as malls, play centers, or other family attractions.
Ordering Kitchen Equipment
Making sure you have the right kitchen equipment is essential to make sure your restaurant gets off to a smooth start. Try and create a list of all the essentials you’ll need and think about what kind of food you’ll be serving. Although buying kitchen equipment can be expensive initially, it can save you and your team a lot of time preparing food, which means you can get more orders out quicker. So, in the long run, it could actually end up making you more money.
The Interior Design Of Your Restaurant
The inside of your restaurant should ideally reflect the kind of cuisine you’re going for. This doesn’t have to be clichéd or gimmicky, but try and include elements of the culture behind the cuisine. Generally, if people are eating a favorite type of cuisine, they want the setting to feel as authentic as the food. You could have a good insight into this yourself, but if you’re unsure it’s worth seeking the expertise of a professional interior designer to come up with a plan for decorating and accessorizing. Pay attention to the smaller details too such as the crockery and cutlery you use, whether the seating is comfortable, and whether the lighting gives the right kind of ambiance. It’s worth investing in the exterior and interior design of your restaurant as it will be the first impression your customers get and can be immediately off-putting if it’s not of a good enough standard.
Menu Design
An often overlooked but incredibly important element to a customer’s experience of a restaurant is the design of the menu. Your menu needs to reflect the food you offer in the best possible light. It’s all well and good serving great food, but this needs to come through in the menu. You should pay attention to the way in which your cuisine is presented on the menu, and whether it’s truly accurate or not. A good menu should be clear and easy for the customer to scan over, and have clear sections for the different elements of the meal and beverages. If you’re a family restaurant you also need to include a children’s menu. Be sure to highlight meals that are vegetarian, vegan, or contain potential allergies. Follow these tips to create the perfect restaurant menu design.
Choosing The Right Employees
When you’re setting up a restaurant, you want to pick a team of people that will reflect your business in the best possible light. From your chef and kitchen staff to your front of house and servers, make sure you take the time to pick the right individuals for the roles. You may choose to be one of the chefs for your restaurant, but if not, it can take time to find the right chef for your new venture. The quality of your food is the most important aspect of your restaurant, so it’s worth doing plenty of research into your chefs. Have prospective chefs come in and do sample meals for you to try to see if their quality is up to your standard and if they can produce the kind of meals you’re going to supply. Your front-of-house staff needs to be organized, friendly, and helpful. They will be the first people to greet your customers as they enter, so it’s vital they make a good first impression. The same goes for your waiting staff. They will sometimes have to deal with unhappy or difficult customers, so they need to be able to stay calm, collected, and professional at all times. They might also have to work during incredibly busy times, so they need to be able to work under pressure and have good communication skills both with customers and kitchen staff.
Hygiene Standards
It should go without saying that having a spotless restaurant at all times is essential. This means in the kitchen, food storage, throughout the restaurant, and in bathroom facilities. Not only are poor hygiene standards off-putting for customers, but they can also lead to serious health hazards such as food poisoning. Your restaurant will be inspected regularly by local authorities to ensure you’re upholding high hygiene practices.