Five Steps To Opening A Restaurant

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Five Steps To Opening A Restaurant-Chispa MagazineDid you know nearly half the adult population of America has worked in a restaurant at some point? It’s a staggering fact that shows just how much we love eating out as a nation. There are millions of eating establishments across the country, and thousands more open every year. Could your restaurant be one of them? Starting and running a restaurant isn’t easy. In fact, a huge percentage fail within the first year. Today, we’ll show you how to get started, and more importantly, how to make it a success.

  1. The Concept

The most successful restaurateurs claim there are three simple tenets of success in the business. Number one is concept. It might sound like an ambiguous term, but it’s all about finding your individuality. What will make your restaurant stand out from all the others? Use your own experience to your advantage here. Do you have a cultural history of cuisine? The decision about your concept should feed into every aspect of the business. From the menu to the restaurant furniture, everything should fit the main concept.

  1. The Chef

Number two on the list of crucial factors is the perfect chef. After all, nothing is more important to a restaurant than the quality of food. Quite simply, a restaurant’s success relies on word-of-mouth. And, that all comes from sending your customers home happy. A good chef creates perfect food night-after-night. They send out dishes on time, and keep everyone happy. More than that, they come up with a creative menu that shines.

  1. Location

The third aspect of a successful restaurant is the location. After all, if your restaurant is located in a difficult part of town, you’ll never capitalize on the flow of traffic. A simple, easy location is essential. It should be accessible to a large audience of customers. However, it’s more important than that. Think carefully about your target customers and where they live or socialize. If you’re starting a five-star dining establishment, don’t open in the student area of town.

  1. The Menu

The menu is one of the trickiest parts to get right. The hard part is keeping it short and simple, yet still packing a punch. Customers tend to prefer short menus. If you’re serving too many dishes, the quality is bound to drop, and customers find themselves confused. Create a menu that is accessible, but unique. It’s on easy job, but that balance is essential. You should also create a menu that incorporates lots of the same ingredients in creative ways. That way, you reduce waste, and cut down on supply spending. Crafting the menu is a fine art, and this is where your chef really earns their money.

  1. The Money

As we said in the intro, most restaurants don’t make it past the first year. And, it’s all because they didn’t have an accurate budget. Successful restaurateurs tell us they needed at least nine months of capital to start. Make sure you do the same thing.

Photo by Michael Browning

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Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Editor-in-Chief at Chispa Magazine
Mavian Arocha-Rowe is known as an asset to the business and communications industry and is motivating and advocating “your authenticity should be your strategy,” for all women, regardless of their season and roles. For the past 20 years she has directed magazines, plus multiple art and marketing departments as creative director and brand manager. What supersedes all of her great career moves is her role as wife and mother living in Atlanta. Challenging herself to discover and bravely pursue the calling for her life, Arocha-Rowe helps other women discover and pursue their life’s assignment. She is a passionate, and loud-laughing speaker on the topic of purposefully redeemed, and mentors young women so they can exercise a mind that is doctrinally pure, along with a heart that beats toward sanctification. She will almost never turn down Marlow’s Tavern double-tavern cheeseburger, a cooking-demonstration from Leaning Ladder, or any opportunity to head to Miami to spend time with family.
Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Latest posts by Mavian Arocha-Rowe (see all)

Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Mavian Arocha-Rowe is known as an asset to the business and communications industry and is motivating and advocating “your authenticity should be your strategy,” for all women, regardless of their season and roles. For the past 20 years she has directed magazines, plus multiple art and marketing departments as creative director and brand manager. What supersedes all of her great career moves is her role as wife and mother living in Atlanta. Challenging herself to discover and bravely pursue the calling for her life, Arocha-Rowe helps other women discover and pursue their life’s assignment. She is a passionate, and loud-laughing speaker on the topic of purposefully redeemed, and mentors young women so they can exercise a mind that is doctrinally pure, along with a heart that beats toward sanctification. She will almost never turn down Marlow’s Tavern double-tavern cheeseburger, a cooking-demonstration from Leaning Ladder, or any opportunity to head to Miami to spend time with family.