If you conduct a survey among the population and ask the question: “What would you like to open a business?”, Many would say that it would be a catering establishment. Therefore, information on how to open a restaurant will be most welcome. Not only beginners, but even experienced businessmen may have problems and doubts about the organization of such an enterprise. Opening a restaurant is a business that has many tricks and pitfalls, and you need to know about them.
What is needed for the restaurant business?
In order to eventually get an institution that will not only pay off, but also make a profit, you need to consider many important aspects. The first thing to start is to choose the specifics of your business. This can be a gourmet restaurant with original cuisine, fast food, an exclusive pub or a regular average restaurant.
Depending on the chosen direction, you can determine an approximate pricing policy. It is from these two indicators that the whole concept and business plan of your institution will depend. Remember that if price policy and the quality of the dishes will match each other, then you do not have to complain about the lack of visitors.
Seat selection
Many are interested in where to start the restaurant business, so as not to go down the wrong path immediately. To make your catering establishment profitable, it is very important to choose its location correctly. In order for the restaurant’s traffic to be significant, it must be close to a large number of people. For this, residential areas, crowded offices, as well as major transport interchanges, etc. are suitable. The location of your restaurant depends on the target audience, and more precisely, on its age and income.
Possible concepts
Opening a restaurant from scratch in Russia must comply with state standards. Such establishments can be divided into 3 classes: luxury, upper class and first class. But there is also another classification that restaurateurs use:
- elite and premium restaurants (fine-dinning);
- fast food establishments (QSR);
- fast casual restaurants with free-flow format;
- institutions with affordable prices casual dinning.
Which concept to choose and how to open a restaurant depends on your desire. Another institution can be divided depending on the topic used, for example, it can be home cooking, a sports institution, etc.
Tips for Making Your Business Profitable
Many people who decide to learn how to open a restaurant understand that this type of activity is quite risky. In order not to burn out, it is very important to monitor all calculations. The profitability of this type of occupation is at least 20%, and the maximum can reach up to 60%. The lack of a business plan can negatively affect profitability.
In addition, technological processes must be divided into sectors, for each of which a certain person will be responsible. So, by tracking the decline in profitability, you can easily find a mistake and fix it.
You should also consider a system of discounts and various promotions in order to attract as many visitors as possible to your institution. Only in this matter is it important to know the measure.
As for the services that will be provided in your institution, they can be completely different. For example, a restaurant can organize banquets, receptions, etc.The mode of operation of your institution may depend on the focus and attendance. The restaurant can be around the clock or work from 11.00 to 23.00.
Required documents
In order to formalize your business, you need to have the following documents:
- long-term lease of the premises;
- a certificate that says that your restaurant is on the Commercial Register;
- a license to sell alcohol if you offer it to your guests;
- conclusion and permission of the sanitary-epidemiological station;
- permission for the external design of the restaurant;
- fire department statement;
- Signed garbage collection agreements, etc.
Staff needed
If you want your institution to be popular and profitable, you should approach the choice of employees with full responsibility. In general, for a good catering establishment it will be necessary to hire: a manager, a bartender, waiters, a chef and other kitchen workers, cleaners and dishwashers. You can hire additional people, for example, security, a doorman, etc.
What should be in the business plan?
To be sure of the possible success and profitability of your business, you need to have a restaurant production plan. For example, take a small institution of European cuisine with 50 seats, which is aimed at middle-class people. The premises for the institution are chosen to be rented, and the main focus is on delicious and quality food, reasonable prices and good service.
Let's start with a market overview. Repeated studies have shown that there are approximately 3 thousand restaurants in Moscow, while fast foods were not taken into account. Institutions differ in pricing, which depends on their location.
On average, the market size of the restaurant business in the capital of Russia is more than 120 billion rubles annually. In addition, this market is growing at 3-4% every year. The financial part of the business plan will be discussed below.
How much money do you need to open a cafe or restaurant?
The total amount of start-up capital depends on many factors, for example, on the size and concept, the need to rent a room or build a new building, on design, etc. To tell about all the options will not work, therefore, we will analyze one of the most popular: rent of a finished building under the restaurant. All costs can be divided into primary and monthly.
Primary:
- execution of all necessary documentation - about 300 thousand rubles;
- repair and installation of necessary ventilation, etc. - about 1.2 million rubles;
- equipment - about 1.5 million rubles;
- furniture and interior accessories - about 1 million rubles.
As a result, you will get a value showing how much money you need to open a cafe or other catering establishment: about 4 million rubles. This is the initial capital, which does not include monthly expenses:
- rent - about 180 thousand rubles;
- salaries of staff - approximately 210 thousand rubles;
- operating expenses - somewhere around 50 thousand rubles;
- expenses for advertising and PR - about 30 thousand rubles.
In general, every month you will spend about 470 thousand rubles. But this figure does not yet take into account the cost of products. As you can see, few can afford to open a restaurant from scratch, the cost of which we have just calculated, since the capital is quite impressive.
To determine your potential revenue, you should consider the following points:
- average check;
- number of visitors;
- seasonality.
In general, the standard margin on food in restaurants is about 30%. In addition, days of the week, time of day, and menus can affect the amount of profit. As a result, based on average values, the payback period of a restaurant is up to 3 years. If you are constantly improving your institution, then this figure can be significantly reduced.
PR and advertising
To open a restaurant from scratch, the cost of which was determined earlier, is possible only using high-quality and large-scale advertising. Investments in this direction should be significant, the only way you can attract buyers. For people to learn about your restaurant, you will need:
- Outdoor advertising. This option implies a large light sign immediately before entering the institution and small advertising structures at the nearest intersections and alleys of the citylight type.
- Leaflets. Order colorful booklets in which attractive information will be summarized, for example, special dishes, discounts, etc. In addition, contact information and address should be indicated on it, it is better if it is presented in the form of a card. For their implementation, you will need to contact the promotion company.
- Personal site. Today it’s quite easy to order the site’s website, which will provide detailed information: the menu, photos, reviews and a full description of the restaurant, which should attract visitors. Remember that today social networks that spread rumors and news very quickly have great development. Therefore, be sure to use this structure to advertise your restaurant.
Possible problems
During the organization and opening of the restaurant business, various problems can arise. It is almost impossible to foresee them in advance, so you should be prepared to solve them as they become available. Basically, problems can arise with renting, paperwork, costs, equipment, etc.
In addition, a lot of time will have to be spent on developing the menu. You can doubt all the time: is it profitable to open a restaurant or is it still a scam? Do not panic and throw everything halfway, this is a normal human reaction to difficulties, but they can be overcome.
In order not to get into a dead end, it is recommended to constantly use the advice and advice of specialists in a particular field. You may also have problems with the staff. As you know, today it is quite difficult to find people who not only perform their duties well, but also cheerful and friendly.
Options for your establishment
If you want to stand out among your competitors, then your restaurant should have a "chip". It can appear in anything, for example, in the menu, in design, in furniture, service, etc. Consider interesting ideas for a restaurant that brought their owners around the world good profit and popularity:
- Unusual in the interior. Here you can show your imagination in full. It can be a floor in the form of an aquarium or unusual furniture. So, in Tokyo there is a restaurant decorated in a prison style. You can bring any, even the craziest idea to life.
- Menu. You can offer your customers unusual and exotic dishes that they cannot taste in any other institution in your city. You can also serve standard dishes, but only unusually decorated. To do this, you need to hire cooks with great imagination.
- Modern technology. With the development of technology, the restaurant business is changing. For example, you can make a menu on a tablet, that is, a client can come, independently choose and even adjust the composition of some dishes and order them. You can also make an online table reservation service.
- Other "chips". There are still millions of options on how to make your establishment original and unique. For example, next to your institution you can organize greenhouses in which you will grow vegetables for the restaurant. Thus, your customers will be confident in the quality of the products.
This is only a small part of the ideas that you can bring to life and make good money on them.
Some tips
There is an opinion that without proper control, a restaurant can be completely robbed in a few weeks.Experts say that there are a huge number of elaborated schemes, which include bartenders, waiters, or other employees of your establishment.
Deceitful schemes, for example, underweight products, the substitution of expensive alcohol, food theft, etc., are widespread in this business. To avoid this, it is very important to have good management and a responsible director who is competent and can control such processes. In addition, the owner himself must directly fulfill his duties and independently control the entire process and work of each employee.
Another deception may await you when buying products, as many suppliers may use the wrong prices and sell low-quality goods. You must understand that at the moment it is simply impossible to completely eradicate theft in catering establishments. You just need to determine for yourself a specific percentage, which will be the norm for you, let it be 10%, and make sure that it does not increase.
Conclusion
If you have already decided exactly what you want to do exactly this business, now you know how to open a restaurant, and you can proceed with the implementation of your plan. The main task of the owner of any catering establishment is to enable customers to eat, while at the same time in a relaxed atmosphere, and pay a reasonable price for it. If you fulfill all these conditions, then be sure that you will certainly succeed in organizing a successful business.
