Tips Before Open a Restaurant (I)
Author: Aiko Masami
Here follows a list of 20 tips or recommendations should take before starting a restaurant:
1. Define the style of the restaurant
Before creating a restaurant, we must be clear what the type of restaurant you are going to open, and what the style or concept that we will give.
We must be clear if, for example, let’s open a restaurant, gourmet fine food, family type, a fast food, etc..
But most importantly, we must determine what the style or concept that we will give, which should be in accordance with our personality and our tastes, while influenced by others, and trying to be a distinctive style or concept that does not exist in other restaurants.
2. Market Research
As with any business, before opening a restaurant but we must investigate the market, trying to know what the preferences and tastes of consumers, and making sure that we will have enough demand to make our restaurant a success.
One way to do this, is conducting surveys to people traveling through the area where we open the restaurant, where they were consulted about their preferences or tastes, if you would go to a new restaurant of the kind that we create, and how much would be willing to spend on each visit.
3. Determine the target audience
Within the market research that will, one important point is to clearly define what will be our target audience, ie what the type of consumer that we’re going to direct.
Thus, we can analyze their characteristics, and focus our business and the strategies that we use in this type of customer, for example, we assess their people in a hurry to eat, or enjoy taking your time, if you are willing to go some distance to go to a nice restaurant if they are willing to pay a good price for a good meal, etc.
4. Start with a small menu
If we first started in the restaurant business, you should start with a small menu so that, thereby, to specialize in a few dishes, and to reduce our operating costs.
And later, as it begins to grow business, increase the variety of our dishes.
5. Visit the competition
Before opening a restaurant, we visit all the restaurants of competition there.
This will enable us, first, to observe their strengths and weaknesses, so that we can compete effectively with them.
On the other hand, we can observe their successes and mistakes and thereby learn from them.
And on the other hand, we can observe the preferences, tastes and habits of consumers, and our restaurant guide accordingly.
6. Working in competition
If this is our first experience opening a restaurant, keep in mind that a restaurant is a business which requires hard work and discipline.
A recommendation to this situation, is to find a job in a restaurant so that, thus not only familiar with the operation of the business, but also, to be clear that’s what we’re going to spend.
7. Avoid low prices
In the case of determining the price of our products, we should not doubt if we put a much higher price.
In the case of food, people are willing to pay well, if the dishes are tasty, well presented, has a total hygiene, and to offer quality customer service.
Never mind that there are restaurants that use the same inputs, and have prices well below our and consumers would always choose us if we have these factors.
8. Good location
A determining factor in the success of a restaurant is its location, we must take our time wisely when choosing your location.
We can choose a central location where we will have the advantage of being in the light of a growing number of consumers, but the disadvantages of high local costs, and having to deal with increased competition.
If we choose a place not so central, we have the advantages of low costs in the rental or purchase of the premises, and a lower close contest, but the disadvantage that we are not the view of consumers, even if our publicity is good, and have a good product, it will be no problem.
9. Ample
In addition to the dining area in which our customers must feel comfortable and at ease, we must not forget that the restaurant should have cooked a good space, where the cooks and kitchen staff can function efficiently and without risk for accidents, and where with a good space to store supplies.
10. Parking
Similarly, when choosing the location of the premises of our restaurant, we should not forget that it must have enough parking as the number of customers we calculate, we will visit in their vehicles.
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