The first step in starting a restaurant is proper planning. One must lay out a plan complete with goals, priorities, and the tasks that he will need to complete in order to achieve these goals. The biggest mistake first time restaurant owners make is improper planning. Ambition, while absolutely required, is simply not enough to succeed in the highly competitive food service industry.
If you've always wanted to run a Cajun restaurant, and you live in an area that already has five, do you have to relocate to accomplish your dream? Not necessarily! It's now time to engage in a bit of opposition research. Drive by each of the locations during varying parts of the day. Are there many cars in the parking lots? At what times? Are many people standing in the lobbies? If so, then this restaurant is doing something people like, and these patrons are thanking the restaurant owner with their wallets. If you see that a particular restaurant is more popular than others, discover why by visiting their establishment during peak hours. Dine in, have the waiter recommend their best dish. Pay attention to every aspect of the experience.
The food should be an area of concentration of course, but there are several other factors that can turn wonderful food into a wonderful experience. How do the servers present themselves? How spaced out are the tables? What type of centerpiece is on your table? All of these factors are vital, and are what makes or breaks a new restaurant. By no means should you overlook the atmosphere of your dining area while planning your restaurant.
This may seem obvious to most, but while you're there, you should also pay attention to the menu. Do they have something for everyone? People generally don't dine out alone, so if you're only appealing to a one taste, you're going to lose a vast amount of potential customers. Carefully study how the successful restaurants handle this. Of course if you're a Cajun restaurant, you're not going to serve an Italian dish, but you can surely meet everybody's tastes. Look at husband-wife pairs to see what they order. Don't just concentrate on the main dishes, but the entire meal. Sometimes, one of a pair might really enjoy your Chicken Rochambeau, but the other doesn't like Cajun at all. Notice what these people order, as they're just as important as their partners who enjoy Cajun immensely. These items will often blend into the menu quite well as soups or salads, and will most times be a compliment to your main courses. A great fast food example is McDonalds. They realized early on that not everyone wants to eat just hamburgers. They poured massive amounts of money into marketing, and obtaining the best quality potatoes for their fries of any of the fast food chains. Of course today, you can get just about anything at McDonalds, but early on they were first to scream, "We don't just have burgers!" and it has worked out well for them. To summarize, find your niche of course, but also cater to as many people as possible, because your niche diners have friends and they want to eat as well!
Finally, do not lose heart because there are already five successful restaurants in your area. Remember, when the fifth started there were already four, and so on. Find what they don't do well, that you know you can make your specialty, and you are well on your way to a successful restaurant.
Jeremy is a consultant for ACityDiscount, an online restaurant equipment dealer based out of Atlanta, Georgia.
Barrington South Lincoln Stretch rentals .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareWhile writing an article recently on effective ways to bridge... Read More
If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More
I am surprised how few sales professionals, independent consultants, and... Read More
Strategic planning is vital while starting a new business or... Read More
Much of what we heard in the mass media about... Read More
How often does your company make a quantum leap forward?... Read More
Many of us are discouraged by the networking events that... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains fits multiple services market niche and healthcare... Read More
When you start your program to purchase your "ideal" company,... Read More
David E. Gumpert, author of Burn Your Business Plan, often... Read More
Anyone who has been watching the Idaho Market Carefully for... Read More
Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by... Read More
We all know that nothing runs without a plan, and... Read More
If you own a mobile car wash business or auto... Read More
The first task before hiring a contractor for home remodeling... Read More
With the help of balanced scorecard strategy map, it is... Read More
Many cities have home pages on the Internet. Many of... Read More
If ever there were an industry where we want zero... Read More
In today's rapidly changing and highly competitive markets, many privately... Read More
Some analysts credit [Larry] Ellison with anticipating the consolidation in... Read More
Please take a moment before you read any further and... Read More
It doesn't take a Terrorist Act, Tsunami or Earthquake to... Read More
These may sound like no brainers, but you'd be surprised.... Read More
Writing a business plan for a franchised outlet of a... Read More
One of the difficulties we face in our industrialized age... Read More
Downers Grove limo Chicago ..When looking at Akron carefully one cannot help but notice... Read More
Strategic planning and consulting is the strategy roadmap to manage... Read More
I. INTRODUCTIONThe term resilience, which is of frequent use in... Read More
This week I coached a wonderfully lovely woman I'll call... Read More
Diversify - to make diverse, give variety, to balance, to... Read More
I read once that something like 30 percent of all... Read More
Have you ever done a SWOT analysis? No, it's not... Read More
How important is a vision statement to your company or... Read More
A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals,... Read More
In most business plans, no matter how striking the idea,... Read More
"Bozo" ? A clown with a forlorn look, always finding... Read More
The time when a website was just a simple set... Read More
Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by... Read More
Canada's lean leaders need to look beyond the horizon and... Read More
Human beings are rational agents. Rationality endorses one to take... Read More
Entrepreneurs often give little if any consideration to their computer... Read More
By cranking up others development to meet your business needs,... Read More
Many very successful business owners may never have had a... Read More
One of the difficulties we face in our industrialized age... Read More
Ask Yourself three simple questions that affect your strategy planning...... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains fits multiple services market niche and healthcare... Read More
In this small article we'll concentrate on farmers associations and... Read More
No matter what product or service you provide you will... Read More
What do Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Anthony Robbins, Andrew... Read More
Ask a small business owner about their strategic plan and... Read More
Strategic Planning |