The First Step to Build & Maintain a Successful Restaurant Business

Sandra A. Price

Having my own restaurants has been one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable business ventures I’ve ever had. There’s

something about food and bringing people together that gives me a wonderful feeling of connection. Building a successful restaurant business is about connecting; mind, food & spirit. Food in itself, is a renewable commodity. This means that people won’t stop looking for different sources of food for entertainment as well as function. If you feed them, they may come, but to encourage them to come back requires more than just good food. You have to create “the experience.” Many people dream of owning their own restaurant whether it is fast food, coffee shop or gourmet, in reality the restaurant business is among the toughest. In fact, most fail to sustain beyond their first year of operation. Historically due to the lack of planning, preparation, operations and dedication or ability on the part of the business owner. However, over the years I’ve noticed the decline begins because they have no clear concept or identity throughout the business lifetime. A clear description of the restaurant, with well-defined objectives and concept can give an overview of what the restaurant intends to do and with whom it intends to do it. The concept of the restaurant needs to be detailed, specific, impactful and it has to establish its core idea by which everything else will follow. There are many things to be considered in design of the overall concept of the restaurant (excluding food):

What type of restaurant do you want?

What food concepts will you use?

What special features will it have to set it apart?

What’s the overall selling factor of the restaurant?

Who is the target audience?

What is your pricing model?

The restaurant’s target market needs to be identified early on. No single restaurant should try to aim at targeting everyone – the consumer is too smart for that. Even fast food restaurants have a specific target market, even though it may seem at first that it caters to people of all walks of life.

Most importantly, the concept of the restaurant needs to be aligned with the target market. Much of this will depend on you, the owner and the selection can be based on the type of food and other personal preferences as the owner. The concept gives your restaurant its shell of existence, the next step is to define the mission, vision & values of how and what your restaurant company will be. This gives your concept breath and brings it to life. Obviously the food is part of what will bring them in and bring them back. The kind of food to be served needs to identified in alignment with the theme or overlying concept. Most owners put up restaurants according to their favorite kind of food. There are also restaurants which are inspired by the experiences such as eating excellent foreign foods. I’m here to tell you – you need both to create the experience and capture the customer’s attention. There are many choices that are available for aspiring restaurant owners. The details of the food category should be identified along with the specific items in the menu. Of course, the pricing of these items is very important for it will determine the feasibility of the business. Once you have these details down on paper, it’s time to develop the financials of the project. You can be a do-it-yourselfer or hire a professional consultant to help in all aspects of the design process, but when it comes to determining the financial viability of the restaurant, never go this part alone. There are many moving pieces, and the project costs and risks should be included in a detailed business plan and implementation strategy. Now is as good of time as any to understand that everything that happens from this moment forward, stems from you. Your ability, skill, determination, energy and ambition will be called upon daily. Are you ready to do all you have to do to make your restaurant venture a success? Every business venture has risk; proper planning, creating a clearly defined concept, mission, vision and values and bringing in the necessary expertise can help you reduce your risk and create your path to a successful restaurant and a profitable business. If you currently own a restaurant facing challenges and in need of some improvement, a review of these back to basic concepts can help you get your business back on track quickly and easily.