Steps to Starting a Restaurant

Some steps may overlap and a few may not be necessary depending on if you are starting a franchise, starting from scratch or buying a restaurant for sale. Overall, however, these are the major steps you will need to get through to open a restaurant.

1 Research business options

2 Choose a general concept type

3 Market research on demographics, locations, traffic, competition, etc.

4 Decide to franchise, start or buy

5 Recruit experienced restaurant advisers

6 Pick a name

7 Plan menu and concept details

8 Write a business plan

9 Vendor research

10 Do financial projections

11 Develop funding package

12 Find designers, contractors, legal and accounting providers

13 Decide to Inc or LLC ( + do Partner Agreement)

14 Secure startup capital

15 Secure location/lease

16 Space build out/change/decoration starts

17 Open business checking account

18 Create Logo

19 Get Business Cards

20 Build Website + social media sites

21 Open merchant account

22 Get business insurance

23 Set up utilities

24 Negotiate with vendors

25 Set up payroll service

25 Set up accounting

26 Purchase equipment

27 Set up phone system

28 Write job descriptions

29 Write company policies

30 Hire and train employees

31 Purchase marketing materials

32 Order initial inventory

33 Write press release

34 Pre-opening training

35 Official Launch of the Restaurant