For our most complete and detailed post on the topic please go to our opening a restaurant checklist.
For an actual detailed and step by step plan to follow for planning your restaurant, creating a business plan, crating restaurant financials, raising the money you need and actually opening a profitable restaurant then you need to check out our complete Restaurant Success Kit.
Starting a Restaurant Checklist Steps
Your checklist for starting a restaurant is really just a list of things you need to do broken down into small, manageable chunks that you won’t feel overwhelmed by or like you will never be able to get through.
Now that you have made up your mind to open a restaurant and you want to start the process of research, preparation and designing of the restaurant. The first thing you need is a “starting a restaurant” checklist. This will help you to analyze in detail every aspect that goes into setting up a good restaurant that brings you increasing profits in the years to come.
Now, what exactly do we mean by a starting a restaurant checklist? It is nothing but a list of all the important tasks that you must complete before you start the restaurant as well as those tasks that you must continue to manage once the restaurant is up and running.
This starting a restaurant checklist will include details about the menu, the food and the beverages to be served in the restaurant, the costs involved in the different activities, the investment required for the business, the equipment to be purchased, the staff that you need and of course the floor plan and furnishing for the restaurant. This checklist is the primary step in setting up your restaurant.
Starting a Restaurant Checklist Priority
Although most people think that coming up with a menu or a name is the first thing to do, because this is often what first gives people the idea or the first thing that naturally comes to mind the real priority, if you want to be assured of your success, is to identify the market you want to serve. Once you know the market, then you can design a menu, concept, name, find a location and everything else to fit with the market. If you aren’t sure of your market, or you think the market is probably “everyone” then you are off to a poor start. Or, if you just go ahead with a name and menu and don’t give any thought to whether there is a market at all you may be surprised to find there isn’t- or at least not one big enough to pay all the bills.
So your first priority with working on your starting a restaurant checklist is to define, clearly and specifically, the exact market segment you plan to serve with your new restaurant. Once that is done, you can move on to the rest of the steps in the process which we have laid out in broad strokes below. As mentioned, we have a blow by blow checklist posted and we also provide deep and explicit help in our kit if you want the full story laid out in painstaking detail.
Starting a Restaurant Checklist Sections
Once your market planning is done, you then begin the planning phase with the business plan. Your restaurant business plan should include all the costs involved in opening the restaurant. Apart form these details, the menu, the equipment, the layout; the floor plan costs must be included in this business plan. If you think you may present this business plan to your investors or your lenders, you need to make it absolutely perfect while providing workable solutions.
Besides the business plan you must surely have a plan for your location. This should be actually designed on paper and not merely verbally discussed with partners or consultants. Careful measurements and detailed planning will help you to maximize efficiency in flow of traffic eventually leading to maximum revenue. You need to decide between maximum number of tables in the space available and how much comfortable your guests are going to be while moving in and out of the restaurant.
The checklist must also include a sensible finance plan. This is where you can get the professional financial and restaurant consultants to help you understand your costs, investments, expenses and finally the kind of revenue you may be able to earn. The financial plan will also help you understand how soon you will be able to break even and start earning profits.
As a restaurant owner, you would need to comply with all the paperwork and documentation according to the rules laid down by the regulatory authorities. All the formalities required to be completed must be part of your starting a restaurant checklist.
A good marketing plan is also a pre-requisite of any business. You must plan the advertising and promotions for your restaurant using professional help as recommended by most industry experts. This will ensure your restaurant earns a good reputation even as you start the business and it continues over the years to come. Along with this, the restaurant checklist should also include a list of names and contact numbers of as many people as you can think of. These names could include your friends, advisers, consultants, professionals and everyone else who could be of help in your business.
