Starting a Restaurant Is a Dream for Many

What Are the Implications of Fulfilling a Restaurant Business Dream?

Starting a restaurant is a dream for many, even for some in high paying positions. Combining a business with doing something that you like - cooking and eating good food - might explain this urge. How do you manage a restaurant successfully and what are the implications of getting into this business?

The Implications First

Starting and running a restaurant involves:

• Complying with a lot of government regulations, federal, state and local. You will have to find out which regulations apply and how to comply with them.
• Working long hours as preparation of breakfast will have to start early and the last of the dinner guests might leave late in the night. (You can confine yourself to serving one or two types of meals, say, breakfast and lunch.)
• Dealing with difficult customers who complain about your cooking and service.
• Managing employees to ensure timely start to work, hygienic preparation of food, minimum wastage of provisions and tactful handling of customer complaints.
• Keeping an eagle eye to spot diners who try to leave without paying after eating - especially during busy times when your attention could be diverted.

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Think carefully whether you can handle all these issues.

Types of Restaurants

There are different kinds of restaurants:

• Traditional: These restaurants serve a wide variety of foods. This means keeping a sizable inventory of provisions and many staff.
• Specialty: The restaurant serves one type of food, such as Pizzas.
• Ethnic: Ethnic restaurants specialize in foods from one country or region, such as foods from India.
• Fast Food Franchise: Serves a limited menu, and operates under the guidance of franchisers.
• Cafeteria: Offers simple, pre-cooked dishes, hot and cold.
• Self-service: Take-out or eat-in food. Small scale operations with small staff.

For beginners, self-service and franchise operations are ideal. The other types would require substantial restaurant experience.

Success in Restaurant Business

There are some critical issues that need to be tackled to ensure successful restaurant operations:

• Market & Marketing: Is there a market at your proposed location for the kind of food you plan to offer? Considering the competition, will you be able to get sufficient numbers of customers? Do you know how to promote your business?
• Facilities & Inputs: Can you find needed space at the planned location? Are needed groceries, vegetables, meat and other supplies available conveniently? Can you organize experienced cooks and waiters if you plan to employ them?
• Seating & Service: How many patrons are expected for each type of meal? How will you accommodate them (and handle waiting customers) considering that space is expensive?
• Portions Control: For avoiding wastage of groceries and other ingredients, it is important to standardize recipes specifying the precise quantities of each ingredient to be used, control serving portions by stipulating their sizes, and monitor consumption by checking provisions consumed against numbers of portions served.
• Wastage Reduction: Wastage reduction also involves ensuring the quality of ingredients and using them before they become stale.
• Pricing: Prices charged must recover both direct costs and overhead expenses.
• Employee Training: Your employees need to be trained in proper preparation of food, serving correct size portions, dealing courteously with patrons and looking out for non-paying customers.
• General Administration: Supplies received must be checked against orders for quality and quantity, and stored to minimize spoilage. Cash flows must be monitored ensuring that receivables are collected in time and payables are paid without incurring late payment penalties. Government regulations must be complied with to ensure continued operation of your business and avoidance of penalties.

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