So You Want To Open A Restaurant – Are You Crazy? Part 4
by Spence Cooper on 28/05/09 at 9:46 am
Picking Your Location
If you’ve made it this far, you really are crazy. OK, let’s review our progress up to this point. We have conducted market research to determine what type of restaurant we are interested in opening and we based that decision on a careful and thorough analysis of niche marketing, and food and economic trends. We used that information to decide on a specific geographic area for our location, and then focused our attention on local demographics. We contrasted the demographic data with the food and restaurant niche we decided on to determine if we have a viable potential customer base to support our unique food and restaurant concept.
We have ascertained who our competitors are in the area and visited their restaurants; we have discreetly interviewed those restaurant owners and managers and asked relevant questions about the nature of their customer base, customer traffic levels, customer volume, and local suppliers; we listened to their suggestions and complaints. Remember, you do not have to disclose your identity or your intention to open a restaurant to the owners and managers you meet.
So, be it a pizza parlor, hamburger joint, all-you-can-eat buffet, steak house, fine dining establishment, family-style restaurant, or catering service, we’ve made our decision, and chosen our exact location.
In choosing an exact location remember to consider the visibility factor, customer accessibility and parking. Additionally, decide what an acceptable distance will be from your competition.
Regarding location, you should consider the following:
Traffic Volume
- Street and road patterns
- Speed limit and traffic signs/lights
- Highway/street traffic counts
- Pedestrian traffic counts
- Peak and off-peak traffic periods
Accessibility
- Proximity to major streets and highways
- Ease of entrance and exit
- Parking (guests and delivery)
- Pedestrian accessibility
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance
Visibility
- Visibility from road
- Effectiveness of sign
- “Curb appeal” of building
- Landscaping
- Exterior lighting
Other Issues
- Zoning
- Environmental issues
- Easements and restrictions
- Growth patterns of surrounding areas
(Source: University of Wisconsin-Extension Restaurant Market Analysis)
Menu Considerations
Unless you already have disposal capital, you’ll need funding. There are several options available to you for funding your new restaurant, and we‘ll discuss that at length later; because before you approach anyone to fund your project, you’ll need to work up sales and financial projections. To arrive at your potential sales projection, it’s necessary to anticipate what your customer volume will be (adjust for seasons) and also determine what items and prices you will include on your menu. What meal venue will you cater to? Will you be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner? If you haven’t already given your menu extensive consideration, this may take some time – it will be time well spent.
Those interested in opening a high-end restaurant will already have chosen a chef, or the other way around – a chef often opens up his/her own restaurant. Obviously, this article is geared towards the lower end of the food chain with an emphasis on a budget operation and guerilla marketing.
Your choice of cuisine for inclusion on your menu is the heart and soul of your restaurant operation. If you’ve decided to buy a franchise, menu items are part of the overall operation, but if you are opening up an independent affair, and are not schooled as a chef or cook, and know little to nothing about food, you’ll need to contract the services of a chef or food consultant to create a menu — unless of course your grandmother just happens to be one of the best cooks in town and is out of a job. More on menus in the next installment. In the mean time, check out the restaurant section of FriendsEat for some ideas.
