In this part . . .
Chapter 1
Grasping the Basics of the Restaurant Business
In This Chapter
Understanding the basics of the business
Deciding whether you have the necessary skills
Restaurants are fun. Whether you stop by to celebrate a special occasion, grab a quick bite for lunch, meet friends for a drink, or pick up dinner for the family on the way home from work, the experience is usually enjoyable. (At the very least, itâs more enjoyable than not eating or being forced to cook!.) Just about everyone associates restaurants with having a good time. If people didnât enjoy their experience, they wouldnât come back. So itâs natural for people to think, âI enjoy going to restaurants, so I may as well get paid to do what I enjoy â hang out in bars and eat at great restaurantsâ.
Living the restaurant life is fun. Weâve been doing it for many a year, and we love it. But the problem comes when people see only the fun and never the struggle. Viewed from the dining room or bar stool (or from the kitchen, the stockroom, or anywhere else other than the seat marked âProprietorâ), itâs difficult to see the 95 per cent of the picture thatâs pretty tough work. Itâs like wishing every day was Christmas and actually getting your wish. In the restaurant business, you have so much fun that you can hardly stand it. You get tired of wrapping the presents, preparing the mulled wine and checking that the elves are on time for their shifts, and if you have to look at any more roasted chestnuts, youâll die. The restaurant business quickly becomes more work than fun, so donât be fooled.
In this chapter, we take you on a quick tour of the business. We introduce you to all the work that you must do on paper before you can even think about picking up a pan or laying down a place setting. We move on to the physical preparations that will consume your every waking minute on the way to opening your doors. Then we remind you that the work has only begun after you first open your doors. Finally, we help you examine your motivations and expectations for pursuing your dream to determine if both are rooted in reality.
Getting a Feel for the Restaurant World
The restaurant world is more than glitz and glamour. Itâs truly a business, and if you donât look at it that way, you wonât succeed. Ultimately, being a restaurateur is being a manufacturer. Youâre producing a product (food) from raw materials (your ingredients) and selling it to a customer (your diner). Youâre competing with lots of other âmanufacturersâ for that same diner. So you better do it better than the bloke across the road, or youâll be out of business.
Laying the foundation
Sometimes the business of the business is hard for people to relate to. Itâs a hard concept for many people to get because your product isnât packaged in a box that sits on a shelf. Your product is packaged in many layers â including your exterior, your lobby, your staffâs attire, the music playing, the aromas coming from the kitchen, the friendliness and knowledge of your staff, your silverware, your china, and your glassware. All these things make up your packaging, affect the costs of doing business, and affect your dinerâs decision to come in and, ultimately, to come back.
As with any business, the planning stage is crucial, and you have to survive it before you can enjoy any of the fun. Right off the bat, you have to create a timeline for getting your business up and running (see Chapter 2), develop your restaurantâs theme and concept (see Chapter 3), research the market (see Chapter 4), develop a detailed business plan and use it to find and secure financing (see Chapters 5 and 6), and find the best location for your new restaurant and get the right licences and permits (see Chapters 7 and 8).
Buy your products at the right price and sell them at the right price. This simple tenet can make or break your business. Check out Chapter 14 for tips on getting the ...
