Anyone have experience opening a Restaurant?

[Ghetto2315]

Originally Posted by fuddman

The most important person in the place (including you) is the chef.
Watch your spoilage. (a good chef will do that)
Make sure you have accurate, monthly, financials. Select an accountant who is familiar with, and can advise you on, restaurant operations. He/she is likely to be aware of failures and successes and, through the financials, can provide you with insights on your costs.
It's best to have your kids work for you as they are cheap labor.


Best of luck to you on your adventure!

Agreed. When my family owned a restaurant for 37-years, there was basically 3 departments that were crucial. The front (dining and/or bar), the back (kitchen) and the books (financials). We had a dedicated manager for each department. The head chef being the "manager" of the kitchen. I remember my dad putting me to work when I was like 10. Standing on a milk crate and helped wash the dishes lol. Growing up, I held basically every position in the restaurant (except for head chef and handling the books) until I was comfortable enough to be the GM under my dad.

In our restaurant, we basically broke even or made a small profit on the food. The real income generator was the bar and also the marina with boat slips but of course, not every restaurant will be the same.

You're your own boss so do whatever it takes to get the job done. Food needs to be run? Run it. Bartender needs more pint glasses? Get them. Dishes are backed up? Wash them.

Oh and P.S. - If you do end up having a bar, watch the pours by the bartenders. Every overpour will cost you and trust me, it adds up at the end of each month, let alone the year.

[mdosu]

nice M3

[catherineanh]

Originally Posted by Kanweezy

Open a burrito stand out of your trunk, It will be called "m3s burrito"

there's a place in montreal called m4 burrito

[fuzzybam]

It's difficult as fuck to keep open. You make the most money from liquor, so create your liquor menus according to your clientele.

[N1COM3]

what are the specs on the m3? /sarc

[1sikbmr]

Originally Posted by Boo-E

He goal would be to franchise. Wish me luck haha.

Franchising is good but hard. Good because you get to own a business that can be successful without building your own name. Bad because other people are making money off of your hard work. Location is key. Also keep in mind the fees associated with them. The franchise fees, the cost to open, and royalty fees. Royalty fees can make or break you. Some franchises have smaller fees but generally its 3-5% of your gross sales.

Tips: look for location that is in need of a certain type of restaurant or somewhere that doesnt really have much of anything to eat out at and open something there. Keep on top of employees making sure they are doing their job and not stealing from the company as that will ruin your business.

[Boo-E]

Originally Posted by 1sikbmr

Franchising is good but hard. Good because you get to own a business that can be successful without building your own name. Bad because other people are making money off of your hard work. Location is key. Also keep in mind the fees associated with them. The franchise fees, the cost to open, and royalty fees. Royalty fees can make or break you. Some franchises have smaller fees but generally its 3-5% of your gross sales.

Tips: look for location that is in need of a certain type of restaurant or somewhere that doesnt really have much of anything to eat out at and open something there. Keep on top of employees making sure they are doing their job and not stealing from the company as that will ruin your business.

Wasn't really thinking about opening a franchise. More like whatever I open I would want to franchise it out. I'm semi familiar with the process and I almost bought a pizza company that ha 120+ franchises.

[beemerdude5150]

Doin it for the love of food or for money?

[beemerdude5150]

Passion for food and quality= big money imo

[spyderco10]

your best bet is to get in touch with robert irvine.

[Boo-E]

Originally Posted by beemerdude5150

Passion for food and quality= big money imo

Well, it would be for my wife to run. She has a passion for food and quality. I'm the business side of it. Should be a good combo(hopefully).

[i dunno]

Originally Posted by Boo-E

In thinking about opening my first restaurant and wanted to bounce a few questions off someone. I understand that it's a hard business with a high failure rate. Any shared experiences good or bad would prob help guide me as well. Thanks in advance.

I noticed youre in san Francisco, so I thought I could help since i'm pretty familiar with the food scene here. what district are you planning to open it? Mongolian bbq could be ok depending on the area. if your wife has a passion for food, why not let her design a menu? we love people who are passionate and creative with food here.

if you want to do something Asian, my suggestion is to source local/organic ingredients. people eat that shit up and pay good money for it. many of the restaurants that have the local sustainable thing aren't Asian either, so it could be a good sector of the market to explore. Seriously, if you put up a sign that says, "We use non-GMO tofu," it'll be like moths to a spotlight.

[Boo-E]

Originally Posted by i dunno

I noticed your in san Francisco, so I thought I could help since i'm pretty familiar with the food scene here. what district are you planning to open it? Mongolian bbq could be ok depending on the area. if your wife has a passion for food, why not let her design a menu? we love people who are passionate and creative with food here.

if you want to do something Asian, my suggestion is to source local/organic ingredients. people eat that shit up and pay good money for it. many of the restaurants that have the local sustainable thing aren't Asian either, so it could be a good sector of the market to explore.

Not sure about location yet. We were thinking 9th ave maybe. But it's really too early to nail down a specific area. I know that we would want to try to find a spot with parking and foot traffic(obviously not easy). We're both SF natives and know the food and history of the city very well. It was our intent to play the angle of local/organic and have a large selection of ingredients. We lean towards Mongolian BBQ because there are non in the area and we both love it.

[i dunno]

Originally Posted by Boo-E

Not sure about location yet. We were thinking 9th ave maybe. But it's really too early to nail down a specific area. I know that we would want to try to find a spot with parking and foot traffic(obviously not easy). We're both SF natives and know the food and history of the city very well. It was our intent to play the angle of local/organic and have a large selection of ingredients. We lean towards Mongolian BBQ because there are non in the area and we both love it.

yea I dont think theres a Mongolian bbq place in the entire city. 9th is a great area. its close to the natives who live in the sunset, and lots of tourists pass by to visit gg park. theres some tough competition there so its good that youre bringing something different. as long as its delicious, it should be ok.

[platnumdesi01]

I have a Pizza place in Baltimore right in Fells Point...great location. It's tough sometimes the manager/driver/cook doesn't come your hosed, so have to be ready to do anything possible to keep it running. I would say open something turn key if it has an excellent community presence. I know small greet restaurants that do million dollar + business a year just because of loyal customers.

[justinnum1]

If the food is good, high quality and fresh, that is key.

[beemerdude5150]

Oh snap. I didnt know u were Iinthe city. My bro has a restaurant in a neighboring city. Where u located?

[Boo-E]

Originally Posted by beemerdude5150

Oh snap. I didnt know u were Iinthe city. My bro has a restaurant in a neighboring city. Where u located?

Im in the Sunset. You in the city too?

[Comet]

To echo what most have said, it is extremely hard
One thing I've seen from my friends who own restos is that they have 0 vacation, almost ever. They live and breathe the restaurant.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Comet

To echo what most have said, it is extremely hard
One thing I've seen from my friends who own restos is that they have 0 vacation, almost ever. They live and breathe the restaurant.

It's not really as hard as everyone says. What makes it difficult is what's posted above.

My wife bought a pizza shop the month we met. So in order to hang out with her i was at the pizza shop all the time. So much so i became the delivery boy. (yes i got some looks delivering pizzas in a brand new LSB E46 M3) Eventually we hired some other drivers but it was super fun and we miss it quite a bit. What we don't miss were the 110 hour weeks and 0 vacation. We took 2 days off in 2 years. Both days we left the place in someone else's hands it was a disaster. We were amazed that making good pizza and giving good service was like rocket science to most people interested in working at a pizza shop.

When she bought the place it was generating $1200 a MONTH revenue. She essentially bought it for what the equipment was appraised at. With little cash outlay, she turned a profit from nearly day one with some inexpensive smart advertising and in 2 years sold the place for $90k, 3x what she paid for it.

For the most part people like trying the new places, especially in a place like San Fran. That is your only chance to set the hook though. So my advice to you is to make sure you're 100% set up, examine and test all scenarios, make sure you're capable of handling at least 25% more volume than you'll have, have a plan ready in case you have more, etc... With the huge variety and even larger selection of establishments to dine at you have 1, ONE, chance to hook a patron. There are some people that will give you a second chance, but they are few. Also, money and time spent training your staff to say, do, act exactly as you want them to is money and time VERY well spent. This will bring people back even if the food is mediocre.

Good luck!!