Entrepreneur Media Inc - Restaurant and More: Step-By-Step Startup Guide

Entrepreneur Press, Publisher

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2016 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

All rights reserved.

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Restaurant and More: Entrepreneurs Step-by-Step Startup Guide, ISBN: 978-1-61308-348-2

Previously published as

Start Your Own Restaurant and More, Fifth Edition, ISBN: 978-1-59918-594-1, 2016 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc., All rights reserved.

Start Your Own Business, 6th Edition, ISBN: 978-1-59918-556-9, 2015 Entrepreneur Media, Inc., All rights reserved.

Contents

Additional titles in Entrepreneurs Startup Series

Start Your Own

Arts and Crafts Business

Automobile Detailing Business

Bar and Club

Bed and Breakfast

Blogging Business

Business on eBay

Car Wash

Child-Care Service

Cleaning Service

Clothing Store and More

Coaching Business

Coin-Operated Laundry

College Planning Consultant Business

Construction and Contracting Business

Consulting Business

Day Spa and More

eBusiness

eLearning or Training Business

Event Planning Business

Executive Recruiting Business

Fashion Accessories Business

Florist Shop and Other Floral Businesses

Food Truck Business

Freelance Writing Business and More

Freight Brokerage Business

Gift Basket Business and More

Grant-Writing Business

Graphic Design Business

Green Business

Hair Salon and Day Spa

Home Inspection Service

Import/Export Business

Information Marketing Business

Kid-Focused Business

Lawn Care or Landscaping Business

Mail Order Business

Medical Claims Billing Service

Microbrewery, Distillery, or Cidery

Net Services Business

Nonprofit Organization

Online Coupon or Daily Deal Business

Online Education Business

Personal Concierge Service

Personal Training Business

Pet Business and More

Pet-Sitting Business and More

Photography Business

Public Relations Business

Restaurant and More

Retail Business and More

Self-Publishing Business

Seminar Production Business

Senior Services Business

Specialty Food Businesses

Staffing Service

Transportation Service

Travel Business and More

Tutoring and Test Prep Business

Vending Business

Wedding Consultant Business

Wholesale Distribution Business

Table of Contents

F ood is a basic need. Though tastes and trends change, technology advances, and demographics shift, people always need to eat.

Now, that doesnt mean that starting and running a profitable food-service business will be a proverbial piece of cake. Quite the contrary: This will probably be the hardest work youve ever done. But it has the potential to be tremendously rewarding, both financially and emotionallyand it can be lots of fun.

There are many ways you can enter the food-service industry, from buying a small coffee cart to building a high-end restaurant from the ground up. In this book, we examine six basic food-service businesses: a restaurant, a pizzeria, a sandwich shop/delicatessen, a coffeehouse, a bakery, and a catering business. Its important to remember that these arent mutually exclusive businesses; they can be customized and combined to create the specific business you have in mind.

Perhaps you know exactly what type of food-service business you want to start, or perhaps you havent made a final decision yet. Either way, its a good idea to read all the chapters in this bookeven those that pertain to businesses you think you arent interested in starting. If you read with an open mind, you may get ideas from one type of operation that you can apply to another.

This book will give you the basic information you need to start a food-service business. Youll learn how to develop a business plan; what the day-to-day operation is like; how to set up your kitchen and dining area; how to buy and maintain equipment and inventory; how to deal with administrative, financial, personnel, and regulatory issues; and how to market your venture.

Because the best information about business comes from the people who are already in the trenches, we interviewed successful food-service business owners who were happy to share their stories. Their experiences span all types of food-service operations, and several of them are illustrating in practice that you can successfully blend more than one type of operation. Throughout the book, youll read about what worksand doesntfor these folks and how you can use their techniques in your own business.

Youll also learn what the food-service business is really like. The hours can be flexible, but theyre usually long. The profit margins are good, but only if youre paying attention to detail. The market is tremendous, but youll have a substantial amount of competition, which means youll need a plan to set yourself apart. The opportunity to express yourself creatively is virtually limitless, but sometimes youll have to do what the market demandseven if its not your preference.

Like anything else, theres no magic formula, no quick path to success. Thriving in the food-service business takes hard work, dedication, and commitment. But it can be well worth the investment of your time, energy, and resources. After all, everybodys got to eatincluding you.

A s increasing numbers of consumers want to dine out or take prepared food home, the number of food-service operations in the United States has skyrocketed from 155,000 about 45 years ago to over 1 million restaurants today, according to the National Restaurant Association. But theres still room in the market for your food-service business.

Shifting demographics and changing lifestyles are driving the surge in food-service businesses. Busy consumers dont have the time or inclination to cook. They want the flavor of fresh bread without the hassle of baking. They want tasty, nutritious meals without dishes to wash. In fact, the rise in popularity of to-go operations underscores clear trends in the food-service industry. More singles, working parents, dual-career families, and elderly people are demanding greater convenience when it comes to buying their meals.