I Just Opened Up A New Restaurant, Now What?

For the food lovers among us, you might be considering opening a restaurant. Or, you may have recently opened your own small food business and now wondering what are the next steps. If that is you, then you have come to the right place. Here is a simple step-by-step guide for opening a new restaurant. 

Using this guide, you can avoid the mistakes many new business owners make and ensure that your restaurant is a success. 

Find Your USP

Having a unique selling point (USP) is key for any brand. If you create something that others have done, then you are setting yourself up for competition. Whereas if you can find a niche and use that as your USP, then you will engage more customers as you will offer something new and different from other restaurants. 

Write a Plan to Determine What You Need

Your restaurant will need multiple things to kickstart and increase sales. First, you will want to determine who your prime audience is, the best location, and find out your competitors. From there, you will have a better idea of what food choices you will offer, as well as what kind of experience you want to create. 

You will want to consider tools, appliances, and finances before anything else. When these are in place, you can start to cook, make food, and satisfy customers. 

To promote your brand, you will need to determine a marketing strategy. It can help to integrate social media channels to showcase your foods, deals, and what your restaurant can offer. Furthermore, utilizing a mobile app will ensure that customers will have the option to dine in or dine out. Casual dining and takeout food is rising in popularity. Thus, giving the option for customers to eat your food at home will increase sales from your restaurant. 

You will also need to create a staffing plan. It will be extremely challenging to run a restaurant alone. Thus, finding the right staff will ensure your business runs seamlessly and to its fullest potential. 

Choose a Name

Choosing a name for your restaurant can be a part of your USP. Ensuring that your name stands out will make people remember you. 

You will also want to choose a name that reflects your cuisine. If it relates, then people will likely come across your restaurant when searching for a specific cuisine.

Get Legal Advice and Insurance 

You will need to define your restaurant’s legal structure to ensure you cover business taxes and discover how your business could be held liable in a legal claim. 

Using a legal attorney will help you cover all bases and make sure your business is safely run and optimized in the best way possible. 

You will need to make sure to set up a unique tax number and register your restaurant for state and local taxes to avoid fines. 

Insurance is key too. You will need to ensure to integrate business insurance, restaurant, and food licenses to align with regulations. 

From there, the next steps will be to open your restaurants and get the ball rolling. It is not easy opening a business, especially a restaurant. Thus, with the right plan and knowledge, you will be on the road to running and owning a successful restaurant. 

Infographic created by Clover Network, a merchant services company