How to set up a restaurant in 8 steps

Are you ready to start up a restaurant or food venue? If you’ve always had a burning passion for food and are ready to commit to the restaurateur lifestyle then setting up a restaurant could be a good path for you.

With so many things to think about, it can be pretty overwhelming to know where to start. To help you out, we’re running through the basics when you’re starting up a restaurant so that you can put your best foot forward.

1. Decide upon the restaurant concept

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One of the first steps when setting up a restaurant is to understand the restaurant concept fully. This means having a strong idea of cuisine, style, audience, location, and type of dining experience that you want to offer.

Ideally, your restaurant or food business will offer something unique or different to your local market - which will be easier or harder depending on your location. 

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2. Establish the brand

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Once you’ve established what your restaurant concept is, it’s time to think about your brand. While the brand and concept will be tightly linked, the brand is a kind of identity that your restaurant will embody.

Knowing your brand means knowing; who your ideal customer is, what pain points you’re solving, how your business differs from the competition and your brand story. Whilst these are guidelines to think about, there is no one size fits all when it comes to building a brand. The main thing to consider is what kind of personality your brand will have and how you plan on communicating that.

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3. Write a business plan and set up as a Ltd. Co.

The next step will be to write a business plan and set up your company officially. To do the latter you can head to the government website where you can register your company details and get limited company status. The website guides you through your options and ensures that setting up a company is the right step for you.

Writing a business plan is also a good idea in this stage, whether you intend to apply for funding or not. If you want to seek funding, a business plan is essential to show how you plan to make the business profitable. If you’re going it alone you don’t necessarily need to present it to anyone, but having a business plan will keep you on track and include things like:

1. Top line summary
2. An in-depth description of concept and brand
3. Market analysis
4. Competitor analysis
5. Supplier analysis
6. Organisation and management structure
7. Marketing plan
8. Financial projections
   

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4. Get the relevant licences and insurance

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When you run a food business, there are plenty of licenses and insurances that you need to have. You will need to have the relevant licences for:

• Food service registration
• Alcohol service registration
• Workplace health and safety 
• Food hygiene certificates
• Food premise approval
• Premise alcohol licence approval
• Pest control certifications
• All other relevant licenses

5. Decide upon your physical location

Once you’re set with the core pillars of your new business venture, it’s time to decide where you will place your restaurant. This is the time when you might try to secure a lease and plan on setting up the location for your business. Finding the right space can be crucial to creating a great restaurant environment, so spend some time on this stage.

6. Set up online

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The next step is going to be ensuring that you have the infrastructure in place to take online orders. With online and mobile ordering making up the majority of delivered orders, it’s crucial to have a good online set up that entices people to order with your company.

Setting up online may also mean looking at mobile ordering systems, setting up a website and finding POS systems that work for your business.

7. Hire your staff

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No business can begin without the right people. Finding the right staff to take your business venture off the ground is really important. Your first employees will likely have a lot of influence on the business and you’ll want to make sure that they fit the culture that you envision for your brand. 

Sit down and think about the kind of people you want to work with, and who you want representing your brand. Once you have that sorted it’s time to get out there and start hiring your staff.

8. Organise your supply chain

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Once you’ve researched the best suppliers on the market and have assessed your budgets, you need to set up a supply chain. One of the biggest challenges when it comes to setting up a restaurant is predicting how much produce you need. 

Collaborate with your chefs to decide what you will need and how you will access it. This needs to be a seamless process further down the line, but in the first few weeks it will likely be trial and error.

9. Launch!

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Once you’ve got everything in order, it’s time to launch! Of course there is so much more to setting up a restaurant than we could possible outline in a blog article, but here we’ve covered the basic steps.

If you’re in the process of setting up a restaurant and want more information on mobile ordering systems, take a look at Yoello. We provide a smart mobile ordering system that will help kick start your business in no time. Get in touch to discuss your businesses needs!