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Opening a Restaurant

by nickanello, Window Shopper

  • Created: February 9, 2012, 11:13 pm
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5 comments

A group of life-long friends and I all have degrees in the culinary arts, and are looking into opening a business. None of us have any business or managerial experience, but we have had this dream for a long time. We are looking into acquiring loans and other forms of start-up money necessary to open a business.Blah, blah, blah...Yeah, we're opening a restaurant and need advice. I'm sure there are other restauranteurs on this site, and we'd like your advice. Concerning what's been covered on this site, we're well-read. I'd just like to find some personal stories or experiences that could help me understand where we need to start. That would be awesome! Thanks, guys.Looking for real estate, now. Estimating start-up costs and all that. Yup.

Tags: Discuss Popular Topics, Starting & Registering a Business
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Melda | Window Shopper | 2/15/2012 - 9:56 pm

I would simply suggest since you have all degree in culinary arts then know your specialties and serve then,for sure they will serve as your signature brand in your restaurant. :)
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BizResearcher | Window Shopper | 2/14/2012 - 2:06 pm

Have you written your business plan yet? Doing so will help you all to focus your ideas and get everyone's ideas captured on paper. You will have to have one before you can approach a lender, so doing it sooner rather than rushing at the last minute will keep you from making mistakes and better your chances of obtaining funding. If you don't know how to do the research or create the pro-forma finanacial statements for your plan, you may want to visit with a counselor at a small business development center or a SCORE office. Their services are free and they can help you through the process.

kmurray | Community Moderator | 2/13/2012 - 2:07 pm

Hi,  If you haven't already, check out our blog posts on opening a restaurant (a two-part series) and this one that includes a legal checklist.  

entrepreneur | Window Shopper | 2/13/2012 - 4:43 am

If this is your passion, then go for it! But not to burst your bubble, I just want to speak from experience because I used to manage a restaurant franchise. Running  a food service business is very tiring with so many aspects of the business to handle like purchasing, customer service, marketing, finance, etc. I've seen so many restaurants come and go. The owners spent much money setting up the restaurant, just to close it down after a year. Maybe you should hire an experienced manager who can help run the restaurant so that you can focus on the culinary aspects... just my two cents worth.
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nickanello | Window Shopper | 2/17/2012 - 4:22 am

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If this is your passion, then go for it!But not to burst your bubble, I just want to speak from experience because I used to manage a restaurant franchise. Running  a food service business is very tiring with so many aspects of the business to handle like purchasing, customer service, marketing, finance, etc. I've seen so many restaurants come and go. The owners spent much money setting up the restaurant, just to close it down after a year.Maybe you should hire an experienced manager who can help run the restaurant so that you can focus on the culinary aspects... just my two cents worth.
@Melda Thanks for the support! :) @BizResearcher We haven't written much down yet, but the business plan is our next step. There's a small business development center near us, I'm goign to go there and talk to them about it, next week. I need to know if a bunch of twenty-somethings that don't make enough money to live away from home can even acquire funding before I get all excited. Thanks for the advice! @kmurray Will do! @entrepreneur  Good suggestion, concerning hiring on an exprienced manager. I'll definitely consider this if we ever actually get off the ground! We deal with ordering and stuff like that at our respective jobs, and we all work at rather small eateries. In terms of the sheer amount of effort required, we know what we're in for, and are capable of doing it. At least, I hope so! :) So we're going to work on our business plan this week, and I'm going to read a thousand more books about opening a restaurant, haha. Anybody else want to throw their two cents in? I'd like to hear it!