The F&B Industry has seen massive growth over the years, which is only increasing exponentially year after year. Many new joints have opened with unique concepts.The hours are tough, and a lot of hard work and dedication is needed, but running a successful restaurant is extremely rewarding. However, a lot of factors must be kept in mind while opening a restaurant.

For the uninitiated, here are some pointers to keep in mind while opening your own restaurant:

• Decide on the type of Restaurant you want to open. Restaurants are mainly divided into Fine Dining, Casual Dining, Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), Cafes, Bakeries, Cloud Kitchen, and Food Truck or Cart. The menu, cost, location, target audience and concept vary from each type to the other. Being clear from the very beginning as to the type of restaurant you want to open helps you make clear plans and budgets later.
• Define a Concept – It is advisable and profitable to follow a common theme or concept for the décor, menu, plating, etc. The theme should not be too unique or different that the people can’t relate to it, nor should it be very common that there is no differentiating factor from others.
• Evaluate Cost – After deciding the concept and the type of restaurant you want to open, the next logical step is to make a budget and determine the costs involved. Whether you fund it yourself or hire investors, a clear-cut cost breakup is very important. The different heads to keep in mind while evaluating costs are:

• Food Cost – Food cost is the cost of all the raw materials used in preparing a dish. Ideally, the food cost should be around 30% of your menu price. You should finalize the vendors for sourcing the raw materials beforehand to ensure a smooth supply of stock ingredients.
• Labour Cost – It is the second most important cost. The number and type of staff you will be needing is discussed ahead which will help finalise this cost.
• Rent – The third major cost is the rent of the place. If the place is self-owned then this cost can be avoided. This cost depends on the size of the place, the locality, the market rate, and the visibility of the place. For a cloud kitchen a place in an industrial area with low visibility can also be taken as it is only a delivery outlet.
• Interiors – The cost of getting the interiors of the place done including the decor forms the basis of this cost. For a Cloud Kitchen, Food Truck and QSR this cost is relatively low.
• Equipment Cost – The number and type of equipment to be purchased depends on the menu.
• Licenses & Legal Permissions – The cost of license fees, legal permissions from government bodies and commissions of agents (if any involved) form the basis of this cost.
• Utility & Running Cost – This consists of items like electricity, water etc.
• Marketing Cost – The cost for hiring any social media manager, running ads online, offering discounts and offers, and hosting any PR activity or events form the basis of this cost. The type of marketing plan to follow depends on the type of restaurant that you are planning to open.

4. Make a Business Plan – Once the concept and budget are ready then you need to make a business plan highlighting the details of the project like your goal, your mission, your target audience, rate of return of investment etc. This plan is very important for the next step.

5. Obtain Funding – A restaurant can be funded in 3 ways:

• Self-Funding – If you have surplus funds which you would like to invest or if you have a partner and both of you would like to invest in a business venture then this option is for you. Self-funding definitely makes you independent but make sure you have sufficient surplus to not just open a restaurant but also run it till you break-even.
• Loan – if self-funds are not available then loans can also be taken from banks against the project. However, make sure all the documents are in order. Also, the interest on loan is an additional overhead that needs to be kept in mind while making the budget.
• Investors – the most common and popular option these days is getting investors on board to help fund the project. The investors take equity in the company. However, the business plan should be airtight to convince them to invest in the business.

6. Location – The location of the restaurant is of utmost importance. Many factors need to be kept in mind – if the people in the neighborhood is your target audience, if there is good footfall in the area, the visibility of the place, easy access of the place for public etc. The rent of the place should also be considered as it should be within your budget.

7. Research – the next important step is to do a thorough research of the place, area, the people living in the immediate vicinity, the footfall from outside, etc. These points will help determine the finer details of your concept. For example – if the locality has many schools or colleges then the number ofteenagers or youngsters will be more. In such a situation the pricing of the dishes must be reasonable as they will be your key audience. Similarly, if the main footfall is on weekends, then it makes sense to run offers or hold PR activities on weekends to attract maximum customers.

8. Obtain Licenses – All necessary licenses and legal permissions need to be obtained to be able to run your business and prevent shutdown. The documents needed vary from area to area. Some basic and common documents needed are:

• FSSAI License
• Trade License
• Health License
• Fire License
• GST Certificate
• Liquor License (if alcohol is being served)
• Music License (if the place is big like a club or lounge)

9. Create the menu – The next step is to formulate a detailed menu listing the dishes, description, prices, and other dietary allergies. It should be created keeping in mind the theme or concept, the locality, the target audience, and the food cost.

10. Plan & Execute the Layout – The next step is to plan and execute the interiors of the place as per the concept. The décor should be done keeping the budget and concept in mind. You can also hire an Interior Designer for the same. Also plan the layout for the kitchen, deciding beforehand the placement of the worktables, freezers, equipments etc.

11. Buy Equipments – After the layout of the kitchen is finalized, all the necessary equipments needed to execute the decided menu and cook the dishes needs to be bought.

12. Hire Staff – Once the finer details are decided the next step is to hire the staff for the restaurant. Three types of staff are needed to run a place:

• Management Staff – for a small café or casual dining place one floor manager is sufficient to help smoothly run operations. For a bigger place different managers may be needed to manage different departments.
• Kitchen Staff –Chefs are the main staff that need to be hired. They are the ones who cook the food which decides the success of a place. They should be carefully selected after proper interview and training. The number of chefs needed depends on the size of the place. For a small café 2-3 chefs are enough.
• Service Staff – Cleaners, Servers, and Baristas are needed to manage the front of the place. These also depend on the size of the place. 1 cleaner, 1 server and 1-2 barista are sufficient for a small place.

13. Arrange Vendors & Suppliers – Based on the menu, prepare a list of ingredients that are needed to help prepare the dishes. Based on the list arrange for appropriate vendors who can supply these ingredients at the best rates so as to keep the food cost low.

14. Create a Marketing Plan – This is the most important step in deciding the success of a business. A proper marketing plan is needed which creates a brand story, targets the appropriate audience, and gives the desired returns for the amount invested in marketing. The marketing plan should also target different media like Social Media Marketing, Influencer (like Food Bloggers) Marketing, Offers & Discounts on special occasions, and PR activities and events to attract larger audiences. Ideally a marketing manager should be hired to help make an effective plan and execute it, while keeping the brand image in mind.

15. Delivery Process – The delivery process should also be set-up effectively for smooth functioning. Tieup with delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato to increase your serviceable area. For a cloud kitchen or QSR you can also set-up your own delivery channel by keeping delivery staff and creating a website or an app through which people can order directly from the restaurant.

16. Host a Soft Opening – Once all the details are decided, you should host a soft opening for the immediate family members, friends, relatives, and other acquaintances. This helps make people aware about the opening of the place andalso helps in word-of-mouth marketing.

17. Hire a Restaurant Consultant – Opening a restaurant is not a cakewalk. A lot of finer details needs to be considered. Many people are involved with whom co-ordination needs to be maintained to help build the restaurant smoothly and on time. For every step a lot of factors need to be noted to ensure easy functioning of the restaurant. A restaurant consultant not only helps you get in touch with the right people, but also provides you with their expertise so that you make the right choices. They help you with all the above-mentioned pointers.

Hiring them is like hiring a Diner Guru to help you ride through this. #theonlyguruyouneed