How To Open a Restaurant: Everything You Need To Know, From Permits to Restaurant Furniture

If you're thinking about opening a restaurant, there's a lot you need to take into consideration. It can all be pretty daunting, to say the least, which is why you should make it into a step-by-step process — which is outlined below.

First, bear in mind that a lot of work goes into owning and managing a restaurant. You can hire people and delegate a lot of work to them, but a lot of responsibility will still fall on you. Think hard about whether this is a responsibility you're certain you can handle, both mentally and financially. You'll need to buy restaurant furniture, food, of course, and make sure you have enough start-up money to pay your staff before business starts booming.

Once you've decided you absolutely want to open a restaurant, think about what kind of theme you want it to have. Do you want to open a mom 'n' pop-style diner, or an über-swanky club-style place? Consider what is more likely to do well in your area. If you live in a town or neighborhood that already has two diners, for instance, you probably don't want to open a third, unless yours will have some sort of hook and food good enough to draw people away from their usual haunts. You also need to decide on a name for your restaurant; again, make sure you're not naming it something that will conflict with neighboring businesses.

Plan out a menu. Incorporate the theme you've chosen, and make sure the menu's appearance matches the quality of the food it's advertising — which is hopefully good!

Now it's time to find a location. Again, let's assume you're opening a diner. You probably won't do well to open it right next to or across the street from a diner that's been around for years and is loved by the community. That sort of thing belongs in movies, and while in a movie you and the other diner's owner would probably become the best of friends and join forces, in real life it's more likely you'll be driven out of business before you get a chance to take off.

Next, write up a business plan. Chances are you'll need to take out a loan from your bank, and having as detailed a plan as you can write up will help a lot. Outline the details of your business and how you plan to make your it profitable. Find out beforehand exactly what documents you'll need to bring for the loan officer to examine.

Figure out exactly what sort of permits you'll need. The basics are a business license, a food handler's license or permit, a sign permit, a music license, a fire certificate, though you may also need a liquor license, a police permit and a seller's license.

Pick out restaurant furniture. This is (usually) the fun part! You can find a lot of great deals on restaurant furniture, and a lot of it you can buy wholesale. However, it's recommended to mix things up a bit by throwing a few curveballs in the mix, so things don't get too stagnant.

Once all the legalities are taken care of, it's time to hire staff. Bear in mind that in this economy, you'll get a lot of applicants, but don't settle until you've found just the right chef or cook and waitstaff.

Now that you know what you need to do to open a restaurant, get to work! It's going to be a while before you can relax, but make sure that when you can, you have nice comfy restaurant chairs.

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