Starting
Your Own Restaurant
Working
for yourself is a great and bold decision—stick to it.
I
suggest it is better to have a service industry background to start a
restaurant business. If you are only a promoter, it’s fine when you have an expert
team to take care of your business.
You
need to have a strong plan and make several decisions before you take your
first step. Once you have made your decision, never look back, whatever
hardship it may take to make your plan a reality.
“Any remarkable
journey starts with a single step.”
Style of Restaurant
Service
You
should decide the type of service according to the clientele you wish to cater
to. Clientele can be varied according to your restaurant’s location.
A
city centre restaurant in a commercial hub can be best suited for fast-paced,
informal dining service.
A
site close to a residential area with a wealthy clientele crowd around can be a
good place for a formal fine dining restaurant.
Casual
Dining
In
casual dining, the service is maintained at the required level to meet the
customer’s expectations.
Most
casual dining operates with a lower staff-to-guest ratio. In this service
style, you do not need to maintain a high level of service standards.
You
can run a casual dining service with employees of minimal service industry
experience. However, train the team in the service you want to deliver.
Fine
Dining
In
the fine dining style of service, the guest is offered the full service option.
Staff members are required to be well trained and highly professional in
attitude.
The
fine dining service style is costly in day-to-day operation. However, you can
demand the price for the service and food you provide with confidence.
In
India, stand-alone fine dining restaurants are less common compared to other
similar European metropolitan areas. The reason is the cost involved and high
standards to maintain. However, many five-star hotels have at least one fine
dining restaurant, and most of them serve Indian cuisine.
When
you want to provide fine dining service and food, everything you select for
your restaurant should be of high quality, from the colour of the paint used in
your restaurant to the staff uniform, and from the plates used to the meat
selection in the menu.
Hard
work and dedicated passion to excellent food are required to maintain the
stature of the restaurant at the top level.
For
fine dining food presentation and cooking methods, chefs give extra care that
adds to the value.
Fine
dining restaurants provide a memorable experience of service and food.
There
are many unwritten rules of fine dining restaurants, including concept-based
menus, amuse-bouche before any orders, and tasting or degustation menu options.
Chefs
come up with their own ideology to be competitive enough in today’s fast-paced
culinary revolution.
Pre-Opening
Stage
Once
you have decided which style you’d like adapt, start planning backwards from
your ideal opening date.
All
your strategies and ideas can be put down in black and white; this will help
later when you’re stuck somewhere. The first thing you need to prepare is a
detailed business plan.
A
business plan can be explained as a detailed list of steps that are required
for starting up and smoothly running any business.
People
often think a business plan is only essential for start-ups to secure financial
assistance. This is incorrect; since a business plan is a detailed version of a
business’s vision and strategies, it will always be relevant.
A
good business plan must contain detailed background information about the
business, the operational plan, the marketing plan, the financial plan,
decision-making criteria, and so on.
Based
on your business plan, create a checklist that contains the task, the person
responsible, the time frame, and the status of task. The checklist is very
essential in tracking your business development.
An
ideal task list can include naming the restaurant, developing a vision and
mission statement, finding a location for the restaurant, identifying and
applying for the licences required, pre-opening marketing plans, advertising
for job vacancies, recruiting, training, and procurement of hard and soft
items.
A
large and detailed list ensures that all areas are covered and that you can
peacefully work through the list without being distracted by other opinions.
Recruiting
the right staff with the right attitude is the key part in the pre-opening
stage. Your staff has to believe in your restaurant’s vision.
When
all your hard work is in place and the opening day comes, give your best
service, which the customers may not expect from day one. Keep an eye on
competition and market trends, and always cater to your loyal customers’
expectations.
Create
your own marketing strategies by involving local community and charity organizations
and organizing events for them. Remember that
word of mouth is always the best, cheapest, and most long-term
advertisement method—use it wisely.
Best
wishes for your venture. I will be privileged to help you.
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