In this article we will discuss whether or not a restaurant is a good business to start or not by giving some facts about what an individual will have to do on a daily basis if they had their own restaurant. We are not going to discuss the things here needed to start a restaurant business, as asking the initial question that we are going to answer already means that someone is willing to do what they need to do to start a restaurant, if they know a little more information first about it.
So, this will cover what needs to be done in a restaurant in order to keep it running. If a restaurant is able to satisfy their guests and earn “regulars”, then they can succeed and make a good business. Regulars are people that return to the restaurant, usually because they like the food. When a lot of people return to a restaurant on a regular basis, then it is a good sign that it will be a good business that will continually prosper.
However, in order for this to happen, the individual or group of people running the restaurant have to have priorities, and an order in the list of their priorities. There are a lot of main things that have to be managed on a daily basis for a restaurant to turn into a good/profitable business. The reason why we are going to discuss these things, is because we already know that restaurants already make good businesses. We know this by looking at the success of many restaurant chains that have still been around for years. Also, smaller restaurant chains make good business and succeed all the time.
This means that their success is dependent on more than just opening a restaurant and serving the food. So let’s look into the main things that have to be continually done to make a restaurant profitable, so you can decide for yourself if it is something you want to do:
Restaurants need to know food safety.
Food safety, and maintaining it in a restaurant, is a huge priority. If an individual starting a restaurant as a business doesn’t have this as a top priority, then the restaurant has a good chance of failing. Many people that don’t have the experience of starting a restaurant business but have the money to do so, don’t know that there are other factors besides just cooking the food that people (the guests) care about.
A restaurant has to gain the trust of their guests that come into their establishment, as regulars or their first time, by maintaining a clean restaurant that follows all the food safety requirements, without cutting corners. Many restaurants that have had good business have screwed it up by neglecting food safety. These restaurants that have failed or don’t have good business often fall under this category of why they don’t succeed.
It only takes a person finding something bad one time in a restaurant to mess up the chance of ever having them return again. This could be failure to wash hands, not wearing gloves when handling food, mold or funny tasting old food, or anything else for example. It is easy for a restaurant to fail when they don’t practice good food safety on a daily basis. Vice-versa, it is easy for a restaurant to flourish and get consistent good business when they have consistent good food safety practices. Running a restaurant isn’t just about making tasty food.
An individual that wants to start a restaurant business, but doesn’t want to maintain it with daily cleaning and food safety, may not get what they were hoping for when they started the business. It will most likely crumble and deteriorate over time, leading to the restaurant being shut down. A place filled with food has to follow good food safety to keep their guests and new guests happy.
A restaurant has to be respectful in order to make good business.
A restaurant doesn’t have to let people walk all over them by letting them swindle them with free food tactics, but they do have to be respectful to everyone. Oftentimes we see various restaurants encouraging their employees to put on fake smiles to make their guests feel welcomed, but this isn’t what the guests want. The guests want respect, integrity, and sincerity. You don’t have to have the best social skills to run a restaurant, but you do have to have patience and understanding with your guests.
We have seen many managers make poor decisions and drive away business by assuming negative things without solid proof of their guests that are ordering the food. People are incapable of reading minds, and also know a fake smile when they see one. They rarely get treated with respect, because everyone thinks they know everything through their assumptions. An individual opening a restaurant needs to be willing to keep a leveled head at all times and remember to put their customers first and exercise humility.
If a restaurant is going to build up to a point where people come regularly to their establishment, then treating everyone with respect regardless of what they personally think is a requirement. Oftentimes the people that return to the restaurant are closely related to other people that also return to their restaurant. Making the wrong choice to disrespect one individual, even when you think they are in the wrong, can result in a loss of business from others.
A restaurant that turns their establishment into good business has to take care of their employees.
Restaurants can have high turnover rates (new employees frequently quitting) if the employees feel they aren’t being treated with respect, or being treated fairly. This can demoralize other people from staying at the restaraunt and working for the company too. They may have to pick up the slack when these employees leave. Restaurants are usually considered to be a fast paced business. An individual opening a restaurant needs to be prepared for these things and have a plan if they want to turn a restaurant into a good business.
It is required for all managers to do more than just order their subordinates around. They will need to earn their pay by pitching in and also doing all the work that the subordinates do as well and manage too.
These are a few main factors that determine if a restaurant will be a good and profitable business for the individuals starting one, besides the basics of deciding store location and what foods they will offer to their guests.
