Q. I would like to open a restaurant here in Manchester, NH. What should be my first steps? …Pete

A. Thank you for visiting www.onmyowninfo.com and submitting your question.

The first question that comes to mind is:  Do you have restaurant experience?

If you are thinking of opening a restaurant and running it yourself it would be a good idea to have experience working in one. The restaurant business is not an easy enterprise regardless of experience. It requires dedication, hard work and long hours.

Some things to consider are:

• What kind of restaurant do you want to open?

• Will you create the concept yourself or will it be a franchise? If a franchise, you will probably have strict guidelines to follow and most of this response is irrelevant, although there are a few points mentioned that you may want to consider.      

• How many restaurants are in Manchester?

• How many restaurants in Manchester serve the same type of food that you want to serve? How close will they be to your location?

• How will your restaurant stand out above the rest?

• Who is your competition? Every place that serves food whether it is fast food or a hot dog stand, a diner or fine dining is ultimately your competition. If people are eating and/or spending money at those places and not yours … they are your competition.

• Where will your restaurant be located?

• Was a restaurant located there before? If so, why aren’t they still in business? Make sure it isn’t because of the location!

• If there was a restaurant there before, DO change the name and the décor and the menu!

• What kind of equipment will you need?

• What are the regulations for restaurants from the health department, fire department, city, county and state?

• How will you design your kitchen for safe and efficient operation?

• How do will you design your dining room for easy flow of traffic both for customers and servers? 

• How many tables will you have? How many times will you need to turn the tables every night (or at lunch? lunch and dinner?) in order to cover your overhead expenses and make a profit?

• What will you do? Will you be the chef? The Manager? Both?

• How many servers will you need? Other personnel?

• Will you have an accountant to handle your books, taxes etc? 

• What appetizers, entrees, salads, side dishes, deserts, or beverages will be on your menu?

• Who will be your suppliers for linens, meats, produce, flour, sugar, coffee, teas, condiments, straws, and anything else you may need such as menus, menu covers, and business cards?

• Will you require personnel to wear uniforms? How will that expense be handled?

• How will you handle emergencies which can include a choking customer, a kitchen accident, sewer line backups, fire, robbery, burglary or maybe a leaking roof?

You will need a list of emergency numbers for police, fire, ambulance,   heating air conditioning and plumbing services as well as the utility companies and  any other service you may need in an emergency situation. When you open the restaurant post them in several easy to get to places … office, kitchen, reception desk or front counter.                                  

• Will you have a computer system set up to handle orders, table locations, and other business operations?

• How will you handle cleanup and maintenance?

• How will you handle an unhappy customer?

• How will you advertise and also handle public relations? Remember, just because you built it, it does not mean any body will come. You must tell them you are there, what you offer and consistently. Don’t think running one ad is all you need to do.

• Do you have a business plan? You will need one.

     The above questions are many of the things that you will need to think about.
 

     It may be very helpful for you to contact your local Chamber of Commerce and ask for an appointment with a SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) representative. The SCORE program is affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SCORE representatives share their management and technical experience with current and perspective owners of small businesses. There is no charge for the counseling that SCORE offers and it is confidential as well as person to person. You can also visit www.score.org which has a great deal of information that may also be helpful to you.

     Because we are not restaurant owners nor are we in Manchester we think the best advice we can give is that you get as much experience as you can working in a restaurant, while taking courses regarding the hospitality industry if possible. Consider the questions above, make an appointment with a SCORE representative and put together a business plan. SCORE can help with that too. Don’t give up and don’t let go of your dreams.