New Store

INTRODUCTION

• Opening a restaurant takes careful planning, beginning with finding the perfect location and deciding on a concept and menu. Researching the competition and finding financing are also essential elements of opening a restaurant. Deciding to rent, build or buy are also important decisions that must be made before you open a restaurant.

• Many people dream of opening their own restaurant. Here is a step by step guide to get you started.

• Difficulty: Hard

• Time Required: Anywhere between a couple of months to a year or more, depending on location, concept, and size.

TABLE OF CONTENTS• Decide on a Restaurant Concept 

• Types of Restaurant

• The 4P’s Method

• Using the 4P’s Marketing

• 4 Subcategories in opening a restaurant 1. Before You Open

2. Location 

3. Restaurant Design 

4. Restaurant Names 

• 2 Subcategories in Restaurant Menu1. Menu Pricing 

2. Menu Design 

• 3 Subcategories in Advertising & Marketing1. Social Media Marketing for Restaurants

2. Advertising on a Budget 

3. Holiday Marketing Ideas for Restaurants 

• Restaurant Food Safety

TABLE OF CONTENTS• Staffing Restaurant

1. Staff Management 

2. Front of the House 3. Back of the House 

• 3 Subcategories in stocking a restaurant1. New vs. Used Equipment 

2. Equipment Checklists 

3. Stocking a Restaurant Kitchen

•  Customer Service• 2 Subcategories in Restaurant Finances

1. Business Plans

2. Save Money

• 2 Subcategories in Laws & Insurance1. Business Insurance

2. Health & Safety Laws

• Restaurant Resources • Restaurant Management• Summer Checklist

TABLE OF CONTENTS• 3 Things to outsource in your Restaurant

1. Taxes

2. Payroll

3. Website Maintenance

Restaurant Concept

•The first step in opening a new restaurant is deciding what type of restaurant it is going to be. Are you looking at opening a high-end fine dining restaurant? A casual diner?

Do you have a specific type of cuisine you plan to serve, such as Italian, French or Indian? Perhaps you want to

specialize in one area, like a microbrewery and pub. Before you move onto step two you first need to define what kind

of restaurant you want to open.

Types of Restaurant• Fast Food Restaurant

– is the most familiar restaurant to most people. Chains like McDonalds and Burger King became popular in the 1950s, and helped spawn countless other concepts like Taco Bell, KFC and In & Out Burger.

• Fast Food Franchise– keep in mind that the initial costs of franchising are more expensive than opening an

independent restaurant.

• Fast Casual Dining– This is one of the biggest trends right now. Fast casual is slightly more upscale than fast

food. Fast Casual Restaurant offer disposable dishes and flatware, but their food tends to be presented as more upscale, such as gourmet breads and organic ingredients. Open kitchens are popular with fast casual chains, where customers can see their food being prepared.

• Fine Dining– Just as the name implies, fine dining is used to describe a much more upscale

restaurant, one that offers diners an elegant atmosphere with high quality service. The chefs in fine dining restaurants are usually professionally trained, and the food is fairly expensive, but worth it.

4P’s Marketing ToolThe marketing mix and the 4Ps of marketing are often used as synonyms for each other. In fact, they are not necessarily the same thing.

Product/Service

– What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy?

– What features does it have to meet these needs?

– Are there any features you've missed out?

– Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?

– How and where will the customer use it?

– What does it look like? How will customers experience it?

– What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be?

– What is it to be called?

– How is it branded?

– How is it differentiated versus your competitors?

4P’s Marketing Tool

Place

– Where do buyers look for your product or service?

– If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue?

– How can you access the right distribution channels?

– Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send samples to catalogue companies?

– What do you competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate?

4P’s Marketing Tool

Price

– What is the value of the product or service to the buyer?

– Are there established price points for products or services in this area?

– Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin?

– What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market?

– How will your price compare with your competitors?

4P’s Marketing Tool

Promotion

– Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market?

– Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By using direct marketing mailshot? Through PR? On the Internet?

– When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions?

– How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity?

Using 4P’s of Marketing

• The model can be used to help you decide how to take a new offer to market. It can also be used to test your existing marketing strategy  . Whether you are considering a new or existing offer, follow the steps below help you define and improve your marketing mix.

1. Start by identifying the product or service that you want to analyze.

2. Now go through and answer the 4Ps questions – as defined in detail above.

3. Try asking "why" and "what if" questions too, to challenge your offer. For example, ask why your target audience needs a particular feature. What if you drop your price by 5%? What if you offer more colors? Why sell through wholesalers rather than direct channels? What if you improve PR rather than rely on TV advertising?

Tip:

Check through your answers to make sure they are based on sound knowledge and facts. If there are doubts about your assumptions, identify any market research, or facts and figures that you may need to gather.

Using 4P’s of Marketing• Once you have a well-defined marketing mix, try "testing" the overall offer

from the customer's perspective, by asking customer focused questions:

1. Does it meet their needs? (product)

2. Will they find it where they shop? (place)

3. Will they consider it's priced favorably? (price)

4. And will the marketing communications reach them? (promotion)

• Keep on asking questions and making changes to your mix until you are satisfied that you have optimized your marketing mix, given the information and facts and figures you have available.

• Review you marketing mix regularly, as some elements will need to change as the product or service, and its market, grow, mature and adapt in an ever-changing competitive environment.

What to Know before you open a Restaurant

Everything you need to know about opening a restaurant, from choosing the perfect

location to designing the menu.

Restaurant layout and Design Basics

Designing a new restaurant involves many different parts, from the layout the

commercial kitchen to the flow of the dining room. Other areas include the restaurant bar, restrooms, waiting area and outdoor

dining areas.

How to Choose the Right Restaurant Concept

before you open a new restaurant, it is important to know what type of concept you want. Do you want fine dining or casual? It is also important to have an effective restaurant business plan in place, which outlines your

concept, population base, menu and location.

What the Most Important Part of Owning a Restaurant?

Managing restaurant finances, staff and customer service are all parts of being a

restaurant owner.

Menu Pricing

How to Price Food on Your Restaurant MenuThere are simple ways to help you price your restaurant menu, including food cost and portion control.

Tips for Menu PricingHow do you know what to charge for certain menu items? What is the fine line between making a profit and

alienating customers with high prices? Restaurateur John Foley gives his thoughts about menu pricing.

Keep Kitchen Prep Costs LowWhat food do restaurants need to make in house and what foods are okay to buy from a food supplier? Keeping

food cost low means balancing prep and labor time with convenience foods.

Why Bigger Portions Aren't Always BetterControlling restaurant portion sizes is important for good customer service as well as keeping restaurant profits

and margins in check.

Four Ways to Keep Restaurant Menu Costs DownKeeping an eye on menu costs can translate into significant savings over time, for any restaurant, as can

carefully monitoring food cost, portion sizes and cross utilizing food on he menu.

Menu Design

Creating a Lunch MenuHere is a sample lunch menu for a restaurant. It has simple menu

description and proper food cost.

Restaurant Dinner MenuA restaurant dinner menu that shows a wide variety of ingredients,

descriptions and food cost.

Social Media Marketing for Restaurants

1. How to Use Facebook at Your Restaurant– Facebook can help restaurants use social media marketing to improve customer

service. Facebook has leveled the playing field when it comes to marketing and promoting a restaurant. It used to be standard practice to pay a good chunk of change for newspaper ads, radio spots or TV commercials. However, with the advancement of online advertising and the mobile revolution of smart phones and iPads, people are connected instantly, all the time. This is why it is important to include social media marketing in your promotional.

2. Set Up Your Facebook Page– A Facebook page is the command center for your social marketing campaign. Through

your Facebook page photos and timeline, you can establish and express your restaurant’s identity. It allows you to respond to customers quickly and personally. 

3. Photos and Videos– People love pictures of themselves. Tag customers in photos. Not only does this make

them feel included, it will show up in their newsfeed and their friend’s news feeds. This is effective, word-of-mouth advertising at its easiest, making customers feel special and showing everyone else how fun it is to be at YOUR restaurant

Advertising on a Budget

• Simple ways to advertise for your restaurant when on a budget.

• Market Research is the study of groups of people that you would like to sell your products or services to. Spending time to do Market Research minimizes risk and often improves your chances of success. Researching your target market can provide you with sound and objective data. The problem is that market research can be extremely expensive. So how can you do the research if you are on a tight budget? Low-cost market research is not impossible. First off, let's consider the things we need to look for when conducting our market research. Your target market should have at least four common characteristics. They are:

1. My target market has a particular need.

2. My target market has enough money to purchase my products or services.

3. My target market has decision making power.

4. My target market has access to my products and services.

In order to determine these characteristics you must spend time researching and asking yourself the following questions:

• My customers have a particular need. What is that need?

• My customers have enough money to buy what I am selling. Who needs and can afford what you are offering?

• My customers have decision making power. Who has the authority to say yes to what I'm offering?

• My customers have access to my products and services. How accessible are my products or services to my target market?

Where Should You Begin Your Market Research?

• First Resource: Your CustomersPut together a questionnaire and have your employees ask prospects, customers, vendors, and

suppliers to complete it. A couple of questions you could ask are:

1. Do you like our products or services?

2. What are we doing right?

3. What could we improve?

This method of research also works very well when visiting trade shows. Take a walk around the hall and spend time listening to people's conversations and ask questions. Spending time doing this helps you gain insight to what your competitors are doing.

You can also conduct:

1. Open-ended interviews with your customers.

2. Surveys

3. Focus Groups

• Second Resource: Comparable MarketsLook for other comparable markets and share the expense of a study. Remember you want to do

this with comparable markets but not competitors. For example, if you are a copywriter, find a company that does print advertising. Once you find someone, sit down and decide what information would be beneficial to the both of you and hire someone to do the study.

Holiday Marketing Ideas for Restaurants

• There are many holidays well suited for restaurant promotions. The holidays are the start of a busy catering season for many restaurants, from family thanksgiving dinners to go, to corporate Christmas parties and New Year’s Eve bashes. Long time readers know that I’m a big advocate of restaurant catering. It is a good way to boost sales and expand your customer base. Because of the high volume of parties from mid-November to New Year’s Day, it’s easy to find your restaurant overbooked and understaffed. Avoid these common pitfalls and more. Check out the basics of holiday catering for restaurants.

Restaurant Food Safety

When cooking in a commercial kitchen it is important to leave your own kitchen habits at home. As a restaurant owner or employee, you have a responsibility to ensure that the food coming off the kitchen line is safe for customers to eat. Bend food safety rules and you risk not only contamination issues but a PR nightmare if your restaurant is associated with any kind of food poisoning.

HACCP for Restaurants. The HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Point) program, available through trainings such as ServSafe, is designed specifically for commercial food distribution and restaurants. The HACCP program is based on the idea that careful monitoring of food from delivery to serving it customers can prevent food contamination. For example, taking the necessary precautions when perishable food is delivered, like immediate refrigeration, identifies a critical point in food safety.

Restaurant Kitchen Cleaning. Regular cleaning of your restaurant kitchen is a given (right?). Some cleaning jobs need to be done every shift, such as wiping down prep surfaces with disinfectant or changing the sanitation water. Other jobs need to be done daily- taking out the trash or rotating stock in the walk-in, monthly- cleaning the freezers, quarterly or yearly- cleaning the hood of the kitchen grill. Failing to do these jobs on time can result in bacteria build up and potential food safety problems.

Employee Hand washing. One of the most powerful tools in public health is proper hand washing. Proper hand washing can prevent the spread of everything from the common cold to H1N1 and Hepatitis C. Your employees should know the correct way to wash their hands (versus a three-second rinse under lukewarm water). Demonstrating the correct method of hand washing, as seen here, can help reduce the chances of contamination through food handling. Remember that “All Employees Must Wash Hands” signs should be posted in the rest rooms. Employees should also wash hands when they handle dirty dishes, raw food, garbage, as well as when they eat, cough, sneeze or been exposed to any bodily fluid.

By implementing a HACCP program, regular kitchen cleaning and educating employees on good hand washing practices, you will greatly reduce the risk of unsafe food conditions in your restaurant.

Staff ManagementHiring a staff requires specific knowledge of each job within the restaurant. From front of the house wait staff, to back of the house kitchen staff, each person needs to be the best at their job, in order for a restaurant to run smoothly.

1. Model the Behavior You Want to See. As the owner or manager of a restaurant, you are in charge. And whether you like it or not, you are giving your staff permission to act as you do. If you come into work in bad mood and treat people poorly, guess how your staff is going to act? On the other hand, if you come into work with a smile and a good attitude, it’s likely your staff will model that behavior.

2. Have Fun at Your Staff Meetings. I used to cringe at having to attend staff meetings. It worse when I had to run them. I could see the bored looks on my staff’s face, many of them resentful they had to be there on their day off. I wish I had thought to inject the meetings with some fun. Make your meetings more fun with icebreakers and some easy team building activities. 

3. Reward Your Staff. Encourage some healthy competition among your wait staff, to see who can get the highest check averages each week or month. If you use comments cards, offer some sort of reward for staff who get good feedback. It doesn’t always have to be money. You could give movie tickets or gift certificate to other local businesses as rewards for the person with the most positive comments.

4. Don’t Be Cheap. The wait staff is the front line of your restaurant. They deal with unhappy customers, even if the problem is out of their control. If the kitchen takes a long time to get an order out and the customer is unhappy, guess whose tip is going to suffer? Not the sous chef or line cook. By keeping customers happy, you are also going to keep your staff happy. The next time a customer complains, authorize your wait staff to offer a freebie, like a dessert.

Staff Management5. Show Respect to All Staff. Restaurants have hierarchies, from the manager to the dishwasher. Every person on your staff is integral to the day-to-day operations and overall success. Be sure that you are respectful to each and every one of them and that they are respectful to each other.

6. Get to Know Your Staff. Ask your staff about their personal lives – kids, hobbies, interests. Show them that you see them as more than just a cook, a server, a dishwasher. Check out these four ways you can be a better restaurant owner and get to know your staff better.

7. Address Problems Quickly. Conflicts between staff are inevitable. Someone doesn’t think it’s fair they don’t get a good section on Friday night. Another person is always trying to get out of their Monday night shift. Whatever the issue, address it sooner than later, so it doesn’t breed more problems.

8. Encourage Fun at Work. Running a business is serious stuff. But that doesn’t mean you should have fun while you are doing it. Don’t be afraid to joke with staff and customers, to show your fun side.

9. Ask Your Staff’s Opinion. Ask for suggestions for ways to improve your restaurant. They can be about the menu, promotional ideas, colors for the rest rooms, if you’d like. Set up a process- it can be as simple as suggestion box, with slips of paper- and review the suggestions once a week. You may find that your staff has great ideas to try.

10. Say Thank You. This is probably the easiest thing you can do. Be liberal with your thank yours, to show staff that you truly appreciate the work they do.

Front the House

•Cooks – The most important factor to consider when hiring a cook is experience. Preferably, experience in the style of food you will be serving. Cooking candidates should express an enthusiasm for the food you plan to serve. If a cook is professionally trained, be sure that they can handle the speed of a busy kitchen as well as produce delicious dishes. Food safety, such as a Serve Safe certification is also a plus. While cooks don’t need to be as personable as the wait staff or hostess, they should be someone who can work as part of team and be reasonably polite.

•Wait Staff - If you are expecting a high paced, quick turnover rate each day, you need someone who can move fast. However, if the view of your restaurant is quiet, intimate, and slow-paced, such as fine dining, then you need someone who is comfortable that type of atmosphere. When interviewing for wait staff positions, ask each candidate what their strengths are. A server should be knowledgeable of the type of food you serve, as well as have a basic familiarity of wine and mixed drinks.

•Host - The general job of a restaurant host is to meet, greet, and seat customers. Therefore it is

an excellent entry-level job for someone without a lot of restaurant experience (or any). The host should be friendly and courteous, and also know how to handle rushes, waiting lines.

Back of the House

• Executive chef – Also known as the head chef. He is the guy (or girl) who creates the

specials, orders the foods, and works as the general manager of the kitchen.

• Expeditor - This is a non-cooking role on the kitchen line. An expediter is the person in charge

of organizing orders by table, and garnishing the dishes before the server takes them out to the dining room.

• Porter - A person brought in at the end of the night to help clean the kitchen.

• Sauté Chef- This is a line cook in charge of anything cooked in a sauté pan.

• Sous Chef - The executive chefs assistant, and next in charge.

• Fry Cook- This is a line cook in charge of anything that needs to be deep fried.

• Grill Cook- This is a line cook in charge of the items on the char-grill or flattop grill, such as meats, chicken and fish.

• Line Cook- The most common title in the kitchen is that of line cook. It refers to any cook working a particular station along the kitchen line.

Stocking a RestaurantKnowing what to buy, as well as what not to buy, when getting ready to open a restaurant can save you a lot of time and money. Knowing which items to purchase new with a warranty and which items are safe to pick second-hand, will help you save money later on, once you have opened.

Pros and Cons of Buying Used Restaurant Equipment– Buying used restaurant equipment can help to save you a lot money when you are getting ready to open your own

restaurant.

• Moolah- New restaurant equipment comes with shiny, expensive retail price tag. Buying used equipment will save you precious start up cash that you can put toward your first food order, payroll, insurances, or marketing campaign.

• Minimal Wear & Tear. Due to the high failure of new restaurants (not yours, of course) many second hand pieces of equipment have only been in service for a year or two. If you go to a restaurant auction, do your homework and find out how long the place was open. Examine the appliances, looking for tell tale signs of wear and tear like rust, missing parts, etc. If you are really lucky, you can still get the warranty with a piece that is not too old.

• Prices Aren't Set in Stone. Dealers of used restaurant equipment are often open to price negotiations. If you are good at haggling then don’t be afraid to counter their offer. Freebies. If you are buying several pieces of used equipment from the same vendor, ask for a freebie such as prep table, a mixer or toaster. They may throw it in as a sign of goodwill.

Stocking a Restaurant

How do I Set Up My Restaurant Kitchen

Restaurant kitchen design depends largely on the size of the kitchen, the budget and the restaurant menu.

• Warranties, or lack thereof- Used restaurant equipment is usually sold “as is.” Meaning, if you hook it up at the restaurant and it doesn’t work, you’re out of luck. This is the gamble you take when buying used. The good news is that many pieces of restaurant equipment are nearly indestructible. If one small part goes, it is easy to replace.

• Spending more money. If you do buy used equipment that breaks, then you may end up spending more money than if you had just bought it new. However, certain items are better suited to buy used, and have a better chance of working properly for a long time to come.

The following items are all good candidates for buying used:

1.Gas Ranges and Ovens

2.Fryers

3.Tableware

Host Station Checklist

Here is a checklist for a well stocked host station. Because the host station is usually the first area a customers sees, it should be neat and free of clutter. The actual host station itself can be as simple as a tall counter or podium or something with a little more character, such as a roll top desk. The host station is also a good spot to put a POS system, if the host is in charge of taking to-go orders or putting in drink order reservation book.

1. Seating Chart

2. Telephone

3. POS system

4. Menus

5. Extra Napkin

Kitchen Station Checklist

Oven LadlesGrill Chef’s knivesDeep-fryer Pizza paddleReach-in cooler WhisksWalk-in cooler Mixing bowlsFreezer (either a chest, upright or walk-in) Plastic inserts for coolersSauté pans Steam tableStock/soup pots Entrée platesSauce pans Pasta bowlsBaking sheets Appetizer platesPizza screens Salad platesBaking pans Dessert PlatesTongs Metal or plastic shelves for walk-in coolerSpatulas Cleaning RagsHand soap/ sanitizer dispenser Rubber floor matsFire extinguisher Hand soap/ sanitizer dispenser

Here is a general checklist of everything you need to outfit your restaurant kitchen.

Customer Service

From training your staff to dealing with unhappy customers, the service at your restaurant can make or break you. Keep customers coming back again and again with these tips for great customer service.

1.Your Restaurant Staff -The first step in great customer service is your restaurant staff. A well trained front of house staff will keep customers happy and coming back for more. Not just anyone can wait tables or tend bar. Good wait staff are among the most talented people out there. They are friendly, but not annoying. They can multi-tasking but still give customers their undivided attention. And they are honest, trustworthy and can work as a team. Read on for how to hire for the front of the house.

2.  Customer Complaints- The next step in great customer service is how you handle customer complaints. No matter how hard you try, things are bound to go wrong once in a while. Food gets burned, orders get forgotten in the middle of a dinner rush, or new servers simply forget all their training. No matter the reason for the complaint, the important thing is to try and please the customer. You should acknowledge that yes, there was a problem, but it is not what they should expect from your restaurant. Read on for tips on how to handle common customer complaints

Customer Service

3. Show Your Customer Appreciation- Actions speak louder than words, and that is certainly true of customer appreciation. There are countless ways you can show your customers how much you appreciate their business. And it doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money (or any money in some cases) for example personal attention, especially by the owner or manager can go a long way in making customers feel special. Read on for tips on how to make every customer feel like they are a VIP.

4. Be Responsible- Responsibly serving liquor is probably the biggest way to show customers you value them. After all, you don’t want to see a patron who’s had too much to drink get behind the wheel of a car and hurt himself or someone else. Therefore, if you are planning on serving liquor at your new restaurant, than you should be familiar with all your state liquor laws. While liquor laws vary from state to state, in most cases if a person is involved in an accident while drunk you, as the owner of the establishment that served them, may be held liable as well. It is also important that your wait staff understand how to identify a person who is intoxicated, so they don’t serve (or continue to serve) them. Occasionally you may have to deal with a patron who’s more than a little tipsy. Read on about how to deal with drunk customers.

How to Estimate Sales for Your Restaurant Business Plan

Estimating restaurant sales is a very important part of writing a restaurant business plan.

A crucial part of any restaurant business plan is an estimate of your future restaurant sales. You need to have a base number of how much money you think you will bring in on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. Estimating your restaurant sales can be based on the number of seats in your dining room, check averages or seasonal highs and lows. When looking at the number of seats in your restaurant, estimate how many times they can be turned over during a shift. If you are a fine dining restaurant you may only get one seating during a dinner shift. A more casual establishments, such as a café or diner may get three or four seating's during dinner.

Once you’ve estimated the number of guests at your restaurant at any given shift, you need to estimate the check average. Keep in mind that breakfast is typically the cheapest meal of the day, lunch is usually mid-priced and dinner is the most expensive. People are more apt to have a beer, wine or cocktail at dinner, helping to boost check averages further at dinner time. But people also have more time at dinner and so they may sit at the table longer, resulting in a smaller turnover rate. Chart your estimated restaurant sales by month, to include in your restaurant business plan. Not only will help you with financing, it will give you a good idea of goals that you need to reach once your open, to make a profit and stay in business. Once you have established your sales, next you need to establish your restaurant expenses.

Daily Business Review for Restaurants

One of the most effective tools any restaurant has is the ability to track food and beverage sales on a daily basis. A daily business review, as this type of report is often called, allows for a place to build a history of business. It can help analyze sales trends, payroll costs, customer counts and predict future sales.

A daily business review is system that you devise that works for you. Everyone has a different way of tracking business and what works for one restaurant may not work for another. A daily business review report can be generated through a POS (Point of Sale) system or tracked by hand in a notebook or on a calendar. At the end of the year the monthly calendars went into a three-ring binder for easy reference the next year. Easy-Peasy! I also tracked the weather, which in Maine (where I live) plays a vital part in restaurant business. If there is a snowstorm, sandstorm, rainy days it can explain low numbers, or if there is an usually warm spring day, it can help explain a particularly busy lunch.

Keep Your Daily Business Review Information Safe

A tip if you are using a POS system as part of your daily business review. Limit the number of people who have access to these reports. It is very easy for employees to change sales numbers and pocket the cash. 

Laws & Insurance

Restaurants have a complex set of rules and regulations that can overwhelm a new owner. From health codes, to mandatory insurances.

 Workers' Compensation

If your business has employees, you will need workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation is a system set up by the state to insure all employees in the state in case of a work place injury. Under common law, the master (employer) is responsible for the injuries that occur to their servant (employee). Before workers’ compensation an employee could sue an employer for their injuries on the job.

Restaurant Insurance Basics

Property Insurance protects your property in case of fire or other events. It may not cover natural disasters, such as floods or earthquakes (see below for a policy that does.) If you have any kind of mortgage on your business and/or equipment, then you should carry a property insurance policy.

Laws & Insurance

General Liability – This is the umbrella policy that protects you in the event someone slips and falls in your restaurant, gets sick after eating there (whether it was your fault or not). This is a must have in today’s sometime sue-happy

Automobile Liability – If you have a company vehicle, this is a good insurance to have. It may be covered in your general liability, but always check with your insurance agent first.

Life Insurance – Depending on your mortgage and financing you may need to carry a hefty life insurance policy to satisfy your lender. It is also a good idea to have life insurance, in case something does happen to you and your family isn’t left with a restaurant they don’t know how to run and bills they can’t pay.

Fire Insurance - This one is pretty self explanatory.

Laws & Insurance

There is insurance for just about any object, action or person out there. Here are some other types of insurance you can purchase for your restaurant. But keep in mind, these extras will cost you as much or more than whatever it is you are insuring.

  Loss of Business Insurance – If you lose sales through a specific cause, this type of policy can recoup some of the income. Keep in mind the premiums and deductible may make you break even, depending on how much you lose.

Food Contamination Insurance - If you lose power, because of fallen power lines or a storm, and the entire contents of your walk-in and freezer spoil, this policy would pay to replace the food. Specific Peril Insurance – This covers many natural disasters that general liability insurance doesn’t. Events like earthquakes, floods or power outages due to either, may be covered under this insurance.

Use a trusted insurance agent when buying insurance when you are opening a new restaurant. They will know the local and state laws pertaining to how much insurance you need and can help you decide how much more you want to carry.

Responsibilities of a Restaurant Manager

restaurant management involves many different aspects, including public relations, inventory, dealing with staff, customer service and the list goes on and on. Here are ten 10 things you should know about managing a restaurant.

1.The customer is always right. Always. The golden rule of business – the customer is always right. Even if you don’t agree with a customer’s complaint, how you handle it will determine if the customer comes back to your restaurant.

2.Restaurant job expectations should be clear to staff. From the wait staff to the house kitchen staff, each person needs to be the best at their job, in order for a restaurant management  to run smoothly. 

3.Restaurants need advertising. A big part of restaurant management is advertising. Restaurant advertising has come a long way from newspaper ads and radio spots. Social networking offers a low to no cost way of promoting your restaurant. 

4.Restaurant management should watch cash flow closely. Cash flow is the amount of cash coming in versus the amount of cash going out of your business on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. If you don’t understand this basic concept of restaurant finances, you put yourself at great financial risk.

5.There are many types of different restaurant promotions. Promotions can range from a nightly happy hour to prix fixe menus, to two-for-one dinner specials.

1. Restaurant catering can expand sales. Restaurants have a built in catering clientele in their customer base and have all the resources – food, equipment, staff- for catering large and small events. 

2. A daily business review can help you track restaurant sales. A daily business review report allows restaurant management to build a history of business. It can help analyze sales trends, payroll costs, customer counts and predict future sales.

3. A POS system help restaurant management. Point Of Sale systems allow restaurant owners to track sales, cash flow, food inventory. This can greatly simplify day-to-day restaurant management, helping trim food cost and payroll, as well as track the popularity of menu item. 

4. A restaurant menu should be updated regularly. The price of food changes and the cost of running a business changes as well. Therefore it’s important that restaurant menus have prices that keep food cost low and profits high.

5. Small steps can save restaurants money. Switching to energy efficient light bulbs and low flow faucets are just two ways that restaurants can save money (and the environment).

Restaurant Summer Checklist

Tips for getting your restaurant ready for the busy summer months. Now is the time to hire new restaurant staff, service your commercial equipment and update your restaurant menu.

Update your menu. Springtime is a good time to include lighter fare on your menu, better suited for warmer weather. Think salads, cold soups, fresh seafood and tropical drink specials. Check out local farmers markets for good deals on local seasonal produce. Many farmers will deliver bulk orders right to the restaurant. It is also a good time to compare food costs with menu prices to ensure you are maximizing profits.  Have your commercial equipment serviced. The dog days of summer are no time for your air conditioning to quit. Ditto for your walk-in cooler and other commercial refrigeration. That’s why it’s important to have them cleaned and serviced at least once a year. This is also a good time to have your other kitchen equipment cleaned and serviced, such as your hood and sprinkler system.Train new staff. If you restaurant hire’s new staff for the summer season, consider having a mandatory training day for them before it gets busy. You can review your employee manual, job descriptions and expectations, let the staff sample menu items and have the servers and bartenders take their TIPS training for good serving.Schedule a cleaning day. Many restaurants are open seven days a week, all year long. Even with the best cleaning crew, dirt and debris build up – on walls, floors, carpets, etc… A one, two or even three day cleaning spree gives you a chance to fresh up with new paint, shampooing carpers, cleaning out wait stations, and all the other jobs that don’t get done during regular business days.

Update your marketing and advertising. Busy holiday seasons like Memorial Day and Fourth of July are a good time to run extra print ads and coupons in newspapers and radio spots. Partner with other local businesses (hotels, shops, chambers of commerce) to promote one another. You can swap brochures and take out menus as well as links on your websites

As a restaurant owner, you can’t do everything yourself. At least not efficiently. Instead, many tasks around your restaurant can be outsourced. Outsourcing simply means you hire an outside party to do certain jobs for your restaurant, rather than paying your staff (or yourself) to do them.

Taxes Business taxes are much more complicated than personal taxes. A professional accountant knows the tax laws in your state as well as the federal level. A bonus of using an accountant is that they can do your personal taxes as well, since your income is generated from your business. A good accountant can save your business money and make sure you don’t run into trouble with the tax man later on down the road.

Payroll for your restaurant requires more than just writing a weekly paycheck to employees. You need to file their W2 forms, figure out and pay payroll taxes, both local and federal. If an employee owes child support or has other wage garnishes, you are responsible for enforcing them. Few restaurant owners have the time to tackle their own payroll, unless their restaurant staff is very, very small. Luckily, there are many companies that specialize in payroll. For a modest weekly fee, the payroll company will figure all your employees wages, tips, and taxes. Some companies take an automatic withdrawal for your entire payroll right out of the bank, while others just cut checks from your bank account. 

3 Things to outsource in your Restaurant

Website Maintenance are fast becoming as normal for a business as a listing in the Yellow Pages. More and more people turn to the World Wide Web to find out everything from a restaurants hours and directions to their menus and entertainment schedule. Unless you have a lot of time to devote to building your website (not likely) it is best to leave it to a professional. You wouldn’t paint the sign on the front of your restaurant yourself, because it would most likely look unprofessional and not a good representation of your business. The same idea applies to websites. Your restaurant website should look professional and make a good impression on potential customers. Even though more and more people entering the restaurant business are computer savvy, it is still best to outsource this area of your business.