When you want to open, own, and operate a new restaurant in a city that is already full of restaurants, you want to know what kind of restaurant will be successful and last a long time. This requires a lot of research into the restaurants that are already present in your city, and possibly, a lot of eating and sampling from every one of those restaurants. Here is how to go about it.
Begin by Cataloging All of the Existing Restaurants
The first step in your restaurant research begins with cataloging ALL of the existing restaurants within a thirty-mile radius of the center of your city. List them all by food type, ethnicity, and average meal price. This helps you determine how many restaurants are Italian, Greek, German, etc. and how many are fine dining versus mid- or low-price establishments. When you know that, you will know what your city lacks as far as dining choices and experiences.
Sample the Cuisine at the Most Popular Restaurants
Pick at least thirty of the top restaurants in your city across ethnic flavors and prices. Sample the cuisine in each of these restaurants to see what makes the restaurants so popular and successful. Assess your findings to see patterns and trends across all of your selected restaurants. Put these similarities down as things you want to copy in your own restaurant.
Survey a Cross-Section of the Population for Restaurant Ideas You Are Considering
Finally, select three ethnic themes or restaurant flavors/styles NOT currently in existence in your city, or choose three that are not as common. Develop a survey to present to a cross-section of the citizens in your city. Offer an incentive to get people to take a few minutes to answer a quick survey. The results will help you narrow it down to two restaurant themes, possibly even narrow it down to one. Once you have that, you can take your previous research and start your restaurant on the right foot. The best part is that your research gives you a really good idea how the cuisine and menus from several different restaurants taste and where you might want to go back for another meal.
Next Stop—Pick the Right Location
After all of the above, you only have to pick your perfect location and hire the right staff. That is rather easy by comparison. Lots of hard, tasty work and common sense will get you the success you crave for your restaurant.
For more information, contact local professionals like Melting Pot Pizza.
Share23 January 2017
There are a lot of different things that can set your restaurant back financially, but one of the biggest problems is issues with food sourcing. I used to source different ingredients from a bunch of local distributors until I realized that I could save a lot of money by working with national food suppliers. I want other people to realize how to resolve some of the most common restaurant ownership challenges, which is why I decided to focus on this blog. Check out these posts to learn more about how to run your restaurant, how to handle difficulties, and how to make your business more profitable than ever before.