Know About 8 Essential Tips For Those Who are Going To Open a Restaurant
So, if you answered “yes” to these questions and are thinking about opening a restaurant just because cooking is your favorite activity, know that much more awaits you, besides being between pots and stoves!
A restaurant is a company and, therefore, you will have to deal with issues that are totally foreign to the kitchen universe, such as financial administration , bureaucracy, employee management , permits and certifications — in addition to the almost daily purchase of inputs and ingredients necessary for the work of cooks. Bearing in mind this range of responsibilities to be assumed, we have prepared some tips for you who are thinking of setting up a restaurant. Follow with us!
1 – Pay attention to the choice of location!
Choosing your restaurant location means choosing your target audience as well . Therefore, before looking for a property , ask yourself which people you want to reach. If the restaurant is more popular, central regions or peripheral neighborhoods are the most suitable. If the restaurant has a more sophisticated proposal, the noble neighborhoods of the city should be sought after. In addition, research the number of existing restaurants in the area and try to offer something different to attract customers who already frequent the region.
2 – Keep an eye on the facilities
If the property you are going to occupy has previously housed another restaurant, everything can be easier. However, if you are going to adapt any property to become a restaurant, it will probably need some renovations. The basics for a restaurant is that it has a hall for the customers’ tables, an office for the administration, a large and comfortable kitchen for the cooks, a pantry for supplies and two bathrooms for the female and male public.
3 – What’s on the menu?
This decision is related to your restaurant’s target audience and their gastronomic preferences. We can list some possible options to help you find your bearings, whether the restaurant is self-service or à la carte:
- Popular and everyday food restaurant, such as food from Minas Gerais;
- Ethnic restaurant, with the cuisine of a certain country;
- Natural, light restaurant with vegetarian options;
- Restaurant/Churrascaria, dedicated to meat consumption;
- Pasta restaurant;
- Restaurant with a more gourmet proposal and haute cuisine dishes.
4 – How many employees should I hire?
Hiring employees depends on the size, profile and hours of operation of your restaurant. In each period of 8 hours it is necessary to have at least one chef and two assistant cooks. In addition, in order for the restaurant to provide quality service, it is necessary to have a waiter for every 5 tables. It will also be necessary to hire an employee for the cashier and an employee to clean the place. If you want to share your managerial tasks , hire an employee to fulfill the role of manager. He will be responsible for managing employees and serving customers when requested.
5 – The choice of suppliers
From choosing the restaurant menu and listing all the ingredients needed to prepare the dishes, it is necessary to establish who will be the main suppliers of the house. The criteria for choosing them must be quality, price and the best delivery times. It is possible to arrange a product delivery schedule with them and also rely on their availability, in case a product runs out sooner than expected.
6 – About the structure of your restaurant
Many items are needed to set up a restaurant, ranging from kitchen utensils and equipment to items for customer use. The essential items are:
- tables
- Chairs
- Towels
- Plates, glasses and cutlery
- Toothpick holder, salt shaker and napkin holder
- Trays
- openers
- Pans of different sizes
- Miscellaneous kitchen utensils such as spoons, knives, graters, blowtorches, etc.
- Industrial oven
- industrial oven
- Tables and benches for cooks
- Customer payment box
- Telephone
- fans
7 – Beware of hygiene conditions!
The way food is stored, refrigerated, prepared and served is inspected by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), as well as its sanitary facilities for the use of customers. Therefore, invest in this aspect and avoid being fined and having your name related to poor hygiene.
8 – Necessary bureaucracy
The bureaucracy to open any business is quite complex, even more so to open a restaurant. The basic steps are as follows:
- Draw up the company ‘s articles of incorporation , if it is a partnership , and register it with the city’s Board of Trade;
- Complete the Individual Entrepreneur Registration and other documents at the board of trade in your city, if the company is sole proprietorship;
- After registering with the board of trade, complete the CNPJ registration on the Federal Revenue website to obtain registration and state registration;
- Request a visit and inspection by the Sanitary Surveillance, in order to obtain the operating license;
- Check the documents requested by the City Hall to obtain the municipal operating license.
Tip: Before submitting the documents for leasing or purchasing the property, request a visit from the Sanitary Surveillance Office at the place where the company will be installed. If the location is not approved, this avoids inconvenience for the exchange of the property and the registration of the company at the indicated address .