How to Build a Successful Restaurant

10 Tips for Running a Successful Restaurant Business

While running a restaurant is no easy job, it can be incredibly rewarding and profitable when done right. In fact, restaurant industry sales are expected to reach nearly $783 billion in 2016 [1]. To help you secure a successful business, here are 10 tips to running a restaurant business:

1. Learn the basics. If you’ve never owned or ran a restaurant before, it is important that you invest a tremendous amount of time in becoming acquainted with the roles and responsibilities you will have on a regular basis. From food safety to labor laws and food cost, there are many aspects of running a restaurant that need constant care and dedication.

2. Hire the right people. The fact of the matter is you can’t run a restaurant by yourself. Hire qualified people that you can trust and who you can count on to make your customers happy and your business profitable.

3. Provide quality food. When it comes to running a successful restaurant, there is no substitution for quality ingredients. Make sure that you buy the freshest ingredients and use the best methods for cooking.

4. Keep the menu simple but unique. The ideal restaurant menu offers a balance of unique dishes and familiar foods that people are comfortable eating, without being too broad.

5. Focus on customer experience. While food quality is incredibly important, it will not contribute to a successful restaurant alone. To build customer loyalty, you must focus on customer experience – from the moment your customers call to place a reservation to the moment they leave your establishment.

6. Don’t compromise on decoration. While you don’t need to spend a fortune on fancy décor and expensive wall hangings, it is important that your restaurant’s décor contributes to the experience you want your customers to have.

7. Stay consistent. One of the most challenging but important responsibilities in running a restaurant is maintaining consistency, but do it right and it builds trust with your customers and helps you establish a strong reputation.

8. Market Your Restaurant. One of the keys to growing a successful restaurant in the extremely competitive food services industry is investing in proper marketing. Marketing can help you establish a strong brand, identify your customers, and maintain your online presence via your website, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Facebook and Instagram.

9. Set aside extra cash. It is likely that you will encounter a few unexpected costs once you launch or officially take over a restaurant. Set aside some extra money to help you as you figure everything out.

10. Find balance. As an owner, you have to remember that you can’t do everything and be on-site all the time, so it is important that you find the balance between work and home to make running a restaurant a long-term successful business.

At Florida Connexion Business Brokers, we have the extensive background and experience in business management needed to provide local and international clients the counsel they need to run a successful business in the highly competitive U.S. market. Multilingual in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French, our truly international team specializes in a select variety of business niches in order to offer real technical expertise. Contact us today.

[1] According to Restaurant.org