The Food and Beverage Magazine Guide to Restaurant Success

2Taking Those First Steps

You have searched your soul, talked to your family and friends, and read and reread the previous chapter, and you are ready to take that first step into owning a restaurant.

Congratulations—how are you feeling?

You should be feeling excited, anxious to get started, and thrilled that you are following your dream. If not, reread Chapter 1.

If you just can't wait to get started (and have even skimmed through the whole book), you will read this word frequently throughout the chapter: research.

Before you commit to a cuisine, location, and scheduled opening date, you will research, research, and research. Are you prepared? Are you ready to study? Are you willing to make decisions? Let's open your restaurant.

Buy a package of yellow pads or notebooks to write notes. Yes, you can work digitally, but written notes will be needed as well.

Cuisine: What Do You Want to Feed Your Customers?

You probably have an idea of what you want to feature in your restaurant.

Remember the fantastic recipe that all your friends said is terrific, which is why you're going into the restaurant business.

When I owned and operated my hamburger places, my chili ingredients included cola and cinnamon. People would come for the little mini burgers, but they would lose their minds over the chili because they had never tasted a flavor like that. It was a standout. I added the marketing line that it was a 239-bean chili because if one more bean were added, it would be too farty. Between ...