How to open a restaurant: the complete guide (20 steps)

Do you dream of opening a restaurant? We can't teach you anything: opening a restaurant is a complicated operation.

In the land of gastronomy, 1 in 2 establishments never make it past the 6-month opening mark. The reasons: a tense sector, high costs, thin margins... A good concept is sometimes not enough to succeed. So how do you go about opening a successful business? What are the essential steps? What do you need to know? 

Let's take it one step at a time!

Share your experience

Nothing beats advice from the field. With over 175,000 restaurants in France (including 10% in Paris), there are as many opening stories as there are establishments. The right thing to do: find out beforehand!

💡Nothing beats sharing experience! Learn from those who've been there to repeat their successes and avoid their mistakes.

Feel free to do your own research:

• Find out more online, read press articles or specialist media such as Malou or Néo Restauration ;
• Listen to podcasts from restaurateurs like À Poêle and watch webinars or testimonials on Tik Tok or Youtube ;
• Ask to talk to restaurant contacts around you;
• Join restaurant communities like Toqués de Restaurations;
• Join mentor or incubator networks such as Initiative and Réseau Entreprendre.

If you're looking for support in designing your restaurant, there are a number of incubators to help you, such as La Frégate in Paris or La Commune in Lyon.

🤓 Go and read our testimonial article "8 things you (absolutely) need to know before opening a restaurant..."

Obtain compulsory licenses and diplomas

It's a common question: do you need a diploma to open a restaurant? What training or permits are required?

💡The answer is no! In France, it's not compulsory to have a diploma to open your own establishment.

👉 On the other hand, 4 training courses are compulsory to obtain certain permits:

• Business licence (sale of alcohol) ;
• Hygiene training (HACCP);
• Permit to sell alcohol at night (PVBAN);
• The Document Unique d'Evaluation des Risques Professionnels (DUERP).
  

It makes sense: you have to offer impeccable hygiene and comply with the law on the sale of alcohol.

💡If you don't need a degree, keep in mind that becoming a restaurateur is a passionate profession. Very often, you have to be a manager, accountant, chef, marketing manager, HR manager, plumber... all at the same time.

Fortunately, in the land of gastronomy, there are thousands of short and long courses to help you!

Catering training

If you'd like to take advantage oftraining to practice, that's also possible!

The most common are :

• Long-term training courses, starting at secondary school (CAP Cuisine, BTS Hôtellerie-Restauration, Bac Pro Cuisine, BP);
• Classic training courses(Institut Paul Bocuse, École Ferrandi, École Ducasse)
• Short training courses(BPI France,ANC, chambers of commerce and industry)

Defining your concept

In the restaurant business, everything starts with an idea ora culinary concept.

There are hundreds of different types of establishments, from dark kitchens to food trucks, brunches, brasseries and even franchises!

Take an interest in the food trends that appeal to the French. For inspiration, we recommend 50 innovative (and profitable) restaurant concepts for 2025.

👉 The 2 most important things to keep in mind:

• Propose a solid concept and stick to it. Offering too many products and services, or having extended menus, is neither profitable nor sustainable. You can evolve your concept as you understand your customers' needs and desires, but stay on a clear course.

Our advice: write down your "raison d'être". This is a clear, simple phrase that defines your identity. For example "Germinal is a bistronomic brasserie, both traditional and modern, focused on seasonal produce."

• Propose a differentiating concept. Mind you, this doesn't mean "unique", but rather "that makes a difference". If your neighborhood is full of Italian restaurants, is it really a good idea to create a new one? Or, if you decide to do it, what will you bring that's different?

Our advice: write down your "extra soul". How are you different? What do you bring to the table? What are your values, your philosophy? It could be an atmosphere, know-how, products, experience...

Identify your customers

For your offer to work, it has to meet a demand!

Who will your customers be? Their ages, genders, habits, desires, values...

Obviously, your most common clientele will be those in your neighborhood. We'll talk more about this in the "location" section 👇

Define your "personas". This is a marketing technique: portraits in the form of cards that embody your "typical customers". For each persona, explain why your concept might appeal to them and what they prefer about you.

All these details will appear in the first part of your business plan. We'll tell you more in the next step👇

Creating a business plan 

Once your restaurant's identity and objectives have been defined, it's time to move on to the financial and accounting aspects.

All these essential elements need to be written down in a business plan.

A classic entrepreneurial document, it details a company's project and sets out a financial plan.

🤓 Everything you need to know is in our dedicated article"how to create a business plan for my restaurant".

According to a Harvard study, creating a business plan before you launch your business increases your chances of success by 16%!

👉 A business plan allows :

• Formulate your concept;
• Create a financial plan with all important margins and ratios (e.g. food cost);
• Estimate the project's profitability and your restaurant's sales;
• Establish a long-term strategy and guideline (your break-even point, for example);
• Represent your project to a bank if you need credit;
• Convince potential investors and obtain financing.

You can also report on the competition, your location, simulate your margins and ratios according to your project and your capacities (the figures are not the same for the sales of a restaurant with 10, 50 or 100 covers!).

Finding a business

Location is the most important element of your restaurant. It will have a decisive impact on your sales, but also on your concept.

To find a business, you can go through :

• Specialized agencies ;
• Independent advisors;
• Sites like Le Bon Coin ;
• The premises exchange (via the Chambre de Métiers et de l'Artisanat de Paris, for example);
• Surrounding shopkeepers.

In the restaurant business, there's a lot of leeway when it comes to price ! You can lower it by up to 30%, depending on the owner or vendor.

👉 On the location side, you can :

• Choose a high-traffic location. An excellent location, on a busy street in the heart of a popular district, but with the disadvantage of high rental costs;
• Choose a destination. A location on a less busy street, but far less expensive. This strategy works very well in France, especially since the advent of digital technology. You can maximize your online visibility with local local referencing.

In all cases, it's essential to study your location.

Study your location

To work, you need to meet the needs of your target clientele and bring something different to the area.

For example: a restaurant aiming to maximize lunchtime activity is more likely to do so if it's close to corporate offices. 

👉 Be sure to study :

• Your customer potential. Who lives within 5km of your restaurant? Who would be interested in your concept?
• Your competition. What are the restaurants around you? Are you going to repeat an existing offer or propose something new? What could be missing in this neighborhood?
• Terroir. Are you located near a wine route? A tourist spot? What products flourish around you? How can you incorporate them into your concept?
• In the field. Talk to local shopkeepers, buy from them, do them favors, talk to neighboring residents, local players (associations, town hall).

Successful restaurateurs often have great people skills and a talent for making themselves known and expanding their network.

Define a budget

How much does it really cost to open a restaurant?

Of course, it all depends on your location and your concept. Opening a brunch in Paris or a brasserie in Lyon are two different operations!

💡In France, the average budget to open a restaurant is €150-400,000.

🤓 Good news: all the answers on the various costs are in our article what budget to open a restaurant?

👉 Opening costs to be anticipated :

• First rent, commercial lease and goodwill;
• Renovation work ;
• All technical equipment (approximately 15% of your budget);
• Payroll (your biggest expense);
• Food cost ;
• Digital marketing (to become profitable faster);
• Charges (insurance, electricity)
• Compulsory licenses and permits.

Pro tip: plan large and open up your project to investors!

Financing your project

Now that you know your budget, you have several options for financing it:

• Bank loans. There are specific schemes for restaurateurs for zero-interest loans;‍
• Public subsidies (regional, for example) and allowances;‍
• Investors or "business angels";‍
• Participatory financing and fund-raising.

If you want to be financed, you need to be serious and legitimate. That's where a good business plan comes in!

It's also very important to have a good head on your shoulders and understand the realities of the business to convince an investor.

Don't hesitate to contact up to ten banks and compare their proposals. For a restaurant, it's often necessary to have a down payment. Finally, you should know that a first experience in catering (even extras or catering services) is very well regarded by a banking establishment.

Choosing a legal status

When you set up your own business, you choose the tax and social security system best suited to your project.

This is known as legal status.

In France, the majority of restaurants choose:‍

• ‍Thesole proprietorship (EI or EIRL) which includes the micro-enterprise, ideal for independent restaurateurs because simplified. Note: it is limited to a certain sales threshold;

• Limited liability company (SARL): more common for restaurateurs with several partners who wish to organize their liability according to their contributions.
• Simplified joint-stock companies (SAS and SASU): very similar to the SARL above, but much more flexible in its operation, they concern less than 10% of restaurateurs in France.

🤓 To find out more, read our article on how to choosing the legal status of your restaurant.

Requesting authorization for your terrace

Would you like to install an exterior ?

It's a great idea to increase your number of covers and welcome more customers.

Whether closed during the winter or open during the summer, a summer terrace can also generate additional income.

💡Don'tforget to mention the existence of your terrace in the attributes of your Google business listing.

👉 For all your legal requirements and scope for action, go directly to our guide to authorizing a restaurant terrace.

Recruiting a crack team

Recruitment is not an easy subject in the restaurant business. 

Good people are hard to find, turnover is high, and the job is difficult (hours, technicality, hardship, etc.).

But service quality is just as important as your concept and cuisine.

🤓 Fortunately, Malou offers you all her advice in the guide to recruiting restaurant staff

👉 The right reflexes :

• Create an employer brand (tone, values, benefits, career opportunities) ;
• Offer unbeatable benefits;
• Choose HR software like Combo to facilitate processes.

👉 Finally, if you don't know where to find the pearl, visit platforms such as :

• Cookorico
• Extracadabra
• Brigad
• HospoJobs
• Restoteam
• Le Chef Recrute
• Emploi Resto.

💡Be carefulnot to "over-staff" (employ too many people), or conversely, to "under-staff". These phenomena frequently occur when you open a restaurant and are not yet familiar with the pace of business. Initially, you'll want to "test your hours" to understand the flow of customers. In this case, you'll want to opt for flexible contracts: extra, fixed-term or even freelance.

Intelligent delegation

Your passion? The restaurant business. You're probably not an expert in accounting, real estate or construction.

Because opening a restaurant requires a multi-faceted approach, it's best to get help from people with experience!

On tasks you don't master, for example:

• The right craftsmen to carry out your project;
• A legal expert to make sure everything is up to standard;
• An accountant (and accounting software) to guide you through your costs and help you become profitable quickly.
• An expert in digital marketing to attract a maximum number of customers from the moment you open and quickly become profitable.

But also, on the tasks you've mastered.

You need to be able to delegate tasks that don't add much value , and concentrate on the essentials. Part of the service, early morning shopping, etc.

‍

Creating a brand identity

Brand identity refers to all the elements that flow from your concept.

Visual and graphic elements such as your logo, colors, typeface...

These visual elements must be present not only in your restaurant, but also in your online communication.

To anchor your visual identity even before your restaurant opens, you can follow Julien Sebbag's example and cover the front of your premises with customized posters.

Or, like Amagat, you can extend your brand image to include cutlery, posters, uniforms, goodies...

Create a Google business listing

Today, 8 out of 10 people choose a restaurant on the Internet.

The first place your potential customers will find you (and choose you!) is Google (and other search engines).

In general, this first point of contact is your company profile.

💡 A free Google tool, the establishment sheet summarizes all your key information: name, address, location (Google Maps), and above all, average rating and review!

That's why your Google My Business listing (Google Business Profile) is so important: it embodies your e-reputation.

🤓 To create it correctly from A to Z, go to our complete guide on Google My Business listing (Google Business Profile)

Communicating before the restaurant opens

If you want to fill your restaurant as soon as it opens, you need to communicate about it in advance.  

🤓 Take advantage of our complete guide:16 essential tips for successful digital communication !

Start with:‍

• ‍Create your Instagram page well before the restaurant opens. Get inspired by the best restaurant Instagram accounts;
• ‍PlungeInternet users into the restaurant's world with the publication of content on the storytelling of the concept, the history and passion behind it, the progress of the work, which can become complications

• ‍Organizea photo shoot before the restaurant opens to post about future à la carte offerings, the atmosphere and the restaurant team. You'll inspire people to come and try the restaurant before it's even open!‍
• Plan your posts ! With the restaurant opening, you won't have the time to devote to Google and social media , even though they're inevitable for attracting customers. So take advantage of the construction period to get your digital marketing strategy underway. Anticipate and plan your posts before you have to worry about other operational matters.

You can go even further by creating creative videos on your premises while they're still under construction, as our Jolia customers do!

Appear first on Google

We talked about it above: SEO allows you to be easily found on the Internet, and especially on Google Maps.

Objective: appear first on searches that match your concept.

For example "Indian restaurant Paris 8", "vegan brunch Lyon", etc.

💡If you want toget results, you need to start working on your SEO before you open! This will save you time and a lot of customers from the very first days. 

To achieve this, download our complete guide to successful your restaurant's SEO and move up the search rankings!👇

Organize a soft opening and inauguration

First impressions are often crucial!‍

• Even if you're not quite ready yet, you can open with a "soft opening": a reduced menu and a limited number of covers to acclimatize the staff, but also to adapt recipes or fine-tune internal organization;
• Then organize a grand opening party. Invite food journalists, influencers and investors, as well as shopkeepers and neighbors, to make your restaurant's opening viralFinally, get ready to receive reservations ! To do this, you need to equip yourself with the best reservation systems, connected to your website.