The 8-step guide to opening a successful restaurant

Do you dream of opening a restaurant? Would you like to turn your passion into a career? Excellent idea! However, opening a restaurant requires a great deal of preparation. To avoid financial, human or operational complications, you need clear objectives and an effective strategy.

In this guide, Malou takes you through the 8 steps to a successful opening.

1. Define the identity and objectives of your future restaurant before opening

In France, 1 in 2 restaurants closes before its 3rd year of operation. So opening a restaurant isn't something you can improvise! Starting with the heart of the matter: having a solid concept.

A restaurant can take many forms: fast food, table service, fast good, street food, brasserie, wine bar, brunch, bistronomic, gastronomic... The first step is to define the identity and values of your restaurant, to know what kind of experience you want to offer, how long you want customers to stay at table, what commitments you want to convey.

And above all, keep in mind the objective of your establishment: to offer a unique experience, to be able to roll out the concept easily, to make a large number of covers, to pass on a passion... 

It's also an opportunity to get into the details of your business (delivery, number of services, opening hours, etc.).

These defined elements will enable you to target your clientele: wine lovers, lovers of surprising cuisine, families, workers, students... Then align your Food and Beverage offer with your restaurant's identity. And finally, think about the right atmosphere.

If you still have doubts about the design of your restaurant, there are various incubators that can accompany and coach you to get there, such as La Frégate in Paris or La Commune in Lyon.

2. Create a business plan 

Once you've defined your restaurant's identity and objectives, it's time to move on to the financial and accounting aspects. The easiest way to do this is to create a business plan.

A business plan is a classic entrepreneurial document detailing a company's project. 

In particular, it enables :

• Formulate your concept;
• Estimate the project's profitability and maximize your restaurant's sales;
• Establish a long-term strategy and guideline (your break-even point, for example);
• Present a solid project to a bank, especially if you need credit;
• Convince potential investors and obtain financing.

The business plan is essential for framing and detailing your project, monitoring your profitability and making sure you don't overlook any strategic areas before opening your restaurant. You can describe the competition and your location, and simulate your margins and ratios in relation to your project and your capacity (the figures are not the same for the sales of a restaurant with 10, 50 or 100 covers!)

But where do you start with your business plan? How do you structure it properly? Don't forget anything? In this article, Zenchef gives you the essentials to include in your business plan, namely a number of figures on your business predictions.

3. Choose your location strategically

By definition, location is the key to opening a restaurant. Your premises must meet the needs of your concept and the desired atmosphere. You must be able to meet the needs of your target clientele. A restaurant aiming to maximize lunchtime business is more likely to succeed if it's close to corporate offices, for example. 

There are different strategies for choosing a location. 

→ Strategy a: Choose a premises with a very good location, on a busy street in the heart of a popular district, but with the disadvantage of the high cost of rent. Here, we choose a high-traffic area

→ Strategy b: Choose a location on a less busy but much less expensive street, with the aim of maximizing its online visibility on Google and Instagram in order to attract customers who don't know you yet, or even, attract tourists (become a destination location).

Once you've identified the neighborhoods or locations that meet your criteria, talk to neighboring merchants to get real information about customers and local business.

4. Invest in a genuine brand identity before the restaurant opens

If your brand identity remains anchored in people's memories, you've won everything! Because they'll talk about it, come back, follow you online... But what do we mean by brand identity? It's about branding, all the visual elements that define you and your restaurant, starting with the logo, then the colors, the typography... Visual elements that must be found not only in the restaurant but also in your online communication, through your Instagram page. You need to embody your restaurant's image wherever you exist, so that it persists.

To anchor your visual identity even before your restaurant opens, cover the facade of your premises with customized posters.

Take your branding as far as the plates, glasses, uniforms...

5. Work with experts in their field

Your passion? The restaurant business. You're probably not an expert in accounting, real estate or construction. You need help to get off to a solid start! Choose the craftsmen who will be able to implement your project, a lawyer to make sure everything is up to code, an accountant to advise you on your costs so you can quickly become profitable.

Once the machine is up and running, what can you do to ensure a full house on opening day? 

6. Communicate before the restaurant opens

If you want to fill your restaurant as soon as it opens, you need to communicate about it in advance. You'll not only save time in filling your dining room, but also in attracting new staff.

Take advantage of our 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 to be found here!

→ Immerse Internet users in the world of the restaurant 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

→ Organize a 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 work to start your digital marketing strategy. 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!

7. Appear 1st on your keywords as soon as the restaurant opens

This step is possible once your concept is well established. The idea here is toappear at the top of search results for your keywords: the terms that define your restaurant and its location. When a customer searches for "pizzeria paris 6" on Google, different results appear. Your goal: to appear at #1 on the searches that match you, and make yourself known to a large number of customers. To do this, you need to work on your local SEO, showing the Google algorithm that you're the best answer to the user's search. It may take a few weeks to see real results, and therefore good positioning in searches. So start working on it before you open! You'll save time and attract many customers in the very first days.

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

8. Ready for adventure

If you want to welcome customers to your restaurant from the moment you open and for years to come, you need to do everything you can right from the start. Because first impressions are everything.

You can also open with a "soft opening": a reduced menu and a limited number of covers to acclimatize the staff, but also adapt the recipes or fine-tune the internal organization. And don't forget toorganize an inauguration party during which you can invite the press, influencers, shopkeepers and neighbors to make your restaurant's opening viral. And last but not least, be ready to take reservations ! To do this, you need to equip yourself with the best reservation systems, connected to your website