[Restaurant Community]

What are some of the things that your forgot, or thought of too late before opening your first restaurant?

[KNG]

I am sure there are a lot of restaurants out there with some great stories. I will be checking this thread often to read them all. From a supplier standpoint we have many customers that are opening their restaurants in a few days and their menu inserts just arrived. This is when they realized that they need menu covers to stick the inserts in. We are always happy to help out and get the menus to the customer as quickly as possible, but the air freight costs are very high for the customers.

[lunaysol]

Get you pricing right! Make sure you are making money on every sale. If you dont know how much its costing you to make something then you wont know how to price it. You are just guessing at this point. Guessing is bad. Guessing will make you lose money and close your doors. Did I mention guessing is bad. Oh yes. On a personal note dont let your Chef tell you how to price something. Its death!

Setup a system of portion controls in kicthen and train, train, train. Chefs want to add more to a dish, make things tatste better different bla blah blah you are there to make money. The food has to be good but you need to control your kitchen!

Thats a good start right there. You can forget about menu covers. Get these things right before you open your doors apologize for not having menu covers.

[jef nicks]

I think this is an extremely intelligent question. After we opened, it was probably 3 years before I even had time to ask it of myself. For me, the answer is easy: What I did not adequately consider was the size of the job of keeping the restaurant clean, from the exterior and parking lot to the windows, carpets, bathrooms, back room, and, of course, the kitchen. Before you start, give this area some realistic consideration. (Virtually) no one you hire will do it as well or as reliably as you would, while the labor, equipment, and supplies costs are substantial. Additionally, you cannot compromise without potentially alienating your most particular customers.

[ChefBeorn@909.236.COOK]

Menu covers may rank higher on the priority list if you've bought into a corporate franchise but for an indie, the added expense may have to wait awhile (unless you're running a fine dining establishment) I agree with Lunaysol about watching your costs. I've had to learn the hard way....
In my opinion, you need to use portion control and cost out your menu (If a large one topping pizza costs you $3.13 in labor, utilities, and ingredients you stand to make a descent profit if your selling 10-15 pizzas an hour at $9.25 plus tax. Add fountain drinks, and a salad and you're on your way. Even if you don't do pizza, you've got to push the sides and the drinks. Train your staff to give unforgettable service and to be great salespeople. (I train my people to picture their customers wearing a sign that says, "Make me feel important, and I'll give you my money.")

Also, make sure your food is great, if you have a chef, hopefully he's invested or at least committed to seeing you succeed. If he wants to do monster portions, tell him to try spending his own money on the food and watch him change his tune. If he wants to make the food better, great! Make sure the flavor is there and watch the food costs for example; you can make a great chowder using heavy cream and leeks but you can still make a wonderful chowder using milk and brown onions if you make a good roux, reduce to concentrate the flavors etc.,etc. Yes you are here to make money but if your food stinks so will you because every dish that comes out of your kitchen has your name on it. If you have a chef who is passionate and skilled...take him under your wing and teach him the realities of business and both of you need to be "sold out" on the business and you will have more positive results!

Originally Posted by lunaysol

Get you pricing right! Make sure you are making money on every sale. If you dont know how much its costing you to make something then you wont know how to price it. You are just guessing at this point. Guessing is bad. Guessing will make you lose money and close your doors. Did I mention guessing is bad. Oh yes. On a personal note dont let your Chef tell you how to price something. Its death!

Setup a system of portion controls in kicthen and train, train, train. Chefs want to add more to a dish, make things tatste better different bla blah blah you are there to make money. The food has to be good but you need to control your kitchen!

Thats a good start right there. You can forget about menu covers. Get these things right before you open your doors apologize for not having menu covers.