How to Run a Restaurant – 11+ Easy Steps
Hey there,
If you were wondering,
How to Run a Restaurant?
You are in the right place.
Owning and operating a restaurant is no walk in the park. It requires tenacity, understanding, willpower, delegation skills, organization proficiency, business savviness, and out-of-this-world interpersonal expertise.
The tasks are never ending; managing stores on hand consistently, taking care of wages correctly, dealing with apparatus maintenance requirements quickly, ensuring that every dish available is doing well financially speaking as well as tending to your staff diligently – these are only some examples of duties expected when running a successful eatery.
Running a successful restaurant requires incredible teamwork, so building the right team is essential to treating employees well and investing in their abilities.
Providing meaningful benefits is key to creating your dream crew and ensuring lasting success for your business. Success cannot be achieved alone – you need the best people at your side!
Knowledge is key when operating or owning a restaurant in 2023 and beyond.
In this article, we’ll provide everything necessary for your success with plenty of helpful resources to guide new owners through the process and teach veteran restaurateurs how to upgrade their operations to maximize profits and maintain longevity.
You will learn how to improve each component of your business model so that you may thrive.
11+ Tips to Help You Run a Successful Restaurant
Want to learn how to run a successful restaurant? Follow these 11+ tips, and you’ll be on your way to creating an inviting atmosphere and memorable dining experience for all your guests.
1 – Know your audience & create an atmosphere that appeals to them
Knowing your target audience is key when running a restaurant. Do market research to understand the kind of environment and food that appeals to them.
Then, create a space that reflects their preferences; this may involve anything from investing in the modern furniture to playing background music that they’ll appreciate.
Additionally, it’s essential to adjust your menu accordingly — learn what dishes they enjoy and make sure they can find something they like on your menu. Your wait staff should be equipped with the knowledge necessary to answer any relevant questions customers might have about the food or drinks available.
Finally, offer promotional items designed specifically for your target demographic; these may include discounts for special occasions or loyalty points for return visits.
Doing so will help ensure that your guests feel welcome and well taken care of when dining at your restaurant.
2 – Ensuring your rent and overhead payments are made on time is of utmost importance.
Paying rent is a necessary expense to maintain your restaurant. However, you must evaluate and negotiate the terms of your lease before signing or renewing.
This guide will equip you with indispensable knowledge to secure a good agreement when renting a restaurant space.
Knowing the overhead costs of running your business, such as rent, utilities, and insurance, is essential.
To ensure you are budgeting correctly for these monthly expenses, keep a close eye on semi-variable (e.g., electricity) and variable costs (such as legal fees). If you’re noticing an increase in either category, investigate why promptly.
3 – Ensure that all licenses and permits are kept up to date by local laws.
Before securing a restaurant space, you’ll need to obtain various licenses and permits from your local government.
A standard list includes a business license, certificate of occupancy, EIN (employer identification number), food service license, and liquor license; however, the requirements may vary depending on your location.
To learn more about these mandatory documents and ten additional possible permits required for opening a restaurant, check out Restaurant Superstars’ Article on a comprehensive guide to all necessary restaurant licenses and permits.
Navigating complex permits, regulations, and issues that can arise during your restaurant’s opening and beyond may necessitate seeking legal counsel.
Though it may be initially expensive, it is a cost-effective precaution to reduce potential losses in the future. If you encounter any challenges along the way, request help from an experienced professional immediately.
4 – Establish fiscal space for labor expenses so you can stay within budget.
In the modern economy, labor costs have skyrocketed, and offering competitive salaries to employees can be a significant adjustment for established business owners.
However, your staff should always remain your primary investment – ensuring they earn livable wages is now essential. For individuals establishing new restaurants, developing a solid foundation of fair pay rates must be part of their initial plans.
No matter your current financial situation, there are several ways to make space in the budget for high labor costs. Here are a few of them:
Boost the prices of your food and drinks to reward your employees. Please include a brief mention on the menu about why you’ve raised prices so that customers understand what their money is going towards.
Review your costs that are within your control and cut back on unnecessary expenditures. Things like delivery service commissions, food waste, late charges, and noise complaint fines can all be eliminated to help save money.
Introduce the New Steps of Service system to restaurants so that they can efficiently operate with fewer staff members while still providing their current employees with highly competitive salaries.
5 – Consistently Assess Food Costs for Maximum Efficiency.
As a restaurateur, always be aware of your restaurant’s food cost and associated food cost percentage.
In the current market conditions, when just about everything needed for menu items is subject to wild inflation, tracking these costs closely can help you save money by quickly identifying any areas where there may be excess expenditure or waste.
Calculating the food cost of individual menu items is an excellent way to evaluate your overall costs and their percentage. If certain ingredients become too costly, it can cause a rise in the item’s food cost percentage.
Consequently, you’ll be forced to decide between increasing the price or completely retiring it from your menu – which we call ‘menu engineering.’ It’s a great technique that helps maximize profits and minimize waste.
6 – Use paid and free tactics to promote your restaurant and get people talking
Tap into the power of restaurant marketing to drive more revenue! Many seasoned restaurateurs are taken aback by how easy and efficient it is.
Explore all your options, from email campaigns to paid ads, social media exposure, flyers, partnerships, and sponsorships – there’s a lot you can try. Utilize a restaurant marketing plan template to organize your promotional activities and review their performance regularly.
It could be that targeted social media adverts work wonders for one establishment while another finds success in emailing customers; experiment with different methods until you find what works best for you!
7 – Transform your restaurant’s interior and create a hospitable ambiance that captivates your guests
Constructing a restaurant from the ground up requires more than just picking out furniture and decor. Your overall brand should be reflected in your layout, including cuisine type, uniforms, social media presence, signage – you name it.
Some brands prefer bold colors, while others opt for elegance; whatever route you take, ensure that your design stays consistent with your identity. If budget is of concern, try upping the ambiance with affordable options such as plants and local art or simply changing the lighting fixtures.
8 – Allocate funds for professional restaurant services to ensure an optimal culinary experience
Professional services are crucial to managing a restaurant because no person can do it alone. It’s necessary to have experienced equipment repair technicians, attorneys, accountants, and other consultants in your circle to prepare you for any issues coming your way.
9 – Unlock the potential of your restaurant by investing in top-notch technology and equipment.
Streamline your business operations with one convenient platform that handles everything — from sales and advertising activities to delivery, personnel management, stock keeping, to bookkeeping. Investing in this incredible program has never been more accessible or beneficial.
10 – Keep Your Kitchen Clean and Run Efficiently
Keeping a clean and efficient kitchen is essential for running a successful restaurant. Start by organizing the space, ensuring everything has its place and is labeled clearly.
Establish a deep-cleaning routine for all surfaces and kitchen equipment and cookware. Make sure you have the necessary tools to clean up quickly.
11 – Work with Your Staff to Ensure That Safety Regulations Are Followed
Equip them with personal protective equipment like gloves, aprons, hats, etc., and encourage good hygiene practices in the kitchen.
Additionally, create an efficient workflow — assign tasks to different staff members so everyone knows their job and can work together seamlessly.
Ensure you document and practice safety protocols like proper food preparation, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, safe storage of food ingredients, etc.
Conduct regular checks of your refrigerators/freezers to ensure food is stored safely; this will also help reduce wastage in the restaurant.
Develop a good communication system between the restaurant staff so they can alert each other if something isn’t right.
Monitor your staff to ensure everyone follows health and safety codes properly. Keep your employees up-to-date on any changes in regulations or procedures related to restaurant operations.
Last but not least, train your managers and supervisors to handle emergencies that may arise during regular business hours, such as fires or medical emergencies. Ensure all staff members have been trained in basic first aid too. In case of an emergency.
12 – Make Sure Guests Feel Welcome & Well-taken Care
Creating a welcoming atmosphere for your guests is essential to running a successful restaurant. Begin by ensuring that your team is adequately trained in providing excellent customer service; they should be friendly, courteous, and professional.
Keep an eye out for customers needing more attention or assistance, like those with dietary restrictions or special requests.
Additionally, give your guests options for communicating their feedback through surveys, comments cards, or social media reviews — this will help you get an idea of what your customers think about the experience and can be used to make improvements if necessary.
Finally, remember that small gestures can mean a lot to customers; consider offering loyalty points or discounts for return visits and going the extra mile with food presentations. All these efforts will ensure that your guests feel respected and appreciated when dining at your restaurant.
How to Successfully Run a Restaurant With No Experience
When beginning a new mission, it’s impossible to ace it on the first attempt. However, one can take specific measures that ensure success even if they have no experience in the restaurant industry.
To begin with, chat with others working in this field and gain insight from them by asking questions and buying them coffee. Reach out to local restaurateurs and schedule a meeting – you’d be surprised how willing people are to offer guidance when asked nicely.
When running a successful restaurant in your local area, the most reliable source of insight is another business owner already doing just that.
They can direct you to the right people for permit applications, introduce you to dependable suppliers, and give suggestions on accountants, lawyers, or repair services they’ve had good experiences with.
Brace yourself for paperwork. Whether it’s permits, licenses, contracts, invoices, or payroll – all these documents will remain with you in the long run.
If you’re someone who isn’t adept at accounting and managing payrolls, take this opportunity to learn more about them online from an expert-led course, as a solid foundation is critical for any business’ success. Get your finances right first, and everything else will soon fall into place.
Understanding that people management is the bedrock of a restaurant business cannot be overstated. Although one may initially assume it’s all about sourcing and creating top-notch cuisine, the people make or break your success.
Plan for extended success by investing heavily in your team. This will save money and time with minimal hiring and training, providing you with many advantages.
How Longtime Restaurateurs Improve How They Run Their Restaurants
When restaurant owners have been in the business for an extended period, they usually face a profit plateau. This can be problematic as costs and industry competition is ever evolving. To ensure your restaurant stays successful, it’s essential to remain agile and explore new strategies.
You should consider numerous methods if you’re seeking to increase profits and take your business up another level: growing sales numbers. At the same time, managing expenses will bring success – investments made here pay dividends down the line.
Tips for growing restaurant sales and improving margins
- Marketing. Execute a restaurant marketing plan with numerous promotion methods (email, social media, paid advertisements, endorsements), and analyze the effect to determine your following action.
- Menu costing and menu engineering. It is essential to routinely evaluate the cost of food and frequently review menu items to guarantee they are accurately priced while selling adequately.
- Promotions. There are several ideas for restaurants to promote, such as Tuesday half-price drinks, live music brunches, and 15% off appetizers. As a result, experimentation is the key to success. Why not test each out separately for the best results with your clientele? Plus you can offer no delivery fee too – what could be better?
Strategies for optimizing costs and maximizing revenue
- Dive deep into the data. Utilizing your restaurant POS’s reporting and analytics dashboard, you can effortlessly identify which times of day would benefit from additional promotions, which dishes have seen limited success in sales, and what type of revenue is expected to be brought in during the upcoming week ahead.
- Streamline your inventory operations with smart software. Toast Inventory Management allows you to readily monitor changes in ingredient costs and transform beginning and ending stock numbers into insights for your COGS reports staying ahead of competitors.
- Save your hard-earned money by preventing food waste. Incorporate protocols to avoid throwing away edible items, and if you still find yourself discarding a specific ingredient regularly, consider removing the dish from your menu. Whether it’s fruit and vegetables or leftover meals, take measures now to protect your profits from winding up in the trash.
Keep Abreast of the Restaurant Industry’s Latest Innovations and Developments
In the restaurant business, trends come and go at lightning speed. Therefore, creating a concept that stands out in time is essential — not merely following popular whims. Doing so will ensure your eatery remains appealing to consumers for years to come instead of being forgotten with the rise of new food fads.
Stay up-to-date on the latest restaurant trends by conversing with fellow industry professionals, subscribing to newsletters like On the Line, following local restaurants on social media, and perusing websites such as Eater, NRN, and FSR Magazine. Keeping track of these more significant industry movements is immensely beneficial for any restaurateur.
Conclusion: How to Run a Restaurant
Running a restaurant is no easy feat, but you can make it work with the right tools and strategies. Building relationships with suppliers and customers, setting up an effective marketing strategy, creating systems to ensure quality service delivery, and training staff well are all crucial aspects of running a successful restaurant.
With the right approach, you can ensure that your customers will keep returning for more. You can also make your restaurant business thrive with a little bit of hard work and dedication.
Above all else, having a passion for your work will be your greatest asset to success in this industry. With dedication and hard work, nothing stops you from becoming one of the best restaurants.
Jeff Smith is a Restaurant Consultant with over 20 years of hospitality experience ranging from server to owner and general manager. He focuses on Restaurant POS technology as well as restaurant marketing. Make sure to check out our world famous restaurant resources page for a comprehensive offering of hand picked resources and tools to help your business. You can also check out some of our other restaurant business articles.
