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RESTORAN AÇMAK İÇİN NEREDEN BAŞLAMALIYIM? RESTORAN AÇMAK İÇİN NEREDEN BAŞLAMALIYIM?
24 May

WHERE SHOULD I START TO OPEN A RESTAURANT?

"Where should I start to open a restaurant? The first step is to define the restaurant concept, analyze the location, prepare a feasibility study, create the food menu, plan the kitchen setup, select the right equipment, establish cost control and organize staff training. Chef Ahmet Özdemir provides restaurant setup, kitchen setup, food menu consultancy, cost control and opening management services in Türkiye and different countries of the world."

RESTORAN AÇMAK İÇİN NEREDEN BAŞLAMALIYIM?

WHERE SHOULD I START TO OPEN A RESTAURANT?
Where should I start to open a restaurant? This is one of the most common questions asked by investors who say “I want to open a restaurant.” If this question is asked correctly, many major mistakes can be prevented at the very beginning of the investment. Opening a restaurant is not only finding a nice place, building a kitchen, buying tables and chairs and opening the door. Opening a restaurant is a serious investment that must be planned from the idea stage to a working system.
 
If you say “I want to open a steak restaurant,” “I want to open a seafood restaurant,” “I want to open a Turkish cuisine restaurant,” “I want to open a coffee shop,” “I want to open a high-class restaurant,” “I want to open a quick service restaurant,” “I want to open a restaurant with a dealership system,” or “I want to open a restaurant abroad,” you must first know the right order.
 
If a restaurant investment starts in the wrong order, the budget grows unnecessarily, the kitchen is built incorrectly, the food menu tires the business, equipment is selected incorrectly, the staff structure does not settle, cost control remains weak and the business comes under unnecessary pressure after opening. A restaurant started in the right order is built stronger, opens with more control and responds better to guest expectations.
 
Under the consultancy of Chef Ahmet Özdemir, restaurant opening is handled from the idea stage to location selection, from feasibility study to food menu, from kitchen setup to equipment selection, from staff training to opening management. This consultancy is provided in Türkiye and in different countries of the world for different restaurant concepts.
 
FIRST STEP: CLARIFY WHAT TYPE OF RESTAURANT YOU WANT TO OPEN
An investor who wants to open a restaurant must first clarify what kind of restaurant will be opened. Saying “I will open a nice restaurant” is not enough. Which cuisine concept will be served? Who is the target guest? What will the food menu be like? Will the restaurant be high-class, quick service, family restaurant, coffee shop, steak restaurant, seafood restaurant or Turkish cuisine restaurant?
 
Before the restaurant type is clear, the cost calculation cannot be made correctly. Kitchen setup cannot be planned correctly. Equipment selection cannot be made properly. Staff number cannot be determined. Product supply cannot be calculated. Therefore, the first step is to determine the identity of the restaurant.
 
At this stage, the following questions must be answered:
 
What type of restaurant will be opened?
Which guest profile will be targeted?
Will the restaurant operate during the day, in the evening or all day?
What will the service style be?
Will the food menu be wide or made of selected products?
What is the target average spending per guest?
How will the brand language of the restaurant be established?
What is the investment budget level?
 
The investment should not move forward before these questions are clear.
 
LOCATION SELECTION MUST BE DONE CORRECTLY
Location selection is one of the most important decisions that determines the future of a restaurant investment. A restaurant opened in the wrong location may struggle even if it offers good food. Very high rent, the wrong surroundings, weak pedestrian flow, parking problems, distance from the target guest or lack of visibility can make investment return difficult.
 
When choosing a restaurant location, the question is not only “Is it crowded?” The quality of the crowd matters. Is the guest profile you target present in that area? Will your restaurant type find a response there? Is the rent reasonable according to the expected revenue? What are nearby competitors doing? Is lunch stronger in that area, dinner stronger, or weekends stronger?
 
The following topics must be examined in location selection:
 
Pedestrian and vehicle traffic
Target guest profile
Rent and expense ratio
Parking possibility
Visibility
Competitor businesses
Nearby offices and residential structure
Service hour potential
Takeaway service possibility
Kitchen infrastructure
Chimney and ventilation condition
 
The right location becomes stronger when combined with the right restaurant concept. The wrong location can weaken even the best food menu.
 
A FEASIBILITY STUDY SHOULD BE DONE BEFORE OPENING A RESTAURANT
One of the most skipped steps by investors who say “I want to open a restaurant” is feasibility study. However, before opening a restaurant, the investment must be evaluated realistically. This study is not only an estimated expense list; it is the reading of the investment together with revenue, expenses, rent, staff, product, kitchen, food menu and return period.
 
In feasibility study, answers are sought to the following questions:
 
What is the total investment budget?
Is the rent sustainable according to revenue?
How many guests are targeted daily?
What will be the average spending per guest?
At what level will product cost be kept?
Is staff cost balanced according to total revenue?
How many months of working capital will be reserved after opening?
How long will it take for the investment to return?
 
Opening a restaurant without these calculations is like making an investment with closed eyes. Correct consultancy protects the investor from unnecessary spending and wrong decisions at this point.
 
THE FOOD MENU IS THE BACKBONE OF THE RESTAURANT
When opening a restaurant, the food menu is not only a list of products to be served. The food menu is the main system that determines the kitchen, equipment, staff number, product supply, cost calculation, service speed and guest perception.
 
A restaurant kitchen cannot be built before the food menu is clear. Equipment selection cannot be made before the food menu is finalized. Because which cooking equipment will be used in the kitchen, how many preparation areas will be needed, cold room requirement, storage order, service pass and staff number are determined according to the food menu.
 
When preparing the food menu, the following topics must be examined:
 
Number of products
Preparation time
Cooking method
Portion weight
Product cost
Waste risk
Supply convenience
Service speed
Presentation standard
Profitability rate
Guest expectation
 
A very crowded food menu is not always a strong menu. A strong food menu is producible, sellable, controllable in cost, understandable by the guest and suitable for the identity of the restaurant.
 
KITCHEN SETUP MUST BE PLANNED ACCORDING TO THE FOOD MENU
The restaurant kitchen is the unseen but most critical area of the investment. No matter how stylish the dining room is, if the kitchen is not built correctly, service slows down, staff get tired, product quality falls, waste increases and guest satisfaction is damaged.
 
When setting up a restaurant kitchen, the following areas must be planned together:
 
Goods receiving area
Dry storage
Cold storage
Freezer area
Preparation sections
Hot kitchen
Cold kitchen
Dessert section
Dishwashing area
Service pass point
Takeaway service area
Waste management
Hygiene flow
 
A steak restaurant kitchen and a seafood restaurant kitchen are not the same. A coffee shop kitchen and a high-class restaurant kitchen are not the same. A Turkish cuisine restaurant and a quick service restaurant do not need the same production order. For this reason, kitchen setup must be planned specifically for each business.
 
EQUIPMENT SELECTION SHOULD NOT BE RANDOM
One of the most expensive mistakes when opening a restaurant is wrong equipment selection. Every unnecessary piece of equipment is a dead investment. Every missing piece of equipment creates a crisis during service.
 
Equipment selection must be made according to:
 
Food menu
Daily guest target
Peak hour load
Cooking methods
Preparation need
Cold storage capacity
Energy and water infrastructure
Ventilation condition
Staff usage
Service pass speed
 
Under the consultancy of Chef Ahmet Özdemir, equipment selection is not prepared only as a device list. What will actually work during real service, what will remain unnecessary and which equipment will provide speed and profit to the business are evaluated with field experience.
 
COST CONTROL MUST BE ESTABLISHED FROM THE BEGINNING
Trying to establish cost control after the restaurant opens is a late step. The cost system must be established before opening. Recipes, portion weights, product costs, purchasing order, stock tracking, waste calculation and sales prices must be determined in advance.
 
In restaurants, profit is not created only by sales. Profit is protected by correct purchasing, correct portioning, correct recipes, correct stock, correct staff planning and correct waste control.
 
The following topics must be established in cost control:
 
Product cost
Recipe cost
Portion cost
Waste rate
Stock turnover speed
Purchase prices
Staff cost
Energy cost
Rent ratio
General expense percentages
Food menu profitability
Sales performance
 
Not every restaurant with high sales makes money. Profit is protected only with correct cost control.
 
STAFF STRUCTURE AND TRAINING MUST BE PLANNED
The success of a restaurant should not depend only on the chef, the owner or a few strong employees. A restaurant must work with a system. Kitchen, dining room, cash register, storage, purchasing, cleaning, reservation and management must move within the same order.
 
Before opening, the following systems must be established:
 
Job descriptions
Shift plan
Kitchen production plan
Service flow
Guest welcoming standard
Hygiene control lists
Purchasing method
Stock tracking system
Complaint management
Daily reporting
 
Staff training is not only a few meetings before opening. Training is a continuous discipline that protects the restaurant standard. Staff must know what they sell, how they present it, how they address the guest and how they represent the business identity.
 
THE OPENING PREPARATION PROCESS MUST BE MANAGED PROFESSIONALLY
Restaurant opening is not only the day the door opens. Before opening, food menu trials, recipe trials, equipment checks, staff training, service rehearsals, supplier trials, hygiene checks and trial services must be carried out.
 
In the opening preparation process, the following work must be done:
 
Food menu trials
Recipe studies
Equipment trials
Staff training
Service rehearsals
Supplier controls
Cost controls
Hygiene checks
Trial invitations
Opening day management
 
A well-managed opening strengthens the restaurant’s first perception. A poorly managed opening can damage guest trust from the first day.
 
FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO OPEN A RESTAURANT ABROAD
For investors who say “I want to open a restaurant abroad,” the process must be planned more carefully. Every country has different guest habits, product supply, staff structure, rent level, legal order, price perception and competition structure.
 
When opening a restaurant abroad, the following topics must be examined separately:
 
Target country and city
Local guest habits
Product supply
Access to kitchen equipment
Staff recruitment and training
Adapting the food menu to the local market
Pricing
Opening preparation
Business flow system
 
Chef Ahmet Özdemir provides consultancy in restaurant setup, kitchen setup, food menu consultancy, cost control, staff training and opening management in different countries of the world within the available cuisine concepts.
 
WHICH RESTAURANT TYPES ARE INCLUDED IN CONSULTANCY?
Investors who ask “Where should I start to open a restaurant?” come with different goals. Some want to open a steak restaurant. Some want to build a seafood restaurant. Some want to carry Turkish cuisine to the world. Some plan to open a coffee shop, quick service restaurant, high-class restaurant or hotel restaurant.
 
Main consultancy areas include:
 
Steak restaurant setup
Seafood restaurant setup
Turkish cuisine restaurant setup
Ottoman palace cuisine concept
Anatolian cuisine concept
Mediterranean cuisine concept
Lebanese cuisine concept
Coffee shop setup
Quick service restaurant setup
High-class restaurant setup
Hotel restaurant setup
Restaurant setup with dealership system
Restaurant setup abroad
 
Every restaurant type requires a separate plan. Ready-made patterns do not give the right result for every investment.
 
CONCLUSION
If you ask “Where should I start to open a restaurant?”, you should begin by asking the right questions. What type of restaurant will be opened? Who is the target guest? Is the location correct? Is the investment budget sufficient? Will the food menu carry the business? Will the kitchen be built correctly? Will equipment be selected without unnecessary spending? Will staff structure and cost control be established before opening?
 
Opening a restaurant is a serious investment. Managing this investment correctly requires experience, planning, field knowledge and professional consultancy.
 
Under the consultancy of Chef Ahmet Özdemir, restaurant opening is handled from idea to opening with all its details. With this consultancy service provided in Türkiye and different countries of the world for different restaurant concepts, the aim is not only to open a restaurant, but to establish a restaurant system that works, earns, can be controlled and creates guest satisfaction.
 
Chef Ahmet ÖZDEMİR
International Restaurant Consultant
International Kitchen Consultant
International Hotel Kitchen Consultant
** All rights reserved ©. This article may not be copied, reproduced or published on another website without the written permission of Chef Ahmet ÖZDEMİR. It may be used in academic studies with proper citation.

 

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