Opening a Restaurant
Content
Opening a Restaurant (Phase I):
1) Establish a food service business plan. Envision your future business with bold
ideas and rethink each one carefully. Listed below are some sample questions you
may want to ask yourself:
1. What kind of food do I want to serve?
2. What major cooking equipments do I need? Do I need a char broiler? A
convection oven?
3. How many people do I want to serve? Do I want to seat 50 or more? Do I just
want to serve to-gos? Do I want to deliver?
4. How do I want the place to function? Do I want a full service bar? A
decorative bar? Open kitchen? Eating counter? Any VIP room?
5. Do I want to serve breakfast, lunch and or dinner? Do I want to close the
place up in the afternoon?
6. How many employees do I need?
7. What kind of clientele am I after?
8. What’s an average priced meal per customer?
9. How fast do I want to serve the food? How long do I want each customer to
stay?
10.Do I want to incorporate any other means of entertainment? Live music
band? Plasma T.Vs?
11.Do I need speakers? Do I need an office?
12.Do I want to put any emphasis on history, culture, type of food, special
service or any new concepts?
2) Conduct research on your location and analyze whether it’s adequate for your
proposed use. Please click the article below for the checklist you may find handy for
selecting the right site.
- See more at: http://www.projectsatoz.com/info-library/restaurant-project-plan-infolibrary/opening-a-restaurant-phase-i-project-planning.html#sthash.00xes9Eg.dpuf
How to look for an ideal location
Empty Shells:
1. Is it a multi-storied building? Is there already a chimney for your exhaust
system? It can cost up to $30,000 or more to build the duct work for the
exhaust hood all the way up to the ceiling if the building is more than one
story high. In other cases, it’s even impossible to build the duct straight up
because of the obstacles in the upper levels. Most landlords are willing to
cover this expense as it will become part of the permanent structure of his
building.
2. Is there an existing gas line available? If it’s an existing office or some
other retail space, there may not be a gas line available. It will cost more than
$10,000 to hook up a gas line from PG& E’s main line to any new location. It
involves engineering design, trench, piping and back filling works. If the gas
line is not available, negotiate with the landlord to see if they can cover the
expense for you as part of the tenant improvement.
3. How far is the electrical room to your location? When converting an empty
space to a restaurant, new panels will have to be put in for your heavy duty
commercial equipments. The further away the electrical room is from your
space, the more it will cost to run the electricity to your space.
4. Are there existing fire sprinklers? New buildings are required to be
equipped with a central fire sprinkler system. However, the existence of fire
sprinklers does not always save you money. You may have to modify and
relocate the sprinkler heads to accommodate your new layout and obtain a
separate permit to get this job done. Be sure to discuss with your landlord
about who will take care of the cost of the sprinkler works before you sign the
lease. In most cases, restaurants with occupancy level of 50 and lower may
not be required to have fire sprinklers if they are not currently presented in
the existing building. It would be a good idea to check with the local fire
marshal before signing the lease. If no sprinklers are required, it will be a winwin for both you and your landlord.
5. Garbage area: Is there a designate spot for garbage disposal? Is it up to
code? Is it a communal garbage area shared by all tenants? If it is, then your
landlord is responsible to ensure that this area is up to the most current
health and safety codes. Here are the requirements:
1. All trash needs to be kept in leak-proof and rodent-proof containers.
2. Containers will have to be stored in weather proof receptacles. The
trash enclosure area shall be built of solid masonry walls with solid
gates that meet the access, size, and location standards provided by
the refuse collection service. Such enclosures shall be constructed of
decorative, durable materials and generally require a Building Permit
and Planning Division approval. Example of standard enclosure is
provided below.
3. Hot and cold water faucets are required within reachable distance for
the purpose of cleaning the trash enclosure area. A drain that connects
to the main sewage is also required.
6. What is the ceiling height in the area where you plan to locate your
kitchen? The minimum ceiling height required for a regular hood is 8’-0”.
There are some special ones that can be custom made to fit under a 7’-6”
ceiling. However, to obtain optimum comfort for your staff, a 10’-0” high
finished ceiling is recommended.
7. What’s the existing ceiling system? T bar or dry-wall? It’s almost always
easier to modify a T-bar ceiling than a dry wall ceiling.
Existing restaurant:
1. Is the hood UL listed and NSF approved? Is it made of stainless steel? Is it
being properly maintained and cleaned? Does it work?
2. Are there enough sinks? The health department requires at minimum of (1)
three compartment sink with drain boards, (1) hand sink, (1) Preparation sink
with at least (1) drain board and (1) mop sink depending upon the type of
operation.
3. Are the restrooms up to ADA code? You could save around $5000-$10,000
per restroom if you don’t have to remodel the existing ones.
4. How are the conditions of the existing ? Who is disposing the unwanted
equipments?
5. Is there a grease trap?
6. What’s the existing ceiling system? T bar or dry-wall? It’s almost always
easier to modify a T-bar ceiling than a dry wall ceiling.
7. When was the space last remodeled? Was it remodeled with the right
permit?
8. Check with the local health department for an “Upgrade Checklist”. The list
will tell you exactly what needs to be done before you can continue to
operate the business.
- See more at: http://www.projectsatoz.com/info-library/restaurant-project-plan-infolibrary/how-to-look-for-an-ideal-location-for-restaurant.html#sthash.RfysgGiE.dpuf
1) Establish a food service business plan. Envision your future business with bold
ideas and rethink each one carefully. Listed below are some sample questions you
may want to ask yourself:
1. What kind of food do I want to serve?
2. What major cooking equipments do I need? Do I need a char broiler? A
convection oven?
3. How many people do I want to serve? Do I want to seat 50 or more? Do I just
want to serve to-gos? Do I want to deliver?
4. How do I want the place to function? Do I want a full service bar? A
decorative bar? Open kitchen? Eating counter? Any VIP room?
5. Do I want to serve breakfast, lunch and or dinner? Do I want to close the
place up in the afternoon?
6. How many employees do I need?
7. What kind of clientele am I after?
8. What’s an average priced meal per customer?
9. How fast do I want to serve the food? How long do I want each customer to
stay?
10.Do I want to incorporate any other means of entertainment? Live music
band? Plasma T.Vs?
11.Do I need speakers? Do I need an office?
12.Do I want to put any emphasis on history, culture, type of food, special
service or any new concepts?
2) Conduct research on your location and analyze whether it’s adequate for your
proposed use. Please click the article below for the checklist you may find handy for
selecting the right site.
- See more at: http://www.projectsatoz.com/info-library/restaurant-project-plan-infolibrary/opening-a-restaurant-phase-i-project-planning.html#sthash.00xes9Eg.dpuf
How to look for an ideal location
Empty Shells:
1. Is it a multi-storied building? Is there already a chimney for your exhaust
system? It can cost up to $30,000 or more to build the duct work for the
exhaust hood all the way up to the ceiling if the building is more than one
story high. In other cases, it’s even impossible to build the duct straight up
because of the obstacles in the upper levels. Most landlords are willing to
cover this expense as it will become part of the permanent structure of his
building.
2. Is there an existing gas line available? If it’s an existing office or some
other retail space, there may not be a gas line available. It will cost more than
$10,000 to hook up a gas line from PG& E’s main line to any new location. It
involves engineering design, trench, piping and back filling works. If the gas
line is not available, negotiate with the landlord to see if they can cover the
expense for you as part of the tenant improvement.
3. How far is the electrical room to your location? When converting an empty
space to a restaurant, new panels will have to be put in for your heavy duty
commercial equipments. The further away the electrical room is from your
space, the more it will cost to run the electricity to your space.
4. Are there existing fire sprinklers? New buildings are required to be
equipped with a central fire sprinkler system. However, the existence of fire
sprinklers does not always save you money. You may have to modify and
relocate the sprinkler heads to accommodate your new layout and obtain a
separate permit to get this job done. Be sure to discuss with your landlord
about who will take care of the cost of the sprinkler works before you sign the
lease. In most cases, restaurants with occupancy level of 50 and lower may
not be required to have fire sprinklers if they are not currently presented in
the existing building. It would be a good idea to check with the local fire
marshal before signing the lease. If no sprinklers are required, it will be a winwin for both you and your landlord.
5. Garbage area: Is there a designate spot for garbage disposal? Is it up to
code? Is it a communal garbage area shared by all tenants? If it is, then your
landlord is responsible to ensure that this area is up to the most current
health and safety codes. Here are the requirements:
1. All trash needs to be kept in leak-proof and rodent-proof containers.
2. Containers will have to be stored in weather proof receptacles. The
trash enclosure area shall be built of solid masonry walls with solid
gates that meet the access, size, and location standards provided by
the refuse collection service. Such enclosures shall be constructed of
decorative, durable materials and generally require a Building Permit
and Planning Division approval. Example of standard enclosure is
provided below.
3. Hot and cold water faucets are required within reachable distance for
the purpose of cleaning the trash enclosure area. A drain that connects
to the main sewage is also required.
6. What is the ceiling height in the area where you plan to locate your
kitchen? The minimum ceiling height required for a regular hood is 8’-0”.
There are some special ones that can be custom made to fit under a 7’-6”
ceiling. However, to obtain optimum comfort for your staff, a 10’-0” high
finished ceiling is recommended.
7. What’s the existing ceiling system? T bar or dry-wall? It’s almost always
easier to modify a T-bar ceiling than a dry wall ceiling.
Existing restaurant:
1. Is the hood UL listed and NSF approved? Is it made of stainless steel? Is it
being properly maintained and cleaned? Does it work?
2. Are there enough sinks? The health department requires at minimum of (1)
three compartment sink with drain boards, (1) hand sink, (1) Preparation sink
with at least (1) drain board and (1) mop sink depending upon the type of
operation.
3. Are the restrooms up to ADA code? You could save around $5000-$10,000
per restroom if you don’t have to remodel the existing ones.
4. How are the conditions of the existing ? Who is disposing the unwanted
equipments?
5. Is there a grease trap?
6. What’s the existing ceiling system? T bar or dry-wall? It’s almost always
easier to modify a T-bar ceiling than a dry wall ceiling.
7. When was the space last remodeled? Was it remodeled with the right
permit?
8. Check with the local health department for an “Upgrade Checklist”. The list
will tell you exactly what needs to be done before you can continue to
operate the business.
- See more at: http://www.projectsatoz.com/info-library/restaurant-project-plan-infolibrary/how-to-look-for-an-ideal-location-for-restaurant.html#sthash.RfysgGiE.dpuf
