Calculating the costs to open a restaurant can be a process that can cause even the heartiest eaters to lose their appetites. While it is not easy to open a restaurant on a shoestring budget, restaurant owners should know that it will take a creative mind and a willingness to go without extras in order to keep costs at a bare minimum. Most important, restaurant owners should remember that all other elements of a restaurant environment should be secondary to the food, which is the ultimate factor in determining whether a new customer will become a regular customer.
Without careful consideration of costs, the amount of money spent to open a new restaurant can easily exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars before a meal is served to the first customer. The branding process alone can easily end up being more expensive than the food if marketing costs are not contained. And the selection of a high rent space and top of the line equipment can cause the overall cost to skyrocket.
By employing creativity and by focusing purely on the essential elements of the business, a savvy restaurateur can keep total opening costs to under $25,000. In order to enjoy such cost savings, owners should be open to considering a location in an area where rent is less expensive and the layout is already conducive to cooking. Owners should be willing to reusing existing appliances, signage and furniture if available. Other ways to cut costs include buying supplies from wholesalers and procuring furniture from economical vendors such as Adage Furniture that offer an extensive array of clearance pieces.
In addition to a willingness to dramatically curb the purchasing of supplies, the budget-conscious restaurateur needs to be willing to do without certain items until funds are available. For instance, silverware dispensers and new fixtures are not necessary for a restaurant to provide customers with tasty food. These items can easily be added in the future if revenue is sufficient. Prior to opening your doors to customers, it is important to tune out advice from people who feel compelled to tell you what you “must have” in your restaurant. Failure to tune out this advice can lead to a gross over expenditure of funds.
At the end of the day, it is the quality and taste of the food that helps a new restaurant succeed. After all, people who visit a restaurant are not interested in the half million dollar renovation to your restaurant’s kitchen area or your new state of the art refrigerator. The majority of customers are more interested in receiving fresh, well prepared food in a timely fashion.
It is entirely possible for a passionate restaurateur to open a successful eatery with a limited budget. Available funds should be dedicated to the food and the other most fundamental aspects of a restaurant. Restraint should be utilized when buying temptation strikes or when friends suggest a “must have” for your new restaurant. Through targeted purchasing and the use of affordable local marketing tools, a restaurateur can contain costs without sacrificing a restaurant’s success.