Opening a restaurant
takes time, patience and plenty of work. Deadlines must be met, and your efforts must be set towards meeting your budget and creative specifications. But with the right planning, getting everything done in a timely manner can be accomplished with minimum frustration.
What should I know before
opening a restaurant?
Since your first priorities
will be to the building your business will be located in, and to the
supplying of your restaurant, you need to work closely with your
contractor to ensure he or she fully understands the operation of your
establishment and has fulfilled your needs in return. This includes,
among other things, assurance that you have received all the licenses
pertaining to your area and knowledge that you have applied for
federal, state and local tax numbers. In addition, make sure your
contractor is aware of your responsibilities to your lease before,
during and after construction. Most importantly: Don�t assume anything.
Put everything you want done in writing!
Also, for the sake of
organization, set up a storage area so you can store equipment,
smallwares, supplies and such as you receive them. This way, you won�t
have to coordinate with your contractor to receive items at the site.
What steps will I need to take in the weeks leading up to the
opening of my restaurant?
Naturally, each restaurant is different. But every one still has to undergo certain procedures to ensure a successful
restaurant opening. The following eight-week plan offers a
time-tested process that can be expanded (to 12 weeks, for example) or
shortened (to 6 weeks) depending on your needs. It also gives you
plenty of time to cover your tracks and plan ahead, just in case the
unexpected occurs.
Eight weeks before
opening a restaurant: Get the preliminaries out of the way.
First
thing first: Prepare your pre-opening budget and start envisioning what
sort of image you would like to convey for it. This will carry you
through the rest of the process and set a visual goal of what you�d
like to accomplish.
Then, set out on obtaining the necessary
background materials and legalities. Evaluate local broadline
distributors and consider specifics, like scope/lines of products
available, delivery times/frequency, prices on key products; credit
terms; electronic or Internet ordering options; and other support
services offered, such as business reviews, consultation, staff
training. Also, establish your insurance policy and apply for the
necessary licenses from the health department, the food manufacturer
and the water department. Also, determine local certification
requirements (HACCAP training), check local health codes and
ordinances, determine requirements for your alcoholic beverage server,
and make sure your business and liquor licenses are in order and that
you�re set up correctly for sales and use tax.
In addition,
start ordering your cooking equipment, smallwares and tabletop items,
like flatware, tableware, glassware, sugar caddies, smallwares and
kitchen utensils, salt and pepper shakers, table vents, vases and the
like. Also, order your beverage service, point-of-sale (POS) system and
store d�cor; order menu boards, exterior signage, office equipment
(copied, fax, computer, calculators), and office furniture (desk,
chair, filing cabinet, etc.).
Seven weeks before
opening a restaurant: Following up on what you started.
Things
should be beginning to take shape now, so make it a priority to follow
up on your timelines and get yourself organized. Arrange for a moving
company, if needed, for furniture and such. Check the statuses of your
licenses with the health department, food manufacturer and water
department, as well as with your business license, liquor license and
sales and use tax. Also, check the status of your sales, federal, state
and local tax numbers.
In addition, establish your banking
system and accounts and obtain bids for local trash pick-up, grease
removal, extermination services, laundry, appliance repair, fire
extinguishers, music system, security alarms and security systems,
knife and blade sharpening, window washing and dishwasher service.
Furthermore, determine emergency plans, exit procedures and create
maps, finalize your POS decision and acquire your software needs for
your office (MS Office, scheduling, food management software, etc.).
Also,
select a pre-opening site to conduct interviews and start organizing
your pre-opening parties, such as events for the press, VIPs and
contractors. You will be surprised how quickly everything will fall
together in the coming weeks, so it�s best to be prepared.
Six weeks before
opening a restaurant: More preparations.
You should
be receiving your tax numbers now, so with the ball rolling, start
preparing for D-Day. Order �Opening Soon� and �Now Hiring� banners for
your windows, and a �Grand Opening� banner for the front entrance.
Also, order plastic engraved signs for pertinent information (�Ladies,�
�Men,� �No Smoking,� �Delivery Hours,� etc.), and set up order books, a
maintenance and cleaning calendar and an inventory system. Also,
conduct a walk-through with the contractor to make sure he or she is
familiar with those systems as well, and retain a full set of building
and equipment plans for operational files.
Check inspection
dates and acquire mandatory posters and children�s amenities (high
chairs, boosters, crayons, etc.). Set up communications for your
office, like a fax machine, pagers, and hostess station equipment. Set
up credit card merchant accounts, and select an accounting service or
in-house bookkeeper and acquire the appropriate software. Also, obtain
menu materials - covers, inserts, to go menus, catering, children, and
order restroom accessories, like hand towels and air dryers, soap
dispensers and trash receptacles.
In addition, start thinking about your staff and events. Prepare �Help Wanted� ads and get employee name tags and restaurant uniforms.
Identify what your staffing needs will be exactly, and then develop an
action plan for meeting those needs. Also, order a valet stand and key
control system, acquire entertainment permits, and craft a list of
potential entertainers (including an invitation list for pre-opening
parties and order invitations).
Five weeks before
opening a restaurant: Yet even more preparations.
Continue
planning and set-up work, to ensure small issues won�t become larger
problems later on down the line. Set up your equipment maintenance log
book. Order office and miscellaneous supplies. Finalize vendors for
food/paper products and set up delivery schedules with them (and
commissary) � include backup vendors. Set up fire and health
inspections. Label valves, switches, compressor and breakers and check
for accessibility. Also, acquire bids and select vendors for d�cor,
like interior plants and landscaping. In addition, acquire janitorial
equipment (wet floor signs, mops, buckets, vacuum, trash receptacles).
While
doing this, continue your staffing plans. Place your �Help Wanted� ads,
purchase training materials for food safety training, develop deposit
procedures (establish armored car service or other), finalize food and
supply orders for training, mock shifts, and opening week. Also, setup
an employee filing system, acquire a first aid box, create a seating
chart and wait staff sections, setup a petty cash system, acquire tip
trays, and check presentation folders, if not provided from merchant
account provider.
Four weeks before
opening a restaurant: Time to start setting up.
Around
this time, you should be receiving your case work and furniture,
including your counters, cabinets, menu board frames, tables, chairs
and barstools. So that will need to be installed. Also, by this point,
you should also have a number of candidates in mind for staff
positions. To accommodate, start scheduling and preparing interviews
and prepare a training schedule for those you will hire. Also, set up
your POS or register for training your management and crew and create
job aids (pictures of menu items, procedure steps, etc.) for the
kitchen staff. This is also a good time to determine your emergency
equipment shutoff procedures and start thinking about your opening week
schedule--make it heavy, since you really want to test yourself and see
what you can and cannot accomplish reasonably.
Other important
tasks to consider: Acquire an internet service provider, a kitchen
clock, tools and a tool kit, and linens. Also, get your parking lot
striping and handicap space requirements, and select your services for
local trash pick-up, grease removal, exterminator, laundry, appliance
repair, fire extinguishers, music system, alarm and security system,
knife and blade sharpening, window washing and dishwasher service.
Also, review your review OSHA requirements with management.
In addition, continue to think about opening night. Send out your opening party invitations and press releases to local media.
Three weeks before
opening a restaurant: Getting into gear.
Timing
becomes crucial at this point. You need to make sure several smaller
tasks get completed while still keeping your larger projects moving.
First
and foremost, you�ll be interviewing and hiring possible employees and
getting them trained as soon as possible. That means you�ll have to
have your training sessions finalized and assign your hired employees
for HACCAP training and certification. In addition, you�ll need to get
employees certified for alcoholic beverage service and conduct
alcoholic beverage and wine service training. Also important: Assemble
your new-employee supplies, such as applications, uniforms,
employer-employee agreements, W-4 & I-9 forms, cash register
policies, and employee handbook and more. Also order your initial food
for training, as well as your first paper goods order. To make sure
everything is accounted for, create detailed inventory worksheets or
count sheets and prepare your delivery schedule for your vendors.
To
ensure training commences smoothly, you will need to have your beverage
service and POS system installed and ready to go. In addition, obtain
bags and night deposit keys, deposit stamps and slips, coin rolls and
bill bands.
On top of this, the final load of your supplies
and equipment should be coming in, such as your smallwares, ice
machine, janitorial supplies, Ansul System, alarm system, fire
extinguishers and more. You will need to install these items and then
ensure everything meets your satisfaction. Obtain sub-contractor�s
telephone numbers in case repairs are needed, and set up all equipment
maintenance and repair instructions in designated spots in case fixes
must be done in-house. In addition, create a control system for
padlocks for cooler doors and conduct a safety audit.
Two weeks before
opening: Restaurant Interior design
By
this point, you should have received nearly all of your equipment and
furniture, including your tables, chairs, table tops, benches, canopy
awning or canvas and more. That means it�s time to make sure everything
fits, works and looks like it should.
Test all of your
equipment. Check the walk-in and refrigeration temperatures. Calibrate
the temperatures for your fryers and griddle, oven and stove. Also,
set up and organize your supply stations, including shelving for
walk-in and dry storage (which also must be labeled), and get your
hostess stand supplies (reservation book, call clock, pencils,
notebook) in order. While you�re at it, also post signs for your
personnel, as well as the required posters for OSHA, FLSA, ADA, EOE,
the Heimlich Maneuver and safe lifting. Also, finalize your hiring and
get your employees into training.
Start a construction punch
list in case final work needs to be done, and begin to clean and
sanitize the walk-in area. Also, set your exterior signage light timer,
place your initial alcoholic beverage order and determine light levels
and label for each period of the day.
One week before
opening a restaurant: Crunch time.
No task is too
small during this stretch. Granted frustration will be high but if all
preparations have been met beforehand, you should be able to sail into
a successful and well-prepared restaurant opening.
First and foremost, get your
d�cor and equipment ready. Hang inside d�cor, wash windows, install
plants, clean all equipment, smallwares, and stainless steel, complete
equipment warranty cards and run the ice machine, empty it, sanitize it
and refill it. All the while, continue updating your construction punch
list.
In addition, hold your final inspections, receive your
certificate of occupancy, finalize your opening week schedules,
finalize the clean-up of interior and exterior, complete your
pre-opening checklist, take open inventory on all food and beverage
items, and buy and receive your change from the bank.
In the
meantime, also conduct your training, finalize your training
certification and conduct a practice run (dress rehearsal) of opening
night. After that, you should be ready for business. Congratulations!
Contact us to find out how Quantified Marketing Group can help your restaurant.
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