Starting a Restaurant - Creating Your Concept

After years of hearing your family and friends tell you that you need to open your own restaurant, you've finally decided to take the plunge. Starting your own restaurant can be very exciting, but it does take a lot of heard work and planning.

One thing that many people overlook when going through the planning for their new restaurant is developing the right concept. If you don't pick the right concept early in the process, it can cost you a lot of time and money later. The concept you choose will guide a lot of other decisions as you work through the restaurant business plan.

A restaurant concept is basically describing what type of restaurant you're starting. Is your restaurant going to be fast food or full service; continental or ethnic foods; formal or family oriented? There are a lot of styles and combinations that you can choose from, and each one will help determine everything from what items are on your menu, to what equipment you'll need in your kitchen, to what table settings to buy.

The two main categories of restaurant concepts are fast food and full service.

Fast Food/Quick Service

Fast food and quick service restaurants typically offer menu items that can be quickly put together so the customer has a relatively short time to wait for their food. Customers order their food at the counter (or at a drive through window), and wait while their food is prepared. Once their food is prepared, they carry their food to the table, or take it to go.

After their meal, customers usually are expected to clean the trash from their table and throw it away. There are no servers, so if there is anything you need, you go back to the counter to get it.

McDonalds, Taco Bell, Panera, and Chipotle are fast food or quick service restaurants.

Full Service

Full service restaurant concepts are the more traditional restaurant. You are typically greeted at the door, and taken to your table. A server is assigned to the table to take care of your needs. Your server takes your food and drink order, and when the meal is prepared, they bring it to your table and serve it to you. If there is anything you need during your meal, just ask your server and they will get it for you.

Within the Full Service concept, there are two main styles: mid-scale/family, and upscale.

Mid-scale restaurants are typically designed with prices that are perceived as a value by the customer. These restaurants are more affordable for a family. The food is typically more basic fare, with selections including soups, salads, sandwiches and entrees.

The atmosphere in mid-scale restaurants is well lit, and is designed to encourage the customers to eat, and leave relatively quickly, so more customers can be served.

Upscale restaurants are geared toward customers that are willing to pay for more than just the meal. These restaurants are designed with a more expensive menu that is typically designed by a chef. It presents meals with more unique combinations of flavors, and usually has signature dishes.

The atmosphere is one of more mood lighting, and has a more romantic feel. The table covers are linen tablecloths and napkins, and meals are served on china dishes. Customers expect a more relaxed pace to their meal, and are encouraged to linger after the meal for after dinner cocktails.

How Your Concept Affects Other Decisions

When starting a restaurant plan, the concept you decide to use affects so many other decisions, changing your mind part way through the business plan creates real problems. If you change you mind too far into the process, so many things will have to be redone, it will almost be easier to start over.

Once you have decided on your concept, you can then begin to decide on your menu. Only after you know what is going to be on your menu, you can decide what type of equipment you will need to prepare the food. For instance, if you have a lot of fried foods on your menu, you're going to need to make sure you have more than one fryer. The same is true with sauté stations. If a lot of the food coming out of your kitchen relies on the sauté station, you'll want to buy a range with enough burners to handle the workload. Other equipment, like broilers, flat-top grills, and salamanders are all determined by what is on the menu.

Another area the concept drive decisions for is the overall design of your restaurant. Fast food restaurants are designed very differently than full service restaurants. For full service restaurant, though the overall design might be similar for mid-scale and upscale, decorations and atmosphere are significantly different. Decisions about lighting, colors, and flooring will be different depending on the concept you choose.

Seating is another area to think about. While mid-scale and family restaurants can use booths, upscale restaurants may want to only use tables. You'll also need to think about what goes on the tables. Will you be using linen tablecloths, paper placemats, or maybe even butchers paper? Will you use casual, unbreakable plates or fine china? These are all decisions that will have to be changed if you make significant changes in your concept later in the business plan process.

As you work toward starting your restaurant, you need to be aware of how one decision affects other decisions. You also need to understand that the closer you get to the starting date, the more difficult it is to make changes. Think through your concept, and try to make sure you know what you want to do before you get too deep into your business plan. In the long run, you'll be glad you did.