How to Pick a Location for Your Restaurant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btcDbJ0u-j0Choosing the location of your restaurant is a task that can not be taken lightly.  Above all else, you need to make sure the location matches the concept.

"How big will your restaurant be? How much rent can your restaurant pay? How will people come to your restaurant? Is there parking nearby if people are going to drive there? Is there foot traffic if you expect people to walk in? Is there public transportation nearby for people to get to your location?"

It's your job to make sure that all of these things align with your goals.

One thing you can do when choosing a location is visit it at various times of day. Check out other businesses around the neighborhood. Based on the area, you should be able to get a sense for what types of businesses are doing well and which ones are suffering.

Something to remember is that the location has to make financial sense. You may have found the perfect location for your type of restaurant, but if the money isn't there, it isn't there. Rent should always be taken into consideration in relation to your revenue and profitability.

"It is something that you’re going to have to come up with every month to pay that landlord. And you want to make sure that your restaurant will generate enough revenue to pay for that."

You also have to think about how you will accept deliveries and how materials will be transported to your location.

After you've settled on the general area for the restaurant, the next thing to do is look at specific spaces.

"Is this space big enough? Does it fit the aesthetic idea that you have for your restaurant? Does it fit the operational needs of your restaurant? How much is it going to cost to build out the restaurant in this location?"

If the space is raw, you have to account for what that's going to cost you to make the space operational. It probably won't be cheap. Even if you are simply taking over a space, you need to figure out how much it will cost to get the restaurant up to your standards and to fit your business's aesthetic.

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