Americans spend more than $600 billion a year eating out. Busy consumers don't have the time or inclination to cook - they want tasty, nutritious meals without dishes to wash. Singles, working parents and seniors are demanding greater convenience and are turning to restaurants to fill that need. With so much dining and taking out, there's plenty of room for more food businesses, but for a successful startup you need more than just good recipes. You also need to know about planning, capitalization, inventory control, and payroll management. Entrepreneur has compiled everything you need including how to evaluate the competition, how to research potential customers, the basics of setting up a kitchen, how to find a great location, how to leap over regulatory hurdles in the industry, and how to select the best people to staff your particular style of business.

"This book covers all aspects of the restaurant business -- from initial startup, to building up a loyal trade and -- crucially -- putting yourself in your customers' shoes."--Cover.

The classic book on the subject, first published in 1978, is now revised and updated for the 21st century entrepreneur! This book covers it all-from selecting a location and creating a business plan to managing employees and controlling inventory, and everything in between. It's the perfect book for the armchair dreamer or the go-getter who has the energy and capital to make it happen.

Do restaurants make you think of tempting dishes served in a cozy, intimate setting? Or fine dining in elegant surroundings? It takes a lot more than culinary skill and appealing ambience to open a restaurant. In this invaluable guide, coomplete with charts, facts, and figures, Richrd Ware and James Rudnick draw upon years of successful experience to tell you everything you need to know about: Money: How much you need to start up; how to find sources for funding; step-by-step plans for forecasting expenses; what you should know about the hidden costs Location: How to research the competition; whether to seek a residential or commercial setting; how to build a customer profile; revealing case studies and critiques Design and Operation: Floor plans and seating; constructing; inventory; twenty steps to opening Hiring: How to find the experts; free advice as well as professional assistance; how to establish rules for your day-to-day staff; when to use advertising. Don't even think about starting a restaurant without first reading How to Open Your Own Restaurant

Earlier editions by Entrepreneur Press and Jacquelyn Lynn.

Do you dream of starting your own restaurant? Venturing into the restaurant business is the popular choice of many prospective entrepreneurs today. Yet of all the eateries cropping up at a rapid pace, only a few survive! The 3rd Edition includes two new chapters, more articles and several other updates. Discover how to manage risks associated with the business and make well informed choices for your startup. * If you simply wish to get a reality check on the trade, use this book as a primer. * If you are a serious entrepreneur looking to realise your restaurant dream, this book will help you develop a roadmap. * If you are a hospitality student or academician keen to revisit your understanding, this book will serve as a reference source. I have packed in information on the nuts and bolts of the restaurant industry as well as techniques to handle money, marketing, manpower and operational issues. I have shared proven techniques and strategies honed by hospitality professionals over decades, many of which I've used when conceptualizing and developing several food businesses. Whether you are a businessman with no knowledge of restaurants, a practising professional or an industry student, this book will help you avoid painful mistakes and do it right the first time....

Around 90% of all new restaurants fail in the first year of operation. Many owners think they have the perfect idea, but they have terrible business plans, location, or other issues. Idiot's Guides: Starting and Running a Restaurant shows budding restauranteurs the basics of honing in on a concept to gathering start-up capital to building a solid business plan. You will also learn how to choose a great restaurant location, select an appealing design, compose a fantastic menu, and hire reliable managers and staff. In this book, you get: • Introduction to basic requirements of starting a restaurant such as time management, recognizing your competition, choosing your restaurant concept, and making it legal. • Information on building a solid business foundation such as a solid business plan, a perfect location, where to find investors, and securing loans. • Suggestions on how to compose the perfect menu, laying out the front and back of house and bar, and choosing the must-have necessities such as security alarms and fire prevention. • Techniques on how to hire and train your staff, purchasing or renting supplies, understanding costs and setting up your financial office, and using social media as a marketing tool. • Secrets for keeping your customers returning, running a safe restaurant, managing employees, and building your PR sales plan. • Pre-opening checklists to ensure everything is ready by opening day. Operational checklists and forms a successful restaurateur will need to manage their restaurant.