So you’ve been thinking about opening a restaurant. (Just play along, okay?) If you’ve already read this cautionary Slate piece by Daily Intel writer Michael Idov and are still looking to get into the game, you’d better have a look at “The Fundamentals of Running a Restaurant,” a Forbes “Special Report.” What follows is our handy breakdown of a few issues put forth by the article. (For an inside look at an imminent opening, read the Launch, our series detailing the process of Sam Mason opening Tailor.)
The excerpts:
• Start-up costs. “Depending on how fancy your new place is, a blank-slate approach will set you back $100,000 to $300,000 for stuff like industrial cooking and ventilation equipment, refrigerators, freezers, tables, bar stools, shelving and counters with stations for cutting, heating and cooling.”
• Legal structure. “Setting up an LLC protects you from personal liability. (If a customer suffers an allergy attack from your food, the lawyers can’t go after your house.)”
• Must-have technology. “The latest generation of software-based, point-of-sale systems …. A middle-of-the-road package runs $7,000.”
• External threat. “[A]nalysts estimate that restaurateurs will need to add some 2 million jobs over the next decade – even as they cope with soaring health care costs, minimum-wage hikes and stricter immigration regulations.”
• Permits. “While [health] permits run less than $100, you might wait nine months for acceptance. If you make it that far, you then have to schedule an appointment with the local fire inspector.”
The Fundamentals of Running a Restaurant [Forbes]
Related: The Launch
