How To Open A Restaurant In India

The amount of capital you need to open a restaurant depends on multiple factors like concept, scale and location. For example, setting up a coffee shop will require less capital investment than a fine dining restaurant. Once you have calculated how much money you need for your restaurant business, you can start a fund-raising campaign. The three most popular sources of business funding include:

• Bootstrapping or self-funding
• Loans from banks or NBFCs
• Raising venture capital

Your location can have a large impact on the outcome of your restaurant business. Your restaurant business model will play a key role in determining the location of your restaurant. For instance, a fine dining restaurant should be located in a posh colony, while a food truck is best stationed in a busy marketplace or office area where it can attract customers.

When scouting for a location to open a restaurant, it is a good idea to identify your competitors in the area and analyse their business model. The competition must be evaluated both in terms of the concept—casual dining, fine dining, quick service restaurant (QSR) and so on—and also the type of cuisine they serve. Evaluating the competition will help you understand whether there’s space for another eatery in the area while throwing light on the customer profile, their spending habits etc.

Hiring and retaining staff is one of the most difficult challenges of managing a restaurant. As you are new in the business, you would need an experienced team to help you establish the venture.

As a first-time restaurant owner, you can hire employees by placing ads on job boards or approach placement agencies. Using referrals from friends and employees is a great way of hiring as people hired through this method are usually a good fit for the job and also tend to stick around longer.

One of the most important aspects of opening a restaurant is to create a suitable menu. A well-designed menu can help in attracting the right customers and also reduce operation costs.

Items on the menu should be quick to prepare and use local or readily-available ingredients. It is best to include those dishes that you can do best which are compatible with your restaurant business model. It is a good idea to divide your menu into parts (soups, appetisers, main course, cereals etc) for the convenience of your customers. Highlighting certain items with tags like “must try” or “chef’s special” could help in increasing their sales. Don’t forget to add a beverage section to the list!

A key part of opening a restaurant is to get the necessary approvals from the government/authorities. Some of the licences and approvals that are needed to start a restaurant business in India are listed below.

• FSSAI licence
• Health/trade licence
• Eating house licence
• Shop and establishment licence
• Fire safety licence
• Lift clearance
• Environmental clearance
• Signage licence
• GST registration, and so on

Not having the proper licences and approvals for your restaurant business can get you into trouble with the authorities including fines and imprisonment. It is best to consult a lawyer regarding the licensing requirements for your business.

Creating the right ambience is key to launching a successful restaurant business. It is important to ensure that your restaurant decor is compatible with the cuisine as well as the concept.

You could do the decor yourself or hire a professional interior designer to do it up for you. Pay special attention to things like the signage, storefront/entrance, the theme, seating arrangement and layout, comfortable tables and chairs, the colour scheme, and the restrooms.

You can start your marketing activities a few days prior to the launch. You may want to focus on online, offline or hybrid marketing channels depending on your needs. Creating a successful online marketing strategy for your restaurant business starts with a good business website.

Your website should give the reader some background about your restaurant, showcase your menu, display customer testimonials, and spread awareness about your USPs and campaigns. It should be e-commerce enabled so that your customers can place home delivery orders by visiting the site. Apart from your website, you can also use social media, business listings like Google My Business, and food delivery platforms to promote your restaurant business and increase your sales.

Depending on your budget and marketing strategy, you could opt for a quiet launch or drum up an aggressive campaign to attract the attention of customers.

Once the restaurant business is launched, it is critical to ensure that you maintain the quality of food and service so that your customers leave the restaurant satisfied. It may take a few months or more to recover your investment and start making profits. Keep an eye on important business metrics like revenue and profit so that you can make adjustments to the business strategy if required.