Opening a restauranttakes time, patience and plenty of work. Deadlines
must be met, and your efforts must be set towards meeting your budget and
creative specifications. But with the right planning, getting everything done in
a timely manner can be accomplished with minimum frustration.
What should I know
before
opening a restaurant
Since your first priorities will be to
the building your business will be located in, and to the supplying of your
restaurant, you need to work closely with your contractor to ensure he or she
fully understands the operation of your establishment and has fulfilled your
needs in return. This includes, among other things, assurance that you have
received all the licenses pertaining to your area and knowledge that you have
applied for federal, state and local tax numbers. In addition, make sure your
contractor is aware of your responsibilities to your lease before, during and
after construction. Most importantly: Don?#8364;™t assume anything. Put everything you
want done in writing!
Also, for the sake of organization, set up a storage
area so you can store equipment, smallwares, supplies and such as you receive
them. This way, you won?#8364;™t have to coordinate with your contractor to receive
items at the site.
What steps will I need
to take in the weeks leading up to the
opening of my restaurant?
Naturally, each restaurant is
different. But every one still has to undergo certain procedures to ensure a
successful
restaurant opening. The following eight-week plan offers a time-tested
process that can be expanded (to 12 weeks, for example) or shortened (to 6
weeks) depending on your needs. It also gives you plenty of time to cover your
tracks and plan ahead, just in case the unexpected occurs.
Eight weeks before
opening a restaurant: Get the preliminaries out of the way.
First thing first: Prepare your pre-opening budget and start
envisioning what sort of image you would like to convey for it. This will carry
you through the rest of the process and set a visual goal of what you?#8364;™d like to
accomplish.
Then, set out on obtaining the necessary background
materials and legalities. Evaluate local broadline distributors and consider
specifics, like scope/lines of products available, delivery times/frequency,
prices on key products; credit terms; electronic or Internet ordering options;
and other support services offered, such as business reviews, consultation,
staff training. Also, establish your insurance policy and apply for the
necessary licenses from the health department, the food manufacturer and the
water department. Also, determine local certification requirements (HACCAP
training), check local health codes and ordinances, determine requirements for
your alcoholic beverage server, and make sure your business and liquor licenses
are in order and that you?#8364;™re set up correctly for sales and use tax.
In
addition, start ordering your cooking equipment, smallwares and tabletop items,
like flatware, tableware, glassware, sugar caddies, smallwares and kitchen
utensils, salt and pepper shakers, table vents, vases and the like. Also, order
your beverage service, point-of-sale (POS) system and store décor; order menu
boards, exterior signage, office equipment (copied, fax, computer, calculators),
and office furniture (desk, chair, filing cabinet, etc.).
Seven weeks before
opening a restaurant: Following up on what you started.
Things should be beginning to take shape now, so make it a priority
to follow up on your timelines and get yourself organized. Arrange for a moving
company, if needed, for furniture and such. Check the statuses of your licenses
with the health department, food manufacturer and water department, as well as
with your business license, liquor license and sales and use tax. Also, check
the status of your sales, federal, state and local tax numbers.
In
addition, establish your banking system and accounts and obtain bids for local
trash pick-up, grease removal, extermination services, laundry, appliance
repair, fire extinguishers, music system, security alarms and security systems,
knife and blade sharpening, window washing and dishwasher service. Furthermore,
determine emergency plans, exit procedures and create maps, finalize your POS
decision and acquire your software needs for your office (MS Office, scheduling,
food management software, etc.).
Also, select a pre-opening site to
conduct interviews and start organizing your pre-opening parties, such as events
for the press, VIPs and contractors. You will be surprised how quickly
everything will fall together in the coming weeks, so it?#8364;™s best to be
prepared.
Six weeks before
opening a restaurant: More preparations.
You should be
receiving your tax numbers now, so with the ball rolling, start preparing for
D-Day. Order ?#8364;œOpening Soon?#8364;?and ?#8364;œNow Hiring?#8364;?banners for your windows, and a
?#8364;œGrand Opening?#8364;?banner for the front entrance. Also, order plastic engraved
signs for pertinent information (?#8364;œLadies,?#8364;??#8364;œMen,?#8364;??#8364;œNo Smoking,?#8364;??#8364;œDelivery
Hours,?#8364;?etc.), and set up order books, a maintenance and cleaning calendar and
an inventory system. Also, conduct a walk-through with the contractor to make
sure he or she is familiar with those systems as well, and retain a full set of
building and equipment plans for operational files.
Check inspection
dates and acquire mandatory posters and children?#8364;™s amenities (high chairs,
boosters, crayons, etc.). Set up communications for your office, like a fax
machine, pagers, and hostess station equipment. Set up credit card merchant
accounts, and select an accounting service or in-house bookkeeper and acquire
the appropriate software. Also, obtain menu materials - covers, inserts, to go
menus, catering, children, and order restroom accessories, like hand towels and
air dryers, soap dispensers and trash receptacles.
In addition, start
thinking about your staff and events. Prepare ?#8364;œHelp Wanted?#8364;?ads and get employee
nametags and uniforms. Identify what your staffing needs will be exactly, and
then develop an action plan for meeting those needs. Also, order a valet stand
and key control system, acquire entertainment permits, and craft a list of
potential entertainers (including an invitation list for pre-opening parties and
order invitations).
Five weeks before
opening a restaurant: Yet even more preparations.
Continue
planning and set-up work, to ensure small issues won?#8364;™t become larger problems
later on down the line. Set up your equipment maintenance log book. Order office
and miscellaneous supplies. Finalize vendors for food/paper products and set up
delivery schedules with them (and commissary) ?#8364;“ include backup vendors. Set up
fire and health inspections. Label valves, switches, compressor and breakers and
check for accessibility. Also, acquire bids and select vendors for décor, like
interior plants and landscaping. In addition, acquire janitorial equipment (wet
floor signs, mops, buckets, vacuum, trash receptacles).
While doing this,
continue your staffing plans. Place your ?#8364;œHelp Wanted?#8364;?ads, purchase training
materials for food safety training, develop deposit procedures (establish
armored car service or other), finalize food and supply orders for training,
mock shifts, and opening week. Also, setup an employee filing system, acquire a
first aid box, create a seating chart and wait staff sections, setup a petty
cash system, acquire tip trays, and check presentation folders, if not provided
from merchant account provider.
Four
weeks before
opening a restaurant: Time to start setting up.
Around this
time, you should be receiving your case work and furniture, including your
counters, cabinets, menu board frames, tables, chairs and barstools. So that
will need to be installed. Also, by this point, you should also have a number of
candidates in mind for staff positions. To accommodate, start scheduling and
preparing interviews and prepare a training schedule for those you will hire.
Also, set up your POS or register for training your management and crew and
create job aids (pictures of menu items, procedure steps, etc.) for the kitchen
staff. This is also a good time to determine your emergency equipment shutoff
procedures and start thinking about your opening week schedule--make it heavy,
since you really want to test yourself and see what you can and cannot
accomplish reasonably.
Other important tasks to consider: Acquire an
internet service provider, a kitchen clock, tools and a tool kit, and linens.
Also, get your parking lot striping and handicap space requirements, and select
your services for local trash pick-up, grease removal, exterminator, laundry,
appliance repair, fire extinguishers, music system, alarm and security system,
knife and blade sharpening, window washing and dishwasher service. Also, review
your review OSHA requirements with management.
In addition, continue to
think about opening night. Send out your opening party invitations and press
releases to local media.
Three weeks before
opening a restaurant: Getting into gear.
Timing becomes
crucial at this point. You need to make sure several smaller tasks get completed
while still keeping your larger projects moving.
First and foremost,
you?#8364;™ll be interviewing and hiring possible employees and getting them trained as
soon as possible. That means you?#8364;™ll have to have your training sessions
finalized and assign your hired employees for HACCAP training and certification.
In addition, you?#8364;™ll need to get employees certified for alcoholic beverage
service and conduct alcoholic beverage and wine service training. Also
important: Assemble your new-employee supplies, such as applications, uniforms,
employer-employee agreements, W-4 & I-9 forms, cash register policies, and
employee handbook and more. Also order your initial food for training, as well
as your first paper goods order. To make sure everything is accounted for,
create detailed inventory worksheets or count sheets and prepare your delivery
schedule for your vendors.
To ensure training commences smoothly, you
will need to have your beverage service and POS system installed and ready to
go. In addition, obtain bags and night deposit keys, deposit stamps and slips,
coin rolls and bill bands.
On top of this, the final load of your
supplies and equipment should be coming in, such as your smallwares, ice
machine, janitorial supplies, Ansul System, alarm system, fire extinguishers and
more. You will need to install these items and then ensure everything meets
your satisfaction. Obtain sub-contractor?#8364;™s telephone numbers in case repairs are
needed, and set up all equipment maintenance and repair instructions in
designated spots in case fixes must be done in-house. In addition, create a
control system for padlocks for cooler doors and conduct a safety
audit.
Two weeks before
opening a restaurant: Interior design.
By this point, you
should have received nearly all of your equipment and furniture, including your
tables, chairs, table tops, benches, canopy awning or canvas and more. That
means it?#8364;™s time to make sure everything fits, works and looks like it should.
Test all of your equipment. Check the walk-in and refrigeration
temperatures. Calibrate the temperatures for your fryers and griddle, oven and
stove. Also, set up and organize your supply stations, including shelving for
walk-in and dry storage (which also must be labeled), and get your hostess stand
supplies (reservation book, call clock, pencils, notebook) in order. While
you?#8364;™re at it, also post signs for your personnel, as well as the required
posters for OSHA, FLSA, ADA, EOE, the Heimlich Maneuver and safe lifting. Also,
finalize your hiring and get your employees into training.
Start a
construction punch list in case final work needs to be done, and begin to clean
and sanitize the walk-in area. Also, set your exterior signage light timer,
place your initial alcoholic beverage order and determine light levels and label
for each period of the day.
One week
before
opening a restaurant: Crunch time.
No task is too small
during this stretch. Granted frustration will be high but if all preparations
have been met beforehand, you should be able to sail into a successful and
well-prepared
restaurant opening.
First and foremost, get your décor and
equipment ready. Hang inside décor, wash windows, install plants, clean all
equipment, smallwares, and stainless steel, complete equipment warranty cards
and run the ice machine, empty it, sanitize it and refill it. All the while,
continue updating your construction punch list.
In addition, hold your
final inspections, receive your certificate of occupancy, finalize your opening
week schedules, finalize the clean-up of interior and exterior, complete your
pre-opening checklist, take open inventory on all food and beverage items, and
buy and receive your change from the bank.
In the meantime, also conduct
your training, finalize your training certification and conduct a practice run
(dress rehearsal) of opening night. After that, you should be ready for
business. Congratulations!
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