Have you always loved cooking? If you want to take your skills from home and share them with everyone in your area, you might be considering opening a restaurant. However, you might be overwhelmed and unsure where to start. Following these steps will help you ensure you have all your ducks in a row and that your restaurant opening is successful.
Secure Funding
Reports show that opening even a tiny restaurant costs approximately $150,000 on the small end. Luckily, you don’t have to have loads of money in the bank to open a restaurant. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to secure your funding before you even start looking for locations. Sometimes, the process can be slow, and you don’t want creditors to start knocking at your door. Furthermore, ensure that you ask for enough funding to give you the time you need to perfect your menu and hire and train your staff before you open.
Apply for Permits and Licenses
There can be quite a mountain of paperwork required to open a restaurant. Before any patron can step foot in the door, you have to have all of those items secured. You have to have a business license, EIN, and a sign permit. You also have to ensure that you and all of your employees go through foodservice training and that you have a food service license. If you plan to serve alcohol at your establishment, you must get a liquor license Dallas TX. If you fail to get the necessary permits and licenses, you could face hefty fines or have your business closed.
Solidify the Menu
While you like to cook, cooking for the masses is much different from cooking for your friends and family. Plus, every cent matters and should be accounted for when you’re running a business. Because of that, you need to take time to solidify the menu and write exact recipes for every item. The recipes will ensure that everything tastes the same every time it is made and that you know exactly what your food costs are.