The restaurant business

I started working in a Chinese restaurant a couple of months back. The restaurant has a kitchen in the back and a sushi bar in the front. Judging by the amount of rice they cook, I estimated that they are making at least 2000 EUR a day in the back kitchen and maybe a 1000 EUR a day in the sushi bar.

I also estimated that they are making ten times more on the food they are reproducing.

It seems like there are enormous profits to be made.

Has anyone been in the restaurant business before?

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058226274/the-restaurant-business

How have you come up with your figures - is it takings or profit?

Profits mean after paying wages, rent, ingredients, rates, insurance, utilities etc.

Are they busy every day?

Also dont forget their takings do include VAT

Most days they are busy. There are about five full time staff. I haven't included those expenses

silver2020

So the staff are working for free, they have free rent, no rates, don't pay vat, free electricity, free gas, suppliers provide free food to them.

Op, here's free advice.

Don't open a restaurant. You have not got a clue

Dempo1

OP, I've not only had a restaurant but spent nearly 30 years in the business. Its not just about Sales and whilst Chinese and indeed takeaway style restaurants are very profitable, every restaurant has to factor in Costs to produce a service and indeed food.

Notwithstanding Food costs, there are Rents (if leased properties), Commercial Rates, Labour (Higher in table service establishments), Utilities (very high when running industrial catering equipment) and upkeep, you'd be amazed how much is required to run even the most basic restaurant and this aside from the set up costs which are substantial.

I'll grant you it can be a profitable business but takes a minimum of 12 to 18 months to cultivate and its all about bums on seats and consistant turnover.

alexago

Is it really hard to run a restaurant if you don't have any experience in business? My wife wants us to open a cafe/restaurant and I have doubts.

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121609521#Comment_121609521

Keep it simple, German themed , menu of a variety of German Sausage, in a bun, Waitresses dressed German,

Tea, Coffee, Drinks, takeaway,

Germany has thousands of these vendors

Who can resist such food, works on a piping hot day, and a cold freezing day.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121609521#Comment_121609521

You’d definitely at least want to do a business management course and unless you’ve been a manager in a restaurant before you would be well served to do a course on hospitality.

Murt10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121609521#Comment_121609521

There was a series on BBC in 2014 called The Restaurant Man. It features a successful experienced restaurant owner (Russell Norman) and he worked as a mentor and and advisor to a number of people looking to start a restaurant.

The programmes are full advice and common sense.

Here's a link I found to the first show in the series.

https://vimeo.com/123783624

And another one from the series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Xm4LHwAIs

sugarman20

It's a really tough business to be successful in and it's not getting any easier. You have massive overheads and very little wiggle room to increase prices. I'm in south Dublin and there are restaurants opening and closing all the time. Your man Richard Corrigan closed his place Park Café after less than a year and he has loads of experience and money!

lucyhere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118428467#Comment_118428467

Exactly

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121609521#Comment_121609521

Tell her to go work in a restaurant for a year or two, to learn the business on someone else's dime.

noahungry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121609558#Comment_121609558

This. I believe courses at the best place to start. Even upon completing them, consider getting some help with writing a business plan and hiring an accountant later on. And connecting with the local small business community if there is one. Also, I think picking something very specific/original (loved the German example) is a really good idea. Make it have a theme and keep the menu fairly simple (at least at the beginning). Pay attention to details. And read all you can about marketing, there are still many things that can be done without a big budget or being an expert (some very creative and free, actually).  

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121616346#Comment_121616346

Yeah definitely go buy the UK food safety book, don’t bother using the FSAI’s resources. 🤣

OP, among anything else your wife needs to read and understand all of the information on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s website. (FSAI).

https://www.fsai.ie/business-advice/starting-a-food-business

there are very strict rules to serving food etc that she needs to be aware of.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787869#Comment_121787869

Both the OP and the guy whose wife was considering going into the biz have closed their accounts/been banned.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787887#Comment_121787887

Ah 🤣

well, in any case if anyone is considering starting their own food business such as a restaurant before you even begin to move ahead with planning that keep in mind:

Easter, mothers/Father’s Day, paddy’s day, valentines, Christmas, new years etc are ALL workdays now. You’re done having holidays like normal people.

weekends? What are those?

Honestly for the first year at least you’ll prob work 120hr weeks.