You're thinking about opening a restaurant. The fame and fortune that could come with opening a restaurant is tempting you, and your penchant for good food drives you to integrate your life into such an exciting industry. All of these ideas are great, but you still don't want to appear overly enthusiastic. The likelihood of failing to open a restaurant is high, even in a healthy economy, and the industry is even more ruthless during a recession. Expensive ingredient raw materials, labor costs are high, and consumers are choosing to eat at home more often. Restaurants close, and life goes on.

But entrepreneurs are willing to challenge the impossible claims and have the courage to try their luck in such a brutal industry. We're not saying you can't do this. We're just telling you that you should prepare yourself first, and maybe you might find yourself at the bottom of the restaurant chain. To help you get started, we've interviewed a group of industry experts and successful entrepreneurs in the restaurant space to give you the how-to's and know-how.

Recognize the reality and start cautiously

While you may be in a hurry to start operations, you still can't skip this step: build a solid foundation.? Above all, avoid flaunting around the ? Polaroid Camera SyndromeThis is a picture I took in my own restaurant, and this is me with my chef.? Clark, founder and president of food restaurant consulting firm ClarkWolfCo. ClarkWolf, warns.? It's not worth going on to say that you have a lot of work to do to make something different.?

Opening a restaurant requires in-depth knowledge not just related to food, but also marketing, financing and managing people skills. Even if you have all the know-how on your own, it wouldn't be a bad idea to work with someone else.? Choose a work partner and find people who share your passion and can bring a different flavor to your business.? Marilyn, a restaurant owner and consultant with more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Marilyn Schlossbach advises.

Having the knowledge you need is only part of laying the groundwork for success; you also need to have the capital to drive the business forward.? Looking at historical cases, one often hears that underinvestment is the number one cause of business failure,? Wolfe said.? It's never hard to see the truth. What you really need to know is not just how much money you need to open your restaurant, but also where the money will come from to continue operations next.? To have enough capital to support the first six months of operation, Wolfe makes the suggestion to also have an additional amount of money set aside to get through the months afterward.

Coming up with a good idea

While the U.S. restaurant industry in general has taken a beating, there are some areas that are really doing better than others. Fast casual dining, for one, has been a big hit with consumers because they offer healthier options at more reasonable prices, which is exactly the kind of value consumers look for. According to Technomic, a food service consulting firm, U.S. fast casual restaurant chains saw a 13% increase in sales and a 9.5% increase in the number of stores in 2007, making it one of the few fast-growing segments of the food service industry.

Both Shoalsbridge and Wolfe agree that fast casual dining has great potential, but Wolfe also believes that success has not been so clearly marked. Regardless of the segment of the restaurant market, restaurants must focus on making their customers feel better, which is the number one reason people go to restaurants in the first place, Wolfe said. Whether it's through great food and good service, it's about making sure customers feel comfortable and safe. It's also important to be mindful of customer expectations. Wolff noted that people crave comfort food, such as the mashed potatoes that everyone enjoyed after the 1987 economic collapse,?9/11? sushi became popular after that. Now? Some of this? indicative foods associated with economic development? include 1) quality hamburgers made with very good meat and bacon, because Americans are innately fond of hamburgers, and 2) we are entering an economic era where macaroni and cheese are prevalent, but cheese is a bit more popular at the moment. He said: ? Both of these cuisines can be made with greens from the farmer's market.? Wolfe suggests featuring seasonal, regional, family heirloom flavors and organic foods in restaurants.

J. Dean Loring, 51, and Michael Gilligan, 52, look to have found the right path to making money, and in 2007 they founded BurgerLounge, a fast-casual casual burger restaurant in La Jolla, Calif. Using only organic ingredients, they offer grass-fed beef in their specialty round buns. In order to exceed the expectations of their guests, the restaurant focuses on promoting the high quality of service provided. While other restaurants are downsizing or or giving up on expanding, BurgerLounge is expanding. Now in its fourth location, it is averaging more than $1,100 in annual sales revenue per square foot and expects to exceed $5 million in sales by the end of the year.? A lot of people are watching from the sidelines, worried about what will happen,? Laurin said, ? But we see opportunities both in real estate and in providing `products that meet people's needs right now. I wouldn't argue that our company and our products or model are recession-proof, but are certainly thriving in the current market.?

Pour on the passion and save

In the current economy, banks are tightening their lending and credit card companies are cutting back on credit lines. You need access to cash to keep your business from getting out of control. If you're in this situation, think outside the box and look at the longer term.

Street food isn't as low-brow as it used to be. Fancy concoctions, fresh ingredients and unique offerings have taken street vendor service to a whole new level. In fact, these have become an important part of New York City's dining scene and have been recognized by the public with the specially created ?VendyAward? awards, which selects the best street food for all the street vendors, which has been in place for four years. They are a new generation of roadside vendors who have entered the restaurant business with tantalizing food at low cost.

Jerome Chang and Chris Chen pioneered the mobile restaurant concept, starting DessertTruck together in 2007 with about $100,000 in startup capital (Chris has since quit). Through the side windows of their customized trucks, customers can buy delicious desserts such as baked apples and cinnamon, melted chocolate, cake and vanilla cream for $5. Sales revenue is estimated to reach about $500,000 by the end of this year. Jerome and Chris are now able to secure a minimal investment in their business, but you don't want to be too reckless in your rush to cut costs. Jerome admits that they chose the cheapest supplier to build their trucks, and more than a year later, they are still bearing the cost of a decision they made back then because of poverty.? Dealing with mechanical issues is a problem for any mobile catering business, and if you are not well-prepared, it will drain you significantly.? Jerome said he paid $65,000 for the truck.? In our case, we chose a low-budget vendor, which resulted in many problems, most of which could have been prevented.?

In addition to the maintenance problems, the truck was not designed to be used very well: the rear door, which was intended for him and his eight staff to pass through, no longer opens. He also had to make sure he could get the limited number of street vendor licenses issued by New York City. However, creating a mobile restaurant brought him fame and created a healthy operating environment. In fact, in order to survive tough times, it will force you to work hard to get almost anything you possibly can.? When you are in the restaurant business, you have to build up slowly on pennies, nickels and dimes.? Wolfe says, ? If you start a business now, start learning how to do it successfully, and you always have to be prepared.?

Info:

Cost-saving tips

Rely on these additional cost-cutting tips to save even more money: go green. Utilizing sustainable products, being able to recycle cups, and being able to use a solar panel roof are initiatives that can greatly impact your profit profile.

Ask more questions. Everyone may have to take a loss in a recession, including your store owners and suppliers. Negotiate for lower prices, for example by agreeing to promise to compensate when the economy recovers.? When times are better, everyone must be generous to each other; in tough times, we must protect each other. ? said Wolf, president and founder of ClarkWolf.? I really recommend that people learn to be flexible.?

Get involved in community organizations. It doesn't cost your business much to market in this way. Join a local chamber of commerce to get involved in community-wide marketing efforts, or partner with a local theater to offer ? Dinner + 1 movie? packages, suggests restaurant owner and consultant Shoalsbridge.

Monitor costs. This can save a lot of money.? Make sure you spend money where people can feel it,? Wolfe said.? This is not the right time for a big splurge.? ;