many people have this wish to open a small restaurant and deal with food every day. On the surface, opening a restaurant is to find a storefront to set up a stove and fry the dishes for the guests. In fact, even if you open a small restaurant, there are many links and many trivial things. How to purchase raw materials is the most economical and worry-free? How to configure the equipment is the most reasonable ... Sometimes, whether some links are in place directly affects the success or failure of this restaurant. This entrepreneurial survey dissects the major steps of opening a small restaurant with characteristics, and introduces some business know-how in the industry.

Step 1: Choose a storefront

Two kinds of places are the best choice

One is a place with more people, and the other is a place with dense residents. Choose more places to ensure business at noon. Some restaurants in Hangzhou often have too many empty seats at noon but not enough seats at night. Old catering is very concerned about whether the business can be done well at noon. This can ensure the benign operation of the day. In the commercial and residential area in the west of Hangzhou, big hotels are often not open well, but some small restaurants with characteristics are doing well.

there are many channels to choose a store. You can change hands through the media and in front of the store, or you can directly find a new one and talk to Dong. Another way is to go to the door and the store owner directly after choosing the general location, no matter what the other party is doing now. Although this method is tiring, it has a better effect.

You can take advantage of the effect of store Duo Long

Don't think that places with many stores are not suitable for entry. If there are many characteristic small restaurants in a street, it will cause the effect of "Duo Long", but it is easier to do business than doing it alone. The key is to make a difference between so many stores and other stores.

A rough search of the gathering places of characteristic small hotels in Hangzhou: (A careful investigation before opening will be of great help to the success of a hotel. It is best for entrepreneurs to visit these stores one by one according to their own entrepreneurial orientation. )

A spicy street in Qingzhiwu: It was first famous in Yugu Road near Yuquan Campus of Zhejiang University. After the demolition, the spicy restaurant moved to Qingzhiwu nearby, and there are already seventeen or eight spicy restaurants.

The characteristic small hotel group on Uncle Bao Qi's road: There were only one or two small restaurants, and the business was relatively deserted. Since Piarchuan Noodle Restaurant entered in 2111, Liu Jiaxiang Spicy Restaurant, Chef Zhang, Auntie Dumplings, 911 Bowls, Fisherman's Music and other specialty shops have also entered. Because of their distinctive features, it has become a lively dining street.

The characteristic small restaurant group between Wenxin Road and Wenyuan Road on Gudun Road: There are at least thirteen characteristic small restaurants, ranging from shops with a size of 511 to 611 square meters to shops with a size of less than 111 square meters. The restaurants include Tonglu hometown dishes, Mandile Chicken-flavored Wowo, Yixidi Chicken-flavored Wowo, Xiangyuan Hotel, Huaxi Wangji, Laoshan Noodle Restaurant, Country Building, Rongji Noodle Restaurant, Lvgu Renjia, Chuanzhongchuan, Weimiaoxuan and so on.

Xinhua Road area: Seven or eight characteristic small restaurants, such as Zhenyu bento, Tongshan farm food, Linji old chef and Shaoxing farm food, are good at cooking local dishes, and their business is not bad.

Behind the Overseas Chinese Hotel: Because there are small restaurants that do well, such as Philo Restaurant and Dafuhao Restaurant, this is the place where Hangzhou chefs often arrange their appetites.

The group of small restaurants between Shangtiyu Road and Fengqi Road on Zhongshan North Road: there are a casserole, Hongshun dumplings, 911 bowls of bone pot, Wenzhou noodle restaurant, Lanzhou Lamian Noodles and so on.

Be careful when subletting storefronts

It is almost an open secret in the catering industry to earn part of the subletting fee when borrowing subletting. Therefore, newcomers must be careful when subletting other people's stores.

subletting stores should pay attention to some pitfalls: first, because the sublessor has encountered road demolition projects, it has been unable to open itself, and only wants to recover some initial investment by subletting. Therefore, when looking for a storefront, you must first ask the nearby stores carefully, preferably to the planning, management or industrial and commercial departments. If a place is about to be demolished, the local industrial and commercial office will generally be informed. Second, the original restaurant was restricted in sewage and fire fighting, and it was required by the relevant departments that it could no longer be opened, but the lessee did not know the inside story. After all the sublease fees were paid, it was found that it was impossible to open a shop here. This situation is most common under residential buildings. Third, if the other party can't provide the property certificate after renting it, the industrial and commercial office will not give the business license in this case. The fourth situation is that the other party sublets the store business after it is booming, and the purpose is only to earn the cost of subletting. There are some catering bosses in Hangzhou who like this operation. After taking over, I found that this store has gone into recession, and it is very difficult to make it prosperous again.

If a storefront is subletted one after another in a short period of time, you must also be very careful. There is a saying in the catering industry in Hangzhou: "A paralyzed restaurant is not good at feng shui", which mainly refers to the kind of storefront that has changed hands many times, and it is difficult to do it well again. Sometimes, this storefront looks like a lot of good features, but some hidden weaknesses are hard to see. For example, although it is located in the center and has a large traffic volume, there are also many business buildings on the side. However, it may have problems such as inconvenient parking, inconvenient access, etc., and the result may be that business can't be done well.

step 2: product positioning

after selecting the facade, we will start product positioning. Take opening a 311-square-meter hotel as an example.

a safer way is to follow the trend of food popularity in a city. For example, Jinhua casserole was very popular three years ago. A casserole shop of more than 311 square meters can do business of 1 million yuan a day. Gross profit can reach 51% and net profit is 31%-35%. Since last year, the business of Hang Cheng Restaurant has been booming. Some bosses see this consumer market and specialize in local spicy dishes in Quzhou, Jiangshan, Longyou and other provinces. For example, there is a "Quzhou Hometown Cuisine" at Wenhui Road, which is the "three heads and one palm" of Quzhou, which caters to many spicy lovers and has its own local characteristics.

At present, the popular practice of small restaurants with Hang Cheng characteristics is to directly introduce local dishes from Zhejiang Province to open stores. For example, Jinhua Casserole Shop, Shipu Seafood Shop, Tonglu Restaurant, Dongyang Restaurant, Wenling Restaurant ... These characteristic small restaurants are so popular. Some are simply named after "Tujia cuisine". First, because there are many migrants in Hangzhou at present, especially people from all over the province come to Hangzhou. After opening small restaurants with local characteristics, they can attract a large number of fellow villagers first. For example, Yingshanhong Zhejiang Western Restaurant located at 51 Stadium Road mainly serves western Zhejiang cuisine in Longyou and other places. According to the boss, home guests from Quzhou and Jinhua account for two-thirds. The Green Valley family on Gudun Road is also a place where many people in Hangzhou Lishui have dinner.

if you are cooking special food outside the province, it is difficult to purchase the raw materials completely. At present, the transportation in the province is convenient and the purchase is convenient. Many small restaurants with local flavors and even common vegetables are also shipped from the local area.

with positioning, you can determine the name of the store and customize the menu. It is simple and obvious to name the store directly with the featured main dishes or place names. For example, "roasted chicken", "boiling fish" and "Tonglu hometown dishes", or directly naming the store by the place name, both of these effects are good.

Step 3:

After determining the storefront and positioning, it can be done. The consumer demand of customers is rising, and the position of storefront environment in restaurants has become higher and higher. A good environment can sometimes be the key factor for the success or failure of opening a store. Three or four years ago, some large restaurants in Hangzhou won in one fell swoop with cheap and luxurious environment. Since the end of last year, many small and medium-sized restaurants in Hangzhou have also started to make a fuss about the environment.

How is the storefront environment? It doesn't mean that the more you invest, the better. It depends more on the design. Sometimes, designing a mud wall with little money to reflect the positioning of Tujia cuisine can attract customers. Since last year, there have been some high-end and exquisite small restaurants in Hangzhou, which have done well in business, largely because the environment is superior to others.

It's a very complicated process. Restaurants are different from ordinary families, and it also involves professional issues such as environmental protection and fire fighting. Professionals are invited in the process, and it is best to find a chef or someone with restaurant management experience to take charge before the start. They can provide many suggestions.

Step 4: Recruit people

Talent is also a key link in the success of a restaurant. The staff in the small restaurant is divided into two parts, one is the chef, and the other is the waiter, who is responsible for the kitchen production and the front office service respectively.

the number of chefs in a 311-square-meter restaurant depends on the number of dishes, and generally more than ten people are enough, including cooking, chopping (side dishes), loading (chores) and washing vegetables. However, some chefs use 31 people, such as a Chinese hotel on Zhongshan Middle Road. Because of its high-end positioning, the variety of dishes ranges from Chinese dishes to various west points, and the production requirements are also very high. Naturally, the number of people needs to increase exponentially, but here, the price of vegetables is 61% to 71% higher than that of ordinary restaurants.

There are four common ways to find a chef: First, the boss orders directly. This method is mainly suitable for very small restaurants. The boss goes to a restaurant that is similar to his own position. If he thinks the food is better, he tries to dig people directly in this store. The advantage of a chef is that the boss can understand the skills of each chef and maximize their respective values. In Hangzhou, the salary of a chef in a small restaurant is generally around 3,111 yuan, while that of a chef is more than 1,111 yuan.

In Hangzhou, another way is through Hangzhou Catering and Hotel Industry Association, where free chef introduction service can be provided. The guild will also give simple instructions on how many people are needed for the newly opened kitchen: 87216673, 87216674.

another way is to contract others to do it. After finding a chef, the chef is responsible for recruiting people. For a 311-square-meter hotel, depending on the number of dishes and the positioning of the grade, the monthly contract fee for the chef is between 1,111 yuan and 41,111 yuan, which is used to pay the salaries of the kitchen staff. The boss will sign a contract with the chef to ensure the production and gross profit rate of the dishes, and at the same time ensure that the health inspection and fire inspection of the competent department must pass the customs. This way, it is more worry-free for the boss, as long as you control a chef. The disadvantage is that if the boss doesn't manage the chef well, once the cooperation with the chef is over one day, the whole class of chefs will have to change, which will have a great impact on the operation of the whole restaurant. Moreover, if someone is invited to contract the kitchen, the chef can earn more money only by deducting more wages from the kitchen staff.

the fourth way is to ask the catering management to do it. With the maturity of restaurants in Hangzhou, a number of professional catering management have emerged, such as celebrity catering management, which not only includes hotels invested by celebrities, Zhonghao Typhoon Shelter and Piarchuan, but also exports kitchen management to more than 31 large, medium and small hotels. The catering management in Baoshan Village, Hangzhou, after running its own direct store, began to manage the restaurants outside. Most of these bosses are chefs and have a good experience in kitchen management. Food and beverage management generally has its own direct chain stores, and there is a relatively stable team of chefs below. Inviting them to manage the kitchen seems to be similar to individual kitchen contracting, and the responsibilities are similar. The advantages are: the salary of individual contracted chefs to the following employees is arbitrary and often changes, which affects the stability of the chef team. After management, this operation is more transparent, and management often brings in some new dishes.

Step 5: Customize the equipment

Kitchen equipment includes three major items and small items: electrical appliances (mainly refrigerators), stoves, and a loading table. Recommended places of purchase by senior chefs: Hangzhou Ceramics Factory and specialty store on Qiutao Road.

Small items mainly refer to hardware: stainless steel bowls and basins, chopping boards, spatulas, etc. The place of purchase is in the ceramics market and specialty store. If you want to find a cheaper place, you can go to Hangzhou East Station Commodity Market, Yiwu Commodity Market or Yongkang Hardware Market. As long as the counter-offer is in place, the prices of goods in these places can be cheaper by more than one third.

customer's chopsticks: you can go to the ceramics market or specialty store. If the restaurant has a high positioning and is good at its characteristics, you can customize the dishes and chopsticks that match the characteristics. If it is a stall-type small restaurant, some people will buy it second-hand in order to save the initial investment as much as possible. Some big hotels often change their bowls and chopsticks. These changed bowls and chopsticks are taken to some small restaurants, and the goods still look good. Some shopkeepers will make arrangements with these hotels in advance, as long as they spend a very low price.

for people who have never worked in the catering industry, the chef is usually responsible for guiding the equipment procurement after finding the chef. This is very important, because there are a lot of kitchen equipment on the surface. Some kitchen equipment looks useful, but it is not very useful in practice. Experienced chefs know best what equipment to use.

another thing to note is that some storefronts are equipped with kitchen equipment when they are built. Such equipment is not designed and equipped according to the restaurant you want to open, so renting it often costs a lot of money for nothing.

sublet hotels can sometimes dispense with this purchase procedure, but in many cases, when they are actually put into operation, they will find that some equipment can't be used, so they have to invite professionals to see them before making a decision. Otherwise, we have to throw away the old equipment and pay a large sublease fee for nothing.

If you want to save more money on buying three big items, one way is to go to the junk yard on Shaoxing Road in Hangzhou, which depends on luck. Sometimes there are complete sets of kitchen equipment here, some are in stock and some are second-hand. Another way is to find kitchen equipment manufacturers directly. At present, many kitchen equipment manufacturers recycle some old hotel equipment while buying new goods. Through their second-hand goods, they can save two-thirds of the money compared with brand-new equipment.

Step 6: Purchasing raw materials

After the small shop opened, the boss grasped the purchasing link most firmly. In many small restaurants, the boss also served as the buyer and cashier, which ensured that the money flowed in and out. Even if you can't do it yourself, you should find a close friend to do these two jobs.

Drinks and seasonings:

Method 1: Go to the food market by yourself and overbought. The choice is relatively large, because cash settlement can sometimes choose some cheaper prices.

method 2: directly let the professional contract, which is the most common practice. All drinks and seasonings are supplied by a contractor, who is responsible for delivery at any time. One of the main reasons why bosses take a fancy to this method is that they can hang accounts. The general practice in the industry is to settle accounts one to two months after delivery. There is also a certain rebate for majors, depending on the quantity. If the rebate is added, the procurement cost will not be more expensive than going to the field and going to the market. The rate of rebate ranges from 5% of the amount to 1.2% of the amount, which depends on your own discussion with the supplier. Some restaurants do not accept rebates, but ask suppliers for entrance fees. Some people in the industry think that this practice has many disadvantages, and the interests between suppliers and restaurants cannot be tied together, and cooperation will not be as close as rebates.

Waiters are happy to accept professional delivery, because they can get a corkage fee, which is stipulated by the industry and commerce department as a commercial bribe. In a small restaurant with four or five salespeople, if the business is good, a waiter can receive seven or eight hundred yuan a month for bottle opening. Waiters in some big hotels can't collect the corkage fee by themselves, but in such small hotels, the boss will let the waiters go directly with the corkage fee in order to motivate the waiters to work.