How much does it cost?
There are some basic costs that will apply to almost any restaurant. Clearly your shopping list will include tables, chairs, cutlery and crockery, kitchen and cooking equipment, toilet facilities and ventilation.
For his restaurant, which seats 40 people, Stephane Luiggi, owner of the French Living restaurant in Nottingham spent £5000 on kitchen equipment, some of which was second hand, and £5000 on tables and chairs.
As well as ovens and fridges, your kitchen equipment will include dishwashers, storage units, scales and don’t forget the all-important fly killers. The sky’s the limit in terms of equipment costs. It really depends on the size and scope of your restaurant. One way of saving money is to lease some of the equipment rather than buying. This can free up valuable capital during the early stages which can be better spent on marketing and recruitment.
Property costs will vary greatly according to where you are located, not just in terms of regions, but also the type of property you want. The high street will obviously cost more than a residential area. However, you may need the footfall that a prominent position provides in order to achieve a high enough turnover. All this will have to be weighed up before you make a decision on how much you should spend on property.
Aside from property, staff will be of your biggest fixed cost. If your establishment is open seven days a week, you’ll need more than one chef. The average head chef commands a salary of between £20 and 30,000 , while full time waiting staff salaries will start at around £15,000. Steve Cox warns that staff shortages in this field are critical; at one stage, he even had to advertise in Australia and New Zealand to attract good staff.
For a more detailed guide to starting a restaurant check out the Startups.co.uk book Starting Your Own Restaurant, available from Crimson Publishing and Amazon