For anyone that’s wanted to start and run their own restaurant, there is usually a bit of day dreaming involved that sees them creating an incredible place to eat without any hassles.
The reality, however, tends to much different, and owning a restaurant can be expensive, stressful, and thankless affair much of the time due to the uncertain nature of any public-facing business.
There are countless aspects to keep in mind when designing and putting an eatery together, many of which might only become apparent much later on when we least expect it. To try and prepare the future restaurant owner for the worst, however, this is a break down of the most common and unexpected costs or setbacks.
The Cost of Materials
We tend to think of food or kitchen equipment as two of the biggest costs when starting an eatery, but many don’t take into considering the overall costs of the materials that will be needed to create a specific look and ambience.
Consistency is a must for any eatery, meaning that it might become quite expensive to maintain that consistency throughout. There are a few ways of cutting down on cost here, however, such as buying second hand materials.
The Deposits Needed
Building a restaurant from scratch is usually out of the question for most people, so renting tends to be a better idea. But renting also comes with a myriad of costs that can come as quite a surprise.
The first is the deposit for the renting space, which can sometimes be up to 3 to 6 months of the total cost of rent, but perhaps even more surprising are the different kinds of insurances that are needed. Insurance against legal issues, natural damage, and many more – and many of these insurance companies will expect a specific deposit up front before they are willing to sell their service.
Music Fees
In terms of maintaining a certain consistency throughout, this can apply to music. The problem here, though, is that music is often licensed, and this can quickly become a serious problem when we consider the music will be used for commercial purposes.
This means that if a restaurant owner wants a certain type of music played at their venue, they will have to consider that they may need to pay for the rights to play that music. It’s complicated and risky enough that’s something worth investigating beforehand.
Costs of Training
Unless the restaurant is going to be run solely by the owner, having staff may be a necessity. But all staff need to be trained, regardless of how good they are at cooking. Training encompass a wide variety of aspects, from food preparation to stringent cleaning practices. All staff need to be expertly trained before they can begin serving food to the general public, as any slip ups can cause serious legal and financial ramifications.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it can give the potential restaurant owner an idea of what they might expect when opening for the first time.
