Picking a Location for Your Restaurant
Picking a location for your restaurant is essential to figure out if you wish to succeed and thrive over a long period. The U.S. restaurant industry did over $799 billion in 2021, making it one of the largest industries in the nation.
Eight out of 10 restaurant owners started in an entry-level position in the industry and worked their way into their current positions.
Finding the Location
Restaurant ownership is a busy but profitable business, but only if you know where to put your restaurant and how to run it like a pro. Your restaurant location could be the key to long-term success in the industry.
Why Restaurant Location Is Important
Though everyone needs to eat, not every space you find is the perfect place to help fill this need. Busy pedestrian streets seem like ideal food venues, but if you are serving up something the locals aren’t keen on, your expensive piece of real estate could end up being a lost cause. Even worse, the liabilities from heavy traffic or high crime rates could price your restaurant insurance beyond what you can afford. Choosing a restaurant location, and it’s these reasons that make choosing your restaurant location so important.
Visibility
You need good visibility if you are going to catch the public’s attention. Ideal locations are where you’ll find consistent car traffic or high foot traffic. People need to quickly see your signage for you to capitalize on the free advertising that comes from prime real estate.
Parking
You need to motivate people to stop by for lunch or dinner, and it needs to be convenient for them to do so. It means having plenty of parking close to your restaurant. If you’re in an urban area where people walk everywhere, you may not have to worry about this one so much. If the location you want doesn’t have good parking, it could still be okay if there are municipal parking lots nearby to use.
Size
Don’t think of size from a consumer point of view. You need to think about the kitchen set-up, storage, employee space, office, refrigeration, etc. Even though seating customers is essential, you also need plenty of room to serve those customers.
Neighborhood
You’ll find that some neighborhoods have too many restaurants. Your menu and concept may already exist or aren’t appealing to the neighborhood. High crime rates in the area don’t just impact your restaurant insurance. If the community has a dismal view of the area, it will affect your marketing and advertising success.
Even though you may be excited about opening a restaurant, don’t be impulsive and jump into a real estate deal. Take time to consider how each element of the space, community, and costs will impact your ability to be successful in the industry.
About Byrnes Agency
At Byrnes Agency, we offer insurance solutions that can be tailored to meet your specific needs. Whether you’re looking for personal policies or commercial coverage, we have the right coverage for you. To learn more about our products, contact us today at one of our two locations.
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Norwich, CT 06360
United States
info@byrnesagency.com
Hours of Operation: Monday- Friday 9:00am-5:00pm