Start a Restaurant

How To Open A Restaurant: A Common Sense Approach To The Complex Restaurant Industry

Unilever’s move this week to buy shampoo brands Tresemme and VO5 has led some industry watchers to claim the consumer goods giant is undergoing something of a makeover.

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The peanut industry executive whose filthy processing plants were blamed in a salmonella outbreak two years ago that killed nine people and sickened hundreds more is back in the business.

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The explosive growth of the pizza and sub shops across the country has been phenomenal. Take a look at these stats: Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or about 350 slices per second. Pizza is a $32+ billion per year industry. Pizza restaurant growth continues to outpace overall restaurant growth. Pizzerias represent 17 percent of all restaurants. Pizza accounts for more that 10 percent of all food service sales. Here is the manual you need to cash in on this highly profitable segment of the food service industry. This new book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of the restaurant. This superb manual should be studied by anyone investigating the opportunities of openi… More >>

How to Open a Financially Successful Pizza & Sub Restaurant

Up until recently restaurant financing, was burdensome and very limiting. Not only are there only a few lenders interested in restaurant financing, refinancing for this type of business is very difficult to obtain. If you are already in the restaurant business or are planning to open a restaurant, you really do have only a handful of lenders to choose from and even they remain overly cautious with very conservative guidelines.

Thankfully, in the past few years there have been a few more lenders decide to offer restaurant financing, and a few more options. For example, no you can look at stated income loans or loans that are amortized over 30 years. The main reason for the conservative lending patterns is that the restaurant industry has almost twice as many bankruptcies as any other industry. Plus this industry has a lot of seller financing which makes it riskier and more complicated for financial institutes.

When a restaurant loan is underwritten, it focuses more on the debt coverage ratios, loan to value ratios, your credit worthiness, and other more traditional requirements. The debt coverage ratio is the most important and is usually quite conservative around 1:1.3 meaning that for every $1.30 of net income the mortgage payment can’t be over $1.00.

Stated income loans are relatively new for restaurant financing, and they’ve come to be because of the cash nature of the restaurant business. It’s an excellent option for you if your net income isn’t enough for a traditional loan.

The restrictions on most loan to value ratios usually tops out at 60% except in some high leverage loans where it might be as high as 90%. All of these numbers really are dependent on both the lender and your personal situation. Restaurant financing is one type of lending that doesn’t have a cut and dry set of requirements. Your personal credit score will almost always come into play with restaurant financing, with a credit score of 640 being about the lowest credit score that lenders will look at.

Restaurant financing may be a little more difficult than other types of business financing, but you should never let that stand in your way. Online lenders are much more flexible than traditional lending institutes like the banks, so do your research, and explore all your options.

Above all, never give up on your dreams. If owning a restaurant is your dream, then keep at it until you find restaurant financing that works for you!

Author: Gordon Petten
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You may be aware of this, but there a number of firms that can actively assist you as you looking for business loan. These firms are commonly known as loan brokerages. They work in a very similar capacity to that of a mortgage brokerage firm but with a specific focus on business loans. However, before engaging a business loan brokerage you should be aware of a few things. Like with any industry, there are a number of unscrupulous firms and individuals that seek to take advantage of people that are not privy to how the industry works. In regards to loan brokerages, you should be wary of any firm that requires substantial upfront fees before assisting you with obtaining a business loan. However, some of the fees presented by a loan brokerage can be reasonable. For instance, fees for business plan development and credit reports should be reasonable while several thousand dollar retainers for simply taking on a project are not. When working with a business loan brokerage you should always perform your own due diligence. Does this firm have references? Are they are member of the Better Business Bureau? What is their success rate?

Once you find a firm that you want to work with when looking for business loan then it is time to begin negotiating the fees. Typically, most business loan brokerages charge a fee ranging from 2% to 10% of the successfully raised capital. Again, this is subject to negotiation. If you have a substantial amount of collateral, an excellent credit score, and a solid business plan then the fees should be lower as your chances of obtaining a business loan are much higher than people that do not have the same qualities.

One of the pros of working with a business loan brokerage is that you can quickly receive a number of loan offers from a number of banks and lenders within days of submitting your formal application. Additionally, the business loan brokerage can assist you immensely with developing the appropriate application and business plan so that your business loan request can be processed faster than if you did it on your own.

One of the primary negatives to working with a loan brokerage is that they can charge substantial fees for their services. However, these fees can be justified if the loan brokerage is legitimate and able to secure a business loan on your behalf.

The restaurant industry is booming. With 945,000 U.S. locations and 13.1 million employees, 2008 restaurant sales totaled $558 billion dollars. That means, on a typical day, restaurant industry sales are about $1.5 billion.

In order to produce these numbers, restaurant owners need cash, cash that many attempt to acquire through bank loans. But when the bank is not an option, many would-be borrowers feel discouraged and often like they’ve hit a road block. However, restaurant loans provide an alternate route.

A restaurant loan is a form of a merchant cash advance. Like merchant cash advances, the loan is repaid via the credit card purchases of customers. Also, like merchant cash advances, they can be renewed, offering restaurant owners a type of “revolving loan.” Unlike most cash advances, that require a merchant to have owned his/her business for at least four months to be eligible for a loan, a borrower can receive a restaurant loan within the first week of the restaurant’s opening. Now in addition to being able to use the loan to expand your restaurant, for a boost in working capital, or for a special project, new restaurant owners can use these loans for startups as well.

Restaurant owners understand that creating a venue that appeals to consumers is vital, as obviously, these types of sales would not be possible if it weren’t for the consumer. People go out to eat when they don’t have the time to cook, or simply don’t want to cook. They go to restaurants to celebrate milestones, birthdays, holidays and accomplishments and to spend time with friends and/or family.

According to statistics provided by the National Restaurant Association, 70 percent of adults said their favorite restaurant foods provide flavor and taste sensations which cannot be easily duplicated in their home kitchens.

Restaurant owners have the challenge of keeping up with the times, providing healthier options and sometimes environmentally friendly sites, as “62 percent of adults said they are likely to make a restaurant choice based on how environmentally friendly a restaurant is,” states the National Restaurant Association.

Restaurant loans can make it possible for restaurant owners to provide these meals that customers can not duplicate, to create environmentally friendly spaces, and to finance all of the endeavors that it takes to make and keep customers. The loans can be attained with no collateral and offer a repayment process that is ideal for restaurant owners. Choose a restaurant loan to help bring out the best in your restaurant.

Author: Gaston Castro
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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For many years restaurants have gotten a bad rap when it comes to perceived risk.  Business experts and people in general are prone to citing “The High Failure Rate” of restaurants as a reason not to invest in or start restaurants.  Most of us are so use to hearing such talk we simply accept it as truth.  If we were to ask those who claim that restaurants have a higher failure rate than other small businesses to provide a references for their claim, they couldn’t.  There aren’t any credible research studies to support this myth.

I recently published an article outlining how anyone can dramatically improve their odds of success at starting a restaurant business.   The same day that the article was published a reader left a great comment, which not surprisingly mentioned the high failure rate of restaurants.    For the benefit of aspiring restaurateurs, restaurant investors, and the restaurant industry, it’s time to set the record straight.

There is no meaningful difference in the failure rate of restaurant start-ups and small business start-ups in general.  According to the Small Business Administration about 44 percent of small businesses are still operating after four years.  Similarly, according to a 2007 study conducted at Ohio State University, 41 percent of restaurants were still operating three years after launch.

As someone who has owned and operated a restaurant in a major city, the enjoyment and social aspects of being a restaurant owner fall just below rock star, local celebrity, and city mayor.  A popular restaurant allows the owner to be at the center of community events.  More importantly, if restaurant owners avoids the trap of trying to “Do-it-All” themselves, they can also enjoy a well balanced lifestyle.

The classic nightmare restaurant ownership scenario of long frantic days is the same for any entrepreneur,  who does not graduates from working in his business to working on his business.  Moreover, if restaurants were failing at the staggering 90% rate that some quote, it is unlikely that the restaurant industry would have been growing at double digit rates prior to the current recession.  

Author: Shed Wallace
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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When asked how he came to own the restaurant, Joe Gleason simply says, “I was driving by one day… and it was for sale.” The owner of The Ripe Tomato in Malta, NY paints an interesting story of how he launched the quaint upstate New York restaurant after noticing a “For Sale” sign one day while passing through the town. He also reminisces on his almost 55 years in the food industry having started as a mere dishwasher in Manhattan and purchasing his first of 14 restaurants after only a few short years in the food service industry and with no experience in the “front-of-the-house”.

“I started as a dishwasher and hadn’t even so much as bartended prior to the opening night of my own first restaurant, “TJW Gleason’s” in Manhattan,” says Gleason. “I recall that Gin & Tonics were only 75 cents back then and a Whiskey Sour was 85 cents. After a week of trying to keep up with all the varying drink prices, I just decided to make everything $1.00.” Gleason opened that first restaurant & tavern in 1960 and it quickly became the jewel of its Manhattan neighborhood, its popularity proven by its mention in a June 6, 1977 supplement of New York Magazine called ”Columbus Avenue, Rebirth of a Vibrant Street” which included a write-up of TJWs. Gleason’s other successful restaurants over the span of his career have resided in NYC, New Jersey, Florida, St. Croix and right here in beautiful upstate, NY where his remaining restaurant resides: The Ripe Tomato in Malta, NY.

The Ripe Tomato in Malta, now in its 15th year of service was once called the “Elm Tree Tavern” but after experiencing a difficult start, Mr. Gleason was ready to put the restaurant back on the market after only two years of business until his wife, Lynn suggested that they first try to rename the establishment and roll-it out with a new theme, tomatoes! A grand reopening was planned to resurrect the struggling restaurant and on its opening day, the Ripe Tomato stopped traffic on busy Route 9 in Malta when an elephant named “Beulah” graced the parking lot to encourage visitors into its doors. Yes, the couple had cleverly rented a mammoth pachyderm to market the business and had adorned her with a saddle covered in tomatoes. Beulah was a big success and brought not only passing visitors but also a slew of media attention to the newly named restaurant. “Business tripled after that and it’s been a successful business for us ever since” says Gleason.

Today, the Ripe Tomato stands proudly on a strip of Route 9 conveniently located about half way between Saratoga Springs and Clifton Park, NY. Its inviting red glow and big country farmhouse feel continues to beckon visitors inside (even without Beulah pacing the parking lot).

Inside, checkered tablecloths continue the country-feel and smells from the kitchen coupled with unique wall art that incorporates big bright tomatoes into famous works of art (such as the Mona Lisa and American Gothic by Grant Wood), all designed by Lynn; complete the comfortable, warm atmosphere.

Although Gleason’s early restaurants served a limited menu of burgers and pub fare, the Ripe Tomato boasts an extensive menu that is a mixture of American country fare and Italian classics. House Specials on the menu include a Cedar Salmon dish served over a cedar plank for unique flavoring and a Shrimp and Scallop Bisque touted as having been voted the “Best Soup in Saratoga”. The restaurant also offers an extensive wine list and any patron should be sure to leave enough room for one of their incredible homemade desserts. Homemade pumpkin pie was the temptation on the day that this writer visited the establishment.

Gleason and the restaurant’s managing partner, Mr. Milan Vesic welcome patrons to come in for any occasion from a weekday family dinner to a romantic dinner for two or for any special occasion. They say that their ultimate goal is to leave every customer feeling, “full and happy” and my visit did just that!

Taunia Kipp is an independent Business Author and the Chief Operating Officer for Mountain Media, a privately held corporation located in Saratoga Springs, NY. The company’s proprietary eCommerce management platform, known as “Mountain Commerce” was named to Practical eCommerce magazine’s list of notable shopping cart solutions in late 2007. Additionally, the company offers a full compliment of commercial Web services such as Search Engine Marketing, Graphic Design, Web Hosting and Merchant Services.

Learn more at: www.mountainmedia.com
Visit The Ripe Tomato, Malta, NY

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/restaurant-reviews-articles/unique-character-and-comfort-at-the-ripe-tomato-malta-ny-1402683.html