Article

Opening a new location? Here are five things to consider

July 30, 2024 · Authored by Brian Campbell, David Foster, Foster and Associates

It isn’t surprising that most restauranteurs want to eventually expand beyond their original location. But what are the most important things to consider if you are going to open a second restaurant? Are you ready to expand? While you may have the desire to open a second location, you must ensure that you are actually ready. But what does being ready consist of? Let’s delve into this and help you prioritize the critical things you need to consider to open a new location.

The top five

Step 1:

Take an honest look at how your original restaurant is performing

Step away and examine your restaurant’s performance objectively. Are you happy with your concept? Your menu? Your financial performance? Your management and staff? Your guest satisfaction levels? Your online presence and reviews? If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” take a step back and set some measurable performance goals for each area of your restaurant that needs improvement. You want your first location to be sound before diluting your attention with the pursuit of a second location.

Step 2:

Develop and implement an operations manual

Your operations manual is a core necessity for achieving strong, consistent results in every area of your restaurant. A good operations manual contains the standard operating procedures for nearly every aspect of running your day-to-day activities. This becomes even more important when you are not going to be spending as much time there during the process of finding and opening a second location. Make certain you have clear-cut standards for all of your procedures for both food and service. If you want to be able to step away from your first restaurant, you must have the tools in place to allow your managers and staff to continue to operate that restaurant successfully in your absence.

Step 3:

Define your brand and what it stands for

One of the challenges you will encounter when opening a second location is being able to convey to potential new employees and guests exactly what your restaurant brand stands for. Perhaps you have already done this with your original restaurant. If so, great. But you may still find you need to update it. Here are the critical parts of defining your brand and building your brand statement:

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