Strategic site selection: Finding the right spot for your next restaurant

Opening a new location for your restaurant is an exciting milestone—one that reflects your success and ambition as a business owner. But with that excitement often comes a sense of uncertainty. You’ve built something special in your current location, and now you’re ready to grow. The question is: can you recreate that winning formula somewhere new?

While many elements contribute to a restaurant’s success, such as a well-crafted menu, inviting décor, and exceptional service, one factor stands above the rest: location. Your location doesn’t just determine your visibility; it shapes your customer base, influences your brand perception, and impacts your bottom line.

That’s why the first step in expanding your business should be a deep understanding of your current location and the customers who have helped you thrive. By analyzing what has worked well and identifying the characteristics of your existing market, you’ll be better equipped to find a new location that aligns with your brand and sets you up for long-term success.

Here are four questions to ask when considering your next location:

Where do your customers live? Understanding where your customers live isn’t just helpful, it’s foundational to making smart location decisions. Residential patterns reveal a wealth of demographic and psychographic insights that can shape your business strategy. From income levels and household size to marital status, and education, these data points help you anticipate not only who your customers are, but how they live, spend, and dine.

Who are your customers? From the information you’ve compiled based on where your customers reside. You can now start to form a detailed profile of your typical customer: their average age, median household income, average commute to work, and more. This customer image not only helps you better understand who your customers are but also serves as a valuable tool in guiding future business decisions — particularly when evaluating potential locations for expansion or optimizing existing ones.

Where can I find a similar customer profile? Once you've defined your ideal customer, the next step is to identify markets that mirror that profile. This is where data-driven site selection becomes a powerful tool. By analyzing demographic and economic data, you can pinpoint areas with similar characteristics to your existing successful locations. Look for neighborhoods or regions that match key indicators such as population density, income levels, lifestyle preferences, and commuting patterns. This approach increases the likelihood of replicating your success by placing your business in environments where your ideal customers already live, work, and shop.