People love to eat out at restaurants, and even though COVID-19 has closed dining rooms around the country, take away options are in high demand. Opening a restaurant can be a lucrative and fun way to make a living, but success doesn’t happen overnight. Most restaurants fail due to poor planning, but that doesn’t mean operating a restaurant has to be overly complicated. There are thousands of moving parts within a restaurant, so the more streamlined your operations, the easier it will be to manage operations and be knowledgeable about all aspects of your business. Here are some ways you can make it easier on yourself.

Start with the administrative basics of starting a business.

All businesses start with a well-thought-out business plan that will help you develop your strategy and find funding. You’ll need to calculate the total start-up costs and ongoing operational costs to create a budget for the following year. Investors will want to see a business plan and know that you have thought out the costs of running a restaurant. Apply for any funding or loans that you’ll need to get started, and while you’re at it, apply for the federal, state, and local permits and licenses necessary to open. It’s a good idea to have an attorney help you obtain your permits and licenses.

Working in a restaurant opens the door to workplace injuries, from slips and falls to burns and cuts. As a restaurant owner, you need to understand the rights of injured workers who have suffered a personal injury due to a workplace accident or work-related illness. Depending on the type of injury, you may be responsible for medical bills and ongoing medical care, as well as other workers’ compensation benefits.

Workers’ compensation law can be complicated, and making a workers’ compensation claim with an insurance company isn’t always straightforward. WIN Injury Network has years of experience helping injured workers win the maximum benefits from their workers’ compensation cases. Their team of Chicago workers compensation attorneys specializes in accident-related injuries including car accidents, construction accidents, work-related injuries, and wrongful death cases. Workers’ compensation lawyers help injured employees receive the workers’ compensation benefits they deserve, including compensation for medical treatment, temporary total disability (TTD), and permanent partial disability (PPD).

Give your customers what they want.

Giving your customers what they want starts by knowing what attracts your target customers to a restaurant. Always know which latest dining trends are popping up, and more importantly, pay attention to which trends your customers are talking about. Reducing food waste, using local ingredients, and dietary-specific meals are all trendy practices that can give your restaurant a competitive edge.

Take the time to engage with customers to discover what they do and don’t like, what type of music is important (such as live or ambient), and whether or not high-quality alcohol and wine matters. Use what you know about your target customers to inspire your menu planning and concept. Everything about the dining experience, from the decor and food presentation to the prices, should make sense and leave customers delighted rather than surprised.

Find an equipment and food provider.

A successful restaurant has a reliable source of restaurant equipment and ingredients at reasonable prices. Working with a wholesale restaurant supplier is a smart way to find the equipment you need. Food containers and food packaging supplies are essential to keeping a clean, odor-free kitchen. GoFoodService carries all the food containers and container supplies that will help streamline your operation.

Their full selection includes to-go boxes and takeout containers, BPA-free plastic containers that are microwave and dishwasher-safe, Pyrex glass food storage containers, lids with airtight seals, and anything you could need for meal prep. Using the right food storage containers is the smart way to keep food fresh and result in less food wasted and money lost.

Design the perfect restaurant layout.

The layout of a restaurant is essential to its function and flow. A well-designed restaurant has a systematic flow from the front-of-house to the back. After you create the perfect layout, you can decorate and design the dining room to meet the goals of your menu and concept. Your restaurant marketing strategy should emphasize street appeal, meaning your windows are a great source of street advertising. People are attracted to busy restaurants, and when passersby see happy, satisfied diners next to the window, they’ll want to come in.

People are also attracted to music and are willing to walk a few extra steps to find out where it’s coming from. Playing music that’s audible in the street and down the block is a smart way to attract hungry, curious customers. When designing the layout of your restaurant, think about all of your customers’ senses, from the time they look in the window to taking their final bites, and appeal to them.

Keep these tips in mind when brainstorming the hottest new restaurant ideas, and with enough hard work and determination, you’ll be running a successful restaurant.