How to construct a business plan -- Acknowledgments -- The restaurant business -- The American restaurant scene -- What attracts you to the business? -- Some considerations -- Can you start a restaurant with limited capital? -- Types of restaurants -- A typical day in a restaurant manager's life -- Can someone else manage your restaurant? -- Is restaurant ownership for you? -- 2. Change and innovation -- Trends that affect the restaurant business -- Balancing technology with your budget -- Innovations that are changing the restaurant industry -- Creative solutions for changing conditions -- Keeping it all in perspective -- 3. Start-up requirements -- Financial requirements -- Personal requirements -- Location requirements -- Legal requirements -- 4. Strategy for success -- Reasons some restaurants fail -- Don't assume success will happen -- Start from scratch or buy? -- How much should you pay for an existing restaurant? -- How much should you pay for rent? -- Evaluate before you invest -- Obtain professional assistance -- Acquiring additional capital -- Selecting a location and a property -- Naming your restaurant -- Risk management -- 5. Planning to be profitable -- The feasibility study -- Why do you need a business plan? -- Accuracy is important -- Estimating your start-up costs -- Business plan format -- How to construct a business plan -- The secret to selling a lot of beer -- Who should plan the menu? -- Types of menus -- Variety is the spice of life - and your menu -- Limitations on your menu -- Format is important -- Children's menus sell adult dinners -- Microniches add up to good business -- Standards are necessary -- Menu prince - a marketing tool -- Pricing in general -- Methods of pricing a menu -- Old-fashioned specials still draw people -- Will your restaurant serve alcoholic beverages? -- Pricing alcoholic beverages in general -- 7. The front of the house -- Ambiance and decor -- Your message must be clear -- Organization and training -- Allocating space -- Laying out and efficient floor plan -- How to select table sizes -- Designing a dining room service system -- Customer service -- How to deal with difficult customers -- The take-out business : another front-of-the-house profit center -- 8. The bar and lounge -- Locating the bar -- Bar layout -- Designing your bar -- Construction of the car -- Acquisition of equipment -- Stocking the bar -- Bar glassware -- Staffing the bar -- Inventorying and control of the bar -- Food service in the bar -- Sales promotion -- Wine and the dining-out experience -- The secret to selling a lot of beer -- 12. Keep the lines of communication open -- Analyze your needs -- Working with vendors -- Allocating kitchen space -- Selecting equipment-- The production system -- How to size equipment -- Should you buy or lease equipment? -- Specialized kitchens -- Tableware -- How much should you buy? -- 10. Banquets and other catered events -- Function guests may become regular customers -- Business/luncheon functions - Event catering -- In-house versus external functions -- Outdoor functions -- Good coordination is key to successful functions -- The competition is keen -- Booking functions -- Cultivate repeat function business -- 11. Operating profitably -- The menu -- Controls -- Purchasing wisely -- Receiving, storing, and issuing -- Using standardized recipes -- Food production planning -- Supervision is important -- Entertainment -- Equipment maintenance -- 12. Managing your personnel -- What keeps customers coming back -- Employee retention and turnover -- How to get the most out of your personnel -- Reporting tip income -- Initial interviews -- Exit interviews -- How to gain your employees' cooperation -- Ways to improve employee morale -- Keep the lines of communication open -- appendix E. Index. Understanding the income statement -- Comparisons are informative -- Understanding your balance sheet -- Ratios : valuable analytical tools -- How much control is enough? -- Supervision reduces undesirable practices -- Automated systems for restaurants -- 14. marketing -- Is a marketing plan necessary? -- Market research pays off -- Know your target market -- Recognize your customers' wants and needs -- Catering to separate markets -- Strategies for meeting the competition -- The secret to growth : getting new customers -- How to make the most of your grand opening -- Free publicity can be yours for the asking -- Give customers reasons to come back -- Acquiring your desired image -- Should you advertise? -- Establishing realistic sales goals -- Use the power of the Internet, and don't forget the phone -- 15. Sanitation, safety, and responsibility -- What is food sanitation? -- Dealing with pests -- planning for good sanitation -- What is HACCP training, and how can it help restaurants? -- Employee safety -- Customer safety -- Fire safety -- Alcohol responsibility -- Liquor laws -- 16. What if you succeed? What next? -- Should you stay the same? -- Should you expand? -- Should you franchise? -- Should you sell your restaurant? -- appendix A. Sample business plan for a restaurant -- appendix B. State health departments -- appendix C. State labor departments -- appendix D. State alcoholic beverage control boards -- appendix E. Directory of state restaurant associations -- Index.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.