So You Want To Open A Restaurant

[SAMIAM]

Just finished Anthony Bourdain's book…one of the greatest chefs of all time and thought I’d share some of his observations….just for fun.

In order to own a restaurant you understand that you will be working 17 hour days. You must know all the intricacies of health codes, tax law, fire department regulations environmental protection laws, building code, occupational safety and health regulations, fair hiring practices, insurance requirements, liquor law,….also have to have knowledge of dealing with grease disposal and trash removal. You must have total understanding and knowledge of your water, electrical and fire suppression systems so you can react instantly in an emergency.
You must know how to deal with your suppliers. You will have different suppliers for meat, seafood, produce, paper products, linen and chemicals just to name a few……you must be on top of prices and quality.

Also keep in mind that all the town, state and federal agencies are not your friend. Most of the inspectors assume that you are trying to cheat the system and inspections can cause much stress as well as expensive changes.
Staffing and training are a huge challenge in this business. Turnover is a constant problem.
Now that you’ve mastered all of the above, keep in mind that there are lots of problems in this industry.
30K worth of food in your freezer….it breaks down on a 3 day weekend. Good luck getting service. Dishwasher walks out on a busy night and other staff resent covering his work. Sewerage systems are notorious for failing in restaurants. Backups always occur at the busiest times Sinks, toilets and drains failing can cause you to close.
Is your bartender over serving being lax with ID’s either of which could cause you licensing or serious legal problems.
Just trying to paint a rosy picture for the business with the number 1 failure rate…..hope I didn’t leave anything out.
One last thought….any restaurant that has been in business for 5 years or more has faced most of these problems and deserves your respect and support.