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A Starter Guide to Opening a Restaurant

A Starter Guide to Opening a Restaurant

Have you been toying around with the idea of opening and running a restaurant? If so, you must have all the necessary business ‘ingredients.’ As a food entrepreneur with aspirations of having a thriving eatery, it’s crucial to exhibit culinary competency, professional business principles, and 

How to Open an Italian Restaurant

How to Open an Italian Restaurant

The restaurant industry can be a tough one to crack. As someone who has never opened a restaurant, it can be especially challenging to figure out how to open an Italian restaurant if that’s your chosen style of cuisine. Depending on your background, you may 

How to Open a Burrito Bowl Catering Business

How to Open a Burrito Bowl Catering Business

Mexican cuisine is beloved around the world. It’s no surprise since the food is extremely tasty and has a range of spices and flavors that suit the palette. So if you’re interested in starting your burrito bowl catering service, you have the chance to have a lucrative business that can easily become popular if you provide quality food. Here are a few tips on how to open your business.

Renovate Your Space

As you get started on your burrito bowl catering business, you’ll need to renovate your space to make it suitable for customers and workers. Do you have exterior or interior debris you must clear out? If so, it may the time to call commercial demolition contractors. Your exterior may have tree stumps, uneven pavement, and unsightly vegetation that you have to clear out quickly. Doing so will be the first step in ensuring you have a paved parking lot, a clean walkway, and a nice landscape that can impress potential customers. After all, curb appeal is just as important to a commercial business as it is to your residential property.

To get the ball rolling on renovating your space, you should enlist the services of an interior designer. Try to find one who has worked with other commercial properties and who can give you insight into the best way to design a space that can work for a catering company or restaurant. So, as you do renovations, think about whether or not you want your burrito bowl catering space to just be a catering service that delivers or operates as a sit-down restaurant. Such a consideration will be a huge deal in your overall layout and how much space you have for your kitchen.

Hire commercial painters to add the right color. Before painting, they’ll repair and update the interior and exterior walls as needed. Then, they will paint them any color you wish. You can match your business logo color or stay neutral with white, off-white, gray, or earth tones.

Install Security Features

All businesses should have a good amount of security. Whether you’re on the clock at your burrito bowl catering business or have gone home for the day, your building should always be secure to protect you, your staff, or your customers. Electronic security should include locks and access codes. Have security cameras in strategic places outside and inside your catering facility. As a burrito bowl catering business owner, you have to worry about people stealing food, equipment, or profits for the night.

Fix Your Parking Lot

As you do your renovations, take the time to have a safe parking lot for everyone coming on your property. An unsafe parking lot is a liability for any business. Make note of any cracks, potholes, or uneven leveling. If you see any vulnerabilities that could potentially harm a car or a pedestrian, have them fixed immediately by calling an asphalt patching service. Such professionals can quickly fill any cracks or potholes and smooth them out. However, if you have extensive damage in your parking lot, you may need to pull up the existing pavement and have it completely redone from scratch.

Your parking lot should also include obvious designated parking lines. People need clear markers for parking to avoid any issues. Parking lines and signs can also quickly and effectively direct people on where to drive in the parking lot and how to drive out. Such directives can help them avoid accidents that can occur within a parking lot. By law, your commercial parking lot should have designated spaces for emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances. You also need a certain amount of space to accommodate handicapped drivers.

Not taking your parking lot space seriously can involve liability for your business. If you have cracks or holes, anyone can trip. If staff or customers trip and fall in a parking lot and hurt themselves, you could be liable.

Keep Pests Away

As with any food service facility, a burrito bowl catering needs to take the right precautions to protect itself from pests. Insects like cockroaches, ants, and rodents are always searching for food and water. Protect your business from an infestation by hiring industrial pest control services. These professionals will look for signs of an existing infestation as well as prevent a future one from occurring.

There are many paths that your business will have to worry about. Termites don’t just affect residences, they can tear into any wood structure, and that includes your commercial property. According to the EPA, termites can ruin a structure in as little as three years. What if you have too many bees swarming around? Normally, bees don’t attack people unless they feel threatened and are a vital part of the ecosystem due to their pollination activities. However, if you need a killer bee extermination due to their aggressive nature, call local exterminators to make sure you and your customers are safe.

After going through all that work to open up your burrito bowl catering business, the last thing you want is to be shut down due to health code violations. When you are serving food to the public, you must stay in health compliance to ensure that your business doesn’t inadvertently spread foodborne illnesses such as E. coli salmonella, and other food poisons. If you have an untreated pest infestation, such as rodents and cockroaches, their feces and urine can easily infest your working area as well as the food itself. If your business has such an infestation, it may have to shut down temporarily or permanently.

Remodel Your Bathrooms

Once people sit down to enjoy your burrito bowls and some margaritas, expect them to frequently run to the bathroom. The busier your business is, the more bathrooms you should have to accommodate people. Plus, you also need bathrooms to accommodate your staff. Sure, you hire a local commercial plumbing contractor to ensure that your drains and piping are up to par. They can check your piping for signs of leaks that could damage your commercial property and cause water damage. If you have drain issues or problems with your septic tank, it could lead to sewage backups and toilets that constantly overflow. That would be a major sanitation issue for your business and it isn’t something that would please customers.

In addition to ensuring that your plumbing is in compliance with government regulations, you could further update your bathrooms by installing new fixtures. Dual-flush toilets help your business save water and money. According to the EPA, the typical toilet wastes five gallons of water in every flush. However, a high-efficiency toilet would only use slightly more than one gallon. As a result, your business would save a lot of money on the monthly water bill.

Create an Inviting Dining Room

When customers come to eat at your burrito bowl catering business, you want them to feel as comfortable as possible. Do so by creating an inviting dining room. The first step in inviting commercial dining space is to have comfortable new tables and chairs. If you want customers to stay long enough to order more food or bring a large dining party with them ensure your seats are properly upholstered. Have tables that range from small single tables to large ones that can accommodate bigger dining parties.

In addition to good seating, you should keep your dining room floors shiny, new, and safe. Whether you have a floor made from stone, tile, or hardwood, further protect it with epoxy sealing. This floor covering provides a protective layer that can last for several years with good maintenance. This invisible sealant not only protects your floors, it also protects customers from slips and falls. The sealed floors are easier to maintain as you only need a broom and a mop to clean; no special equipment is needed.

Don’t forget about your dining room windows. Having windows can ensure your dining room never becomes stuffy or fuels closed in. Restaurant windows can come in any style, ranging from French windows to sliding windows to double pane windows. Just make sure that your windows are also energy efficient so that they can help make sure the space remains cool in summer and warm in winter. Enhance your aesthetic by having the right window coverings. These coverings can include industrial blinds, manual shutters, automatic shutters, and so on.

Find a Waste Removal Service

Professional waste removal is a necessity for any business, especially when dealing with food. After all, properly getting rid of waste ensures you stay within sanitation compliance of your local vicinity. Proper trash removal also helps you prevent vermin from coming into your business or its surrounding area. So make sure you have regular garbage pickup services for your burrito bowl catering company. Have an area to put out the trash every night, or a few times a day, depending on how many hours your business operates.

You can arrange to have commercial trash bins in various sizes on your property. If you know you have a full House of customers all day, then you may want to have more than one large container available to store all the trash needed. Don’t forget about recycling. If you want to keep your business eco-friendly, have separate bins to contain plastic, glass, and other non-recyclable items.

Schedule Seasonal Services

Before you know it, winter will be here again. If your burrito bowl catering service is in a seasonal climate, you should invest in the appropriate seasonal services. With winter approaching, your business should be prepared to handle snow removal. After all, if snow and ice are allowed to build up outside, it would make it hard for customers and employees alike to get inside. You will have a safety hazard if you don’t regularly put down salt to combat any ice that builds up.

Once winter goes away and eventually it turns into spring, you have to worry about lawn upkeep. If you have a landscape in your commercial exterior. You want to keep it as green and beautiful as possible. When spring comes and snow melts, you may need to call commercial landscapers to clean up any underlying debris under the snow. They should also prep your landscape for spring to ensure it’s properly fertilized and no weeds have sprouted out over winter. That can also be the time to plant some flower beds around your property if you want to further beautify your exterior and track more customers to eat burritos at your facility.

Invest in Delivery Vehicles

Anyone who operates a food service should take advantage of delivering to customers. Thanks to apps like Uber Eats and Door Dash, it’s easier than ever to provide food delivery in your area. However, you don’t have to rely on those apps if you don’t want to, as you can also have your own delivery service. By incorporating your company delivery vehicles, you can further advertise your business any time of day.

Delivery vehicles can host your company name and contact information. If people see a van or car marked with burrito bowls going down the street, it may remind them that they haven’t had Mexican food in a while and they may seek out your business. You could further make your delivery vehicle stand out by investing in vehicle wrap services. These vehicle wrap advertisements can put whatever you want on the car. You can incorporate pictures of your burrito bowl, mascot, logo, business name, social media handles, and more.

There’s nothing like a tasty burrito when one is craving it. So, if you’re ready to unleash your burrito bowl catering company to the hungry public, make sure you do it right. With the right food service and commercial building set up, you have the means to have a very successful business that people will keep coming to. If your initial business is successful, you can set yourself up to have a chain of catering facilities around your area or even nationwide. Start with these initial steps to get the ball going on a potentially lucrative career.

Use This Taking Over a Restaurant Checklist for Your Establishment

Use This Taking Over a Restaurant Checklist for Your Establishment

Taking over a restaurant is a first choice business for most people aspiring to get into business on a tight budget quickly. Considering all the time and money you’d otherwise spend if you decide to set up a restaurant from scratch, buying an existing restaurant 

How to Open a Coffee Shop in Texas

How to Open a Coffee Shop in Texas

If you have always lived in Texas, and you’re proud of being from the Lone Star state, you may be thinking of starting your very own business. When you want to discover how to open a coffee shop in Texas, there are a few steps 

Your Guide to Opening a Restaurant With No Experience

Your Guide to Opening a Restaurant With No Experience

The restaurant business is profitable, but only if you get it right from the start. A lot goes on behind the scenes before a restaurant opens its doors for business, and as someone who’s never done it before, you can get confused quickly. You’ll need some help. Here’s your guide for opening a restaurant with no experience.

1. Repair Your Roof

When opening a restaurant with no experience, there are a few repairs you’ll need to undertake to get your space ready for business. One component that entrepreneurs often overlook but is important to your building’s integrity is the roof. Having a commercial roofer inspect the entire roofing system for potential repair and replacement needs before opening up shop is key to keeping the structure in tip-top shape.

Ignoring a faulty roof can result in many issues, including energy inefficiency, structural damage, mold growth, and leaks. These will lead to lower property value, costly interventions, and, even worse, business interruptions. A poorly maintained roof will expose your employees and customers to several safety risks, exposing you to liability issues.

Scheduling a maintenance check with your local roofing contractor may seem like another unnecessary additional expense, but it’s a cost-effective approach to extending your roof’s useful life. You’ll be able to identify minor issues before they grow into larger ones that necessitate a complete replacement. A well-maintained roof is also energy-efficient, meaning you can save some cash on your energy bills in the long term. Now that you understand how fixing your roof will benefit your business, look for a reputable and seasoned commercial roofing company that services your area.

As you do this, note that not everyone who claims to offer great services does. Some may just be talking a big game to secure the job but are beginners or, in the worst-case scenario, crooks. That’s why you should take your time to research a contractor’s background and history in the industry. You can use online reviews and testimonials of past customers for this, but the Better Business Bureau is one of the best and most trustworthy resources for finding a great roofer.

2. Gather the Right Equipment

Restaurants rely on many equipment and food service solutions to ensure smooth operations, from prep work to cooking, to serving customers. When opening a restaurant with no experience, it’s important to have a clear picture of what you’ll need to buy. An oven is one of the most important pieces of commercial kitchen equipment to have in your arsenal. The type you’ll need depends on the food you’ll serve. A fine-dining restaurant uses a different oven than a bakery.

After sorting the ovens out, consider ranges and ventilation. Ranges are a key part of your cooking gear. Ventilation keeps air flowing in your kitchen to keep the environment comfortable for your staff. You have two options for your ranges: gas or electric or gas.

Electric ranges are ideal if you’re looking for efficiency. They cook food more evenly and are easier to clean than gas ranges. Gas ranges are famous for their superior temperature control. They can heat up to your desired temperature immediately.

You can be sure your commercial kitchen will be crowded most of the day. A ventilation system will help you manage the airflow throughout the space. This is key to ensuring your staff always has a pleasant, clean, and healthy environment to work in.

3. Get Appropriate Kitchen Equipment

You’ll also need to acquire some food processors. These will help make tasks such as grinding, shedding, slicing, pureeing, and chopping different foods easier. There are many types of food processors, but the four main ones you should consider when opening a new restaurant with no experience are the batch bowl processor, buffalo choppers, continuous feed food processor, and combination processor.

Purchase a commercial kitchen mixer to make bread or desserts. The one you select will depend on the volume of food you intend to make and how often you’ll need to use it. Prep counters, tables, and cutting boards are other vital investments for the operations of your restaurant kitchen. Your staff will spend much of the day doing prep work, so you need versatile, long-lasting solutions.

Stainless steel is best for your prep counters. They’re sturdy, don’t absorb bacteria, and can handle any cleaning products you use on them without deteriorating. Installing small refrigerators under your prep counters is an effective way of keeping things moving quickly. When purchasing cutting boards, go for plastic ones.

There’s still more. Quality freezers and refrigerators are a must-have for any restaurant kitchen. Otherwise, you risk dealing with too much food waste and food safety and health code violations. To help you find the right equipment, consider your restaurant’s size and capacity before looking at the features.

A reach-in refrigerator is always ideal. It’ll be the most convenient for your staff. However, if your restaurant requires a lot of food storage and you have the space, consider investing in a walk-in cooler. It’s safe and easy to use.

Don’t forget to set aside some funds to ensure your staff’s and customers’ safety. Stock up on wet floor signs, rubber mats, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, goggles, oven mitts, aprons, security cameras, and hairnets.

4. Keep Pests Away

Pest management is vital for any restaurant or business dealing with foodstuffs. As you serve beverages and foods, you want to ensure they’re safe for your customers’ consumption. The last thing you want when opening a restaurant with no experience is a customer complaining that they found a roach in their soup. Most of them won’t understand simply because you’re just starting. They could decide to report your business for food contamination to the relevant authorities.

That’s why you need not waste any time when you spot pests. Have a local exterminator come in and address the issue before it escalates into an infestation. You should always serve your customers safe and healthy food if you want them to return to your restaurant and recommend your best meal to their friends.

You also want your employees to be happy about their working conditions. Yes, it’s part of their job to keep the restaurant clean. However, pests such as mice or fleas can make them sick, causing them to need extended leaves. Your responsibility as the restaurant owner is to ensure a safe and sanitary environment for your employees. If they tell you pests are on the property, contact a pest control expert immediately.

5. Renovate the Dining Room

In today’s business environment, particularly in the restaurant industry, keeping your space fresh, efficient, and relevant is essential to success. You always want customers to enjoy their dining experience at your restaurant, so they come back again and again. There are several ways you can revamp the dining area when opening a restaurant with no experience.

Lighting is an integral element of restaurant interior design. You want your lighting done in layers to control what customers see and switch up the mood depending on the time of day. Use warm colors for ambient lighting to make navigating your restaurant space easy.

You should also pay attention to the furnishing. If your new restaurant has worn-out furniture, it’s the first thing people will notice when they enter. This is a recipe for disaster as it’ll leave a bad impression and directly affect repeat business. Renovating your dining room with the help of general contractor companies will allow you to get new furnishings to improve the customer’s dining experience. Consider changing the size of your tables.

You’ve probably heard this a lot of times before, but it’s worth the emphasis; your people are your greatest resource. Creating a more enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing space will make your employees proud and enthusiastic about their work. This way, you’ll enjoy a high employee retention rate.

6. Maintain Your HVAC

Another important thing you’ll need to consider when opening a restaurant with no experience is the condition of the space’s HVAC system. For a moment, picture yourself at the restaurant that serves the best steak in town. How much would you enjoy your meal if the air conditioning system kept breaking down? What impression of the restaurant will you go back home with?

You can’t be complacent about your restaurant’s HVAC needs. Schedule preventative maintenance with a reputable heating and air conditioning service as soon as possible to rule out any potential issues and ensure it’s in optimal working condition. A significant part of your responsibilities as a business owner is ensuring diners enjoy an enticing ambiance when eating at your establishment.

The HVAC system is key to helping you achieve that. During summer, no one wants to eat at a spot where they’ll start sweating even before they get their order. You should also remember that customers look forward to being hit with the aroma of hot, savory food from the moment they enter.

Off-putting odors will quickly make people rethink their decisions and likely walk out. In most cases, a faulty HVAC system is usually to blame for foul smells in restaurants. You’ll need your unit working properly all year round to maintain high standards.

7. Cultivate Your Exterior

Although food is a restaurant’s major draw, it’s not the only thing patrons will pay attention to. They’ll also have their eye on your restaurant’s aesthetics. There’s no denying the value of beautiful design in a restaurant.

Once you decide to invest in the services of landscape companies, the chances of your restaurant becoming a hit will instantly increase. The reasoning behind this is that working on your outdoor spaces will help accentuate the beauty of the place. Giving your customers a posh eating experience in a cozy setting is one of the best things you can do for your restaurant.

A restaurant’s entryway acts as a customer’s initial point of contact. So be sure to give your doorsteps or hallway a distinctive personality that sets the mood right from the start. Consider adding artificial turf or greenery to the walkways for a low-cost solution.

8. Install Decorative Elements

Great interior decor can do wonders when opening a restaurant with no experience. Eating out isn’t just about the food but the overall experience for most people. You have some great options when it comes to decorative elements. An accent wall is a popular restaurant decoration idea. It’s a great way of drawing your customer’s eyes to a focal point. Get creative with textures, patterns, or even objects like plates.

Another great idea is to incorporate styles and colors that represent your corner of the world. It works wonders at setting a mood. This approach is particularly ideal if your restaurant is in a tourist town or city.

Instead of using generic wall decor, feature unique art pieces by local artists. Supporting local creatives will show potential customers you’re part and parcel of the community. Such pieces will also make for great conversation starters among guests and staff. If you have the funds, consider investing in custom fireplace mantels.

9. Upgrade Your Bathrooms

The bathrooms are probably the last thing that will be on your mind when opening a restaurant with no experience. However, there are some great reasons you should update your bathrooms. You’d be surprised by how many people consider bathrooms an important factor in their first impression of a restaurant.

If it is smelly, dirty, or outdated, customers will view the food served there as low quality. On the other hand, a clean, modern bathroom will enhance the food’s perceived quality. It’ll also help to strengthen your restaurant’s brand image. However, before you can start on the bathroom renovation, enlist the help of local plumbers to ensure the plumbing system is in good condition.

10. Invest in a New Door

After the landscape, the door to your restaurant is the first thing your customers will interact with. Imagine going to a food joint only to find that you have to hold the door awkwardly to open it, or the glass is full of scratches. To avoid rubbing your customers the wrong way, consider the condition of the doors.

If they’re outdated or worn out, contact a local door company and have them come to your new restaurant space. Ask them for advice on the best replacement doors for your establishment. They’ll help you pick out materials, designs, and more.

11. Find a Waste Removal Solution

Restaurants produce significant garbage, from food waste and packages to broken dishes. Unsightly overflowing garbage bins will give the impression that your business is disorganized. That’s why you should invest in local dumpster rentals when opening a restaurant with no experience.

Roll-off dumpsters are great for disposing of restaurant waste due to their versatility and ability to handle many types of waste. You can put broken chairs and food waste in one dumpster, and the professionals will take it away. Renting a recycling bin is also smart if you want to recycle things like glass, cardboard boxes, and other things. By doing this, you can lessen your need for garbage pickup while helping the environment.

While experience can be helpful when venturing into the restaurant business, it’s not necessarily a requirement. However, you’ll need some guidance. Use this guide to open a restaurant, with or without experience.

How to Open a Soul Food Restaurant

How to Open a Soul Food Restaurant

From hearty catfish and collard greens to cornbread and homemade macaroni and cheese, soul food has a way of truly providing comfort in every meal. If you’ve grown up eating soul food or you want to share your delicious recipes with locals in your neighborhood, 

How to Open a Brunch Restaurant

How to Open a Brunch Restaurant

Opening a brunch restaurant is one of the best ways for you to make money and earn a living doing something enjoyable.You can cater to people who want to enjoy their lives with good dining experiences. In order to get the best returns out and 

Tips for Planning an Outdoor Tex Mex Food Truck Rodeo

Tips for Planning an Outdoor Tex Mex Food Truck Rodeo

Talk about bringing two great worlds together. What better pairing than Texas-style food mixed with Mexican-style food? Food and beverage services will always be successful, so if you plan to host a Tex Mex Food Truck Rodeo in Clarksville, Tennesee, you will be successful. For tips on Tex-Mex cooking, review the YouTube video “Tex Mex Restaurant Style Enchiladas” for ideas. You don’t just have to host the truck fair; you can participate as well.


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Your first step is to define your budget for the food truck fair. Your budget will be subdivided into smaller categories to cover each part of your event. The biggest part of your budget will go to the venue. You could host your event in a free location, but you’d have to consider what amenities you also need to cater to, as free locations don’t always feature restrooms.

A porta potty rental in Clarksville, TN provides everything you need to meet the needs of your attendees. Many service providers offer great products, a wide selection, and affordable prices. Book your venue, then book your portable toilets and notify your vendors. Your planning is almost complete if these three elements are planned and booked!

How to Open the Best New Mexican Restaurant in Alburquerque

How to Open the Best New Mexican Restaurant in Alburquerque

There’s nothing like some yummy Mexican food! According to a Technavio report in 2022, the global Mexican food market should increase by $113.85 billion in the next five years with a compound annual growth rate of 6.65%. That’s why the best new Mexican restaurant in