Opening a Unique Bakery and or Small Restaurant (Help & Advice)

[kelthereth]

Hello readers,

I am hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I am seeking legitimate advice to starting and support my dreams…

I am a chef (specializing in ethnic cuisine and fancy baking), but I am not a business woman. I consider myself a visionary and somewhat of an artist. Two of my colleagues and I have decided that it’s time to put our talents to use. We wish to open up a bakery and small restaurant with a certain medieval fantasy ambiance (with medieval/Celtic furnishings, art work, and music). Our menu will be custom made (featuring European and Middle Eastern styled dishes). The bakery extension will most likely be under my artistic direction (making things such as dragon shaped cookies, unique cakes and pies, etc…). My mates and I already have culinary specialists, and designers who happened to be our friends in college.
What I need now is to gain good advice on how we should proceed (financial procedures, finding good locations, etc…)

[AnonaMoss]

That's a neat idea. I think that you should be more specific in your question, though. You wrote two broad subjects, and I have no idea what you mean by etc. The first thing you need to do before anything is handle the legal aspects. You need to get your licences and decide on a business structure. The restaurant/bakery sounds very costly so my guess is that you all will be getting a loan, right? Visit your local Small Business Association, and ask them about state/city grants available.

[writtenword]

The first thing that comes to mind is that you need a budget. I would keep it realistic, with a little leeway give or take. The next step after budget is determining funding. If you have good credit, it may be possible to get a business loan. Capital One seems to have good business loans at the moment. But the very first step is to get a budget and outline of your business plan. Do your research as far as location and zoning requirements, business requirements, state/local/federal health and safety requirements since you are serving food. This is a very ambitious endeavor, but with the right research you'll be prepared to make some decisions.

[Gremlin]

I think you had an excellent idea.

Research your zoning requirements. You do not want to procure a location only to realize that the costs of renovation will far exceed your budget.

Since you are wanting to pursue this business with others, make sure that each of you understand your roles. Communication is key in business. While creating your business plan/budget (as writtenword suggested), make sure that you discuss tasks/goals. One person needs to make sure that he/she is in charge of advertising. You will need someone talking about your restaurant whether is be online or in the city. Some neat ways to advertise include a blog, selling some of your bread at farmers' markets/festivals, and coupons.

[livvi]

Market research is important, so choose the areas you like best and survey each one, this will give you a good idea how popular a restaurant will be etc. I think your idea is brilliant and unique too! I watched Drive-ins, Diners and Dives (I love that program!!) and there was a restaurant/bakery on it one time and it was a raging success. I hope you enjoy the same.

[micromachne]

Well, location wise, lose for spots that are fairly populated, but populated with places that are not in your field. It gives you a better chance to maximize your customers.

In terms of foods, once you have a location, what you can do is have an open house or a survey. That way you can get ideas on what your customers want/ like.

But on a side note, let me just say a small restaurant will probably bring you more money than a unique Bakery would.

[kornee]

I know someone who also have this kind of talent. what he did was take pictures of his finished cake design and then post it as his portfolio on a webpage, he later got some inquiries whether he offer services so the idea came and later he opened his own bakeshop and a coffee shop.

[Ravenfan]

Hello readers,

I am hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I am seeking legitimate advice to starting and support my dreams…

I am a chef (specializing in ethnic cuisine and fancy baking), but I am not a business woman. I consider myself a visionary and somewhat of an artist. Two of my colleagues and I have decided that it’s time to put our talents to use. We wish to open up a bakery and small restaurant with a certain medieval fantasy ambiance (with medieval/Celtic furnishings, art work, and music). Our menu will be custom made (featuring European and Middle Eastern styled dishes). The bakery extension will most likely be under my artistic direction (making things such as dragon shaped cookies, unique cakes and pies, etc…). My mates and I already have culinary specialists, and designers who happened to be our friends in college.
What I need now is to gain good advice on how we should proceed (financial procedures, finding good locations, etc…)

Do your best to find an investor if you can, unless you have a large amount of money in reserve. It will take time to build up a loyal customer base. There will be many days when you start that you are just staring at the door wishing more customers would arrive. If you have an investor that can help fund advertising campaigns and other startup costs but is willing to accept a small percentage return on his money in exchange for the percentage increasing as your business increases, that can save you a lot of stress. If you decide to use some of the online coupon companies like restaurant.com to generate advertising and business, read the contracts very carefully. Make sure you understand how to cancel the agreement and when you can cancel before you ever sign up with them.

[micromachne]

Do your best to find an investor if you can, unless you have a large amount of money in reserve. It will take time to build up a loyal customer base. There will be many days when you start that you are just staring at the door wishing more customers would arrive. If you have an investor that can help fund advertising campaigns and other startup costs but is willing to accept a small percentage return on his money in exchange for the percentage increasing as your business increases, that can save you a lot of stress. If you decide to use some of the online coupon companies like restaurant.com to generate advertising and business, read the contracts very carefully. Make sure you understand how to cancel the agreement and when you can cancel before you ever sign up with them.

The only problem with investors is that if your business goes south, they'll want to cash out on their investment and leave you out to dry.

[even]

I have read their reply and they have said it all but since its a group business/project everyone should agree on what you are trying to suggest. That is the hardest problem you guys might get. Make sure you have studied and reviewed the business you want to pursue. Good luck! -secretstaff.com