Before you decide where you are going to place your restaurant, determine how your type of food and environment are going to fit in with its surrounding. You wouldn’t place a 5-star restaurant in a small-farming town, because the odds are the local patrons won’t want to eat there.
If you are trying to open something fancy, pick a location where people who would eat the kind of food you are offering are. Try something like a location in the city where there are lots of office buildings and stores are surrounding it.
This location ensure that businessmen see your restaurant, they may go there for lunch with their boss or with a client. If they like it, they may take their significant other there on a date. A city-center location is a great place for someone to open a a higher end restaurant.
If you are trying to open something like a trendy lounge, coffee house, or something of that sort, a downtown location would be most logical. In just about every city, the downtown area is full of old shops that have been there for years, small cafes and local pubs. This is where the young artsy people are going to hang out.
A downtown building that is amongst all of this life would be perfect for a trendy restaurant geared toward attracting the artistic population. Having some kind of trendy eatery or drink shop would welcome in many customers from the street who are walking around window shopping.
A family friendly eatery, like a diner or something like that would fare well in an area near a residential neighborhood. People with kids don’t like to travel far to go out to eat, they like places close by so it is easier to get to and from home.
A clean looking restaurant near their home gives them a “neighborhood joint” type feel, that is both comfortable and convenient. This is the perfect place for a family oriented restaurant.
The old phrase “location, location, location!” is spot-on accurate. Where you decide to put your business will greatly affect who comes to your place to eat and how often they come. Make sure you pick a central location that is easily accessible to the public you are aiming towards attracting.
Even if you have great food in a nice building, customers won’t know you exist unless you are located in a place where you are easily visible. This is why location is key to the success of your business, a poor location won’t get you much business, but a centrally located building will get you a lot of business and a greater likelihood of walk-ins.
After deciding on the location, make sure you hammer out the lease or purchase agreements in a way that benefits you and your business the most. Using a triple net lease is a great agreement for a piece of property that you want to do a lot with, but don’t want to tie down your equity in a mortgage loan.
The triple net lease makes you in charge of the property, from repairs, maintenance, insurance, and taxes. The landlord does not pay any out of pocket expenses, making him price the monthly payment at far less than other landlords.
Because you are paying to keep up the property, the landlord typically allows you to do what you want with the property. This means you can paint, put up signs, and anything else that you need to do to customize the space for your restaurant.
This is greatly beneficial for you, because you do not have to consult with your landlord on most of the things you do to your restaurant. Overall, the triple net lease is the best form of a lease agreement for people wanting to truly customize the space.
Tommy Greene has worked since 1991 in property investments. He loves all things financial. He recommends (http://www.stanjohnsonco.com) for your property investment needs.
|
|