Business Concept Selection

From Allfoodbusiness.com

Family Dining . . .
Casual Dining . . .
Fine Dining . . .
Ethnic Restaurants: Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Caribbean, English, French, German, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean, Thai and Vietnamese.

The core menu concept is the main product line of your menu (Italian food, hamburgers, etc.) and this will define your decor, ambiance, and style of your restaurant establishment.

Restaurants are generally classified into three groups:

1. Quick Service - Also known as fast-food restaurants. They offer limited menus that are prepared quickly. They usually have drive-thru windows and take-out.

2. Midscale - They offer full meals at a medium price that customers perceive as "good value." They can be full service, buffets or limited service with customers ordering at the counter and having their food brought to them.

3. Upscale - Offer high quality cuisine at a high end price. They offer full service and have a high quality of ambience.

QSR (quick service restaurants) is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service. Food served in fast food restaurants typically caters to a "meat-sweet diet" and is offered from a limited menu; is cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot; is finished and packaged to order; and is usually available ready to take away, though seating may be provided. Fast food restaurants are usually part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation, which provisions standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels.

Variations on the fast food restaurant concept include fast casual restaurants which have higher sit-in ratios, and customers can sit and have their orders brought to them.

Target Market Analysis - This will show who your main projected customer is.

Competitive Analysis - This will help you understand who your competition will be. You should compare your menu prices with your potential market competitors. Simply perform some market research by visiting these competitors and taking note of their menu prices. Use this competitive pricing analysis as a test of reasonableness to determine whether your menu and prices are in line.

The type of concept you will choose will determine the following
areas in your restaurant planning.

1. Your equipment needs.
2. Your type of table top items, such as flatware, plate ware, napkins and linens
3. Storage, cooler and freezer size
4. Employee Uniforms
5. How large of a building you will need.
6. How many employees you will need to hire.
7. Your parking lot size.
8. What type of signs and type of advertising needed.