A lot can go wrong when opening a restaurant, but here are the five most common gastronomic mistakes to avoid at all costs. KTCHNrebel shows you how. Even now, in 2023, it's still seen as a “crisis industry”, hit hardest by rising prices. The shortage of skilled labour, which has dominated media coverage of the catering industry for years, is also not good for the sector.
Although there are countless gastronomic mistakes that can be made in business, there are also success stories. These success stories come from restaurateurs who know exactly what it takes to open a restaurant - and how a well-planned start can create lasting success.
One of them is Kemal Empty. With more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry behind him, he knows the ins and outs of the hospitality industry better than anyone else. A well-known consultant and speaker who combines education with the wide reach of social media.
Born in Konstanz, Germany, he has lived and worked in Hamburg since 1999, where he has built a distinguished career, starting at the Park Hyatt Hotel Hamburg, becoming the youngest manager in the world and opening the now cult La Paz three years later. Kemal is not only a successful restaurateur, he is also a writer, businessman and investor. So, coming back, what are the biggest gastronomic mistakes to avoid when opening a restaurant? And how can they be avoided? Find out!
You rely on your intuition instead of numbers
„Although it is less common today than it was 20 or 30 years ago, many restaurateurs still fail because they have an incomplete business plan.” This should ideally be a manual where you start writing down your ideas, because only then will you realise how complicated it is to run your own restaurant! Target group analysis, location analysis. What do I want to cook? What will make me special? Who will be my partners?” Each of these points must first be clearly defined and all questions answered in advance.
According to Kemal, this is the only way to ensure that our capital is available for liquidity, marketing plans, for employee and rental costs are parallel to reality.
OPEN YOUR BACKGROUND WITH LITTLE TIME
Good old money. OK, it may sound obvious: to start a business, you need money, and a few extra forints. But, especially in these times in times of inflation, many people are too quick to use up the start-up capital they have worked so hard to accumulate. „Inexperienced restaurateurs tend to forget this these days,” Kemal explains, explaining this common mistake. „You just have these one or two years where you need to make sure you can cover the cash flow. In the restaurant industry, that's the time when customers slowly become regulars, when you build up your marketing, or when production levels off after opening.”
ONLY TO OPEN MY BREED You focus
Imagine that the opening was a success. Perhaps many guests were enthusiastic at the opening party and said they wanted to come back as soon as possible. While you're entitled to pat yourself on the back as a new owner, the work is really just beginning. Your job now is to avoid the next gastronomic blunder. Now is the time to ensure that you always deliver the same quality in the future.
To do this, you need three things: „Profit margins, excellent kitchen equipment and menu planning. In my opinion, these are the most important factors in maintaining quality after opening. But there is a problem: many people only learn this over time, and often too late. And many never learn it, simply because it was never properly addressed in the business plan. It took me a long time to figure it out!” And then there are the employees.
NO STRATEGY FOR MANAGING EMPLOYEES
Training and exit costs are one thing. But the personal skills needed to deal with employees are just as important. After all, you decide whether employees stay in the business or not, and how and in what way they develop. All this has a huge impact on the quality of the restaurant. „There's just one problem: When you open a restaurant, many people simply don't have the experience of dealing with employees. This is perfectly normal. While others make the gastronomic mistake of getting too close to their employees.”
“Be on good terms with your employees and they will do well.” - we hear it often, but maybe wrongly? Kemal says the opposite is often more effective. „Getting closer through performance works better in my experience.” This way you get to know each employee's strengths better and what motivates them. Then you can answer questions about targeted support much better. „How can I teach my employees as much as possible? What internal system do I have in place to progressively develop them? These are the questions that matter, not what I can do to get the best out of them.”
GASTRONOMIC FAULT #5: YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE
Last but not least: we live in a time of gastronomic mono-concepts. Those who want to serve everyone today are losing. The trend now seems to be for restaurants to define themselves through a consistent, clearly defined product and service offering. This was not the case 30 years ago. For Empty, the key issues for survival in the gastronomy market in 2023 are therefore: What is my USP (unique selling proposition)? What is the exact purpose of the restaurant? „All this needs to be reflected in the menu and the interior design. You can easily communicate this with a signature dish. Choose a product that reflects the essence of your restaurant brand and bring it to life in the form of a dish.”
How do you do all this? Using social media. “Even the best concept won't work if you don't show it.” Instagram and TikTok have a huge reach potential, a video on TikTok can spread quickly even if you don't have a lot of followers. This is especially promising for those who have just opened a restaurant!"
And what do the above mistakes have in common? At some point they all interconnect and overlap. If marketing costs are not in the business plan, you cannot communicate the USP. This means you can't retain employees, so your financial flow will collapse in short order. And in direct proportion to this, the desired quality is lost. However, if you do everything you can to avoid these mistakes, it's quite likely that you'll make money from your restaurant - and you'll soon be able to open a second one.”
