Supporting the opening of your restaurant : tailored solutions for each our clients

Do you want to open a restaurant, but find the formalities sometimes complicated or difficult to prioritize? Are terms like “business plan,” “market study,” “license,” “alcohol permit,” or “food hygiene” on your mind? Are you getting lost in the regulations governing the restaurant industry (hygiene rules, labor legislation, restaurateur responsibilities)? Or are you still wondering which type of company or status would best suit your project (LLC, sole proprietorship, freelance, SAS)? The following is made for you!

How to open a restaurant ?

The restaurant industry is highly competitive, and it is crucial to stand out with a genuine concept. The most important step before launching your project is to understand and master the new environment in which you will operate and its trends. This understanding and analysis of the environment is the first step in developing your business plan. Moreover, opening a restaurant involves different considerations depending on the segment (commercial, hotel, collective, or onboard catering). It is advisable to seek guidance from industry experts before starting, to account for all the specific management aspects of running a restaurant, particularly legal ones.

Our best practices

Initially, after immersing yourself in the world of catering, it’s important to structure your project by defining your concept and the experience you want to provide for your customers. This encompasses everything from the food and service to the atmosphere, setting, location, and even the exit from your establishment. Nothing should be left to chance.

You can follow these 10 key steps to help you:

The Basics
The Concept
The Location
The Setting
The Funding
The Food
The Staff
The Marketing
The Equipment
The Technology

Once your project is clearly defined, you will need to secure funding and make the right choices to finally embark on the adventure and bring your business to life. To do this, you must develop a precise and detailed business plan to maximize your chances of success.

This plan must include three essential components:

Project, Market, and Strategy Presentation: Clearly explain the service you will offer, the features, the technologies used, the benefits, the pricing, and the target market. In short, outline the direction you will take.
Presentation of the Project Leader, Team, and Structure: Provide details about your career, skills, experience, and the legal form of your structure. Your reader should be able to assess if you can manage the project and understand the legal form of your company and its capital structure.
Financial Projections: These must include a projected income statement, a projected balance sheet, a monthly cash flow budget, a financing table, an investment table, working capital requirements, and the break-even point calculation. This step is crucial and will strongly impact your business and the life of your establishment. It is important that you be a fully-fledged entrepreneur with clear and controlled procedures.

The support we offer you

Whether you are at the idea stage or actively working on creating your restaurant, we offer our expertise and attentive support to provide you with a unique and tailored approach: venue identity, service structure, menu development, team management and training, equipment, etc. We are here to help you create a project that best matches your expectations by providing genuine culinary expertise and personalized follow-up. To support you and share our economic expertise, we offer a team that has established itself in the field, with solid academic backgrounds and rich operational experience from Alain Ducasse’s restaurant brigades in France and abroad for over 20 years.

This applies whether you are a professional or a future professional in the following sectors:

Contract catering
Commercial food services
Hotel and resort catering
Onboard meal services

We will stay by your side to offer recommendations and advice to define and develop the foundations and steps of your project from conception to opening and beyond. Our services are organized around 3 main areas and are adaptable to your needs, allowing for optimal support: creating the offer, market research and storytelling of your establishment, visual and architectural identity. For example, a thorough market study will help you build a more solid project.

To achieve this, we will assist you through 5 key points:

Method and Common Sense
7 Customer Sources
Preparing the Market Study
Conducting the Market Study
Finding Information

We also offer our expertise in constructing or reinterpreting menus (including both food and beverages, alcoholic or non-alcoholic) for brunches, tea times, or other social events. We will always have the answers to your needs. Additionally, we help you design your establishment’s organizational chart as well as the training and management of your team. Identifying your human resource needs will allow you to provide high-quality services. Depending on your structure, these needs will vary, and it’s crucial to plan them in advance, as this will be essential for developing your business plan.

Our goal is to make your business a truly sustainable experience for your future clients. From the food and service to the atmosphere, setting, location, cuisine, staff, menu, and dishes… Whether you are aiming for a neighborhood bistro or a Michelin-starred restaurant, we will support you as best as possible and adapt to every type of catering. We offer a genuine external and professional perspective on your future restaurant: we look forward to meeting you and working alongside you until the opening of your restaurant!

Additionally, for those who wish to refine their culinary skills, we also offer chef training programs. These are designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in the culinary world, whether you want to open your own restaurant or advance in your chef career.

Have a project in mind?