Choosing a Restaurant Location

When deciding on a location for a new restaurant, it may seem hard to know where to go and what actually constitutes a ‘good’ restaurant location. This is actually a subjective decision, but there are some general guidelines and considerations that can set you on the right path:

• Address; perhaps this seems something obvious, but one consideration is the actual address. Is the address somewhere that people can find in their navigation systems (i.e. Google Maps, car navigation, etc.)? If your goal is to draw in a large volume of clients, this is important. Having a hidden gem is another way to go, where it may be harder to find and a smaller location but this novelty might be important to your rand and restaurant
• Visibility; on top of having a recognizable and definitive address, consider whether the location you want or need is visible to foot, driving and general traffic and population.
• Size; are you looking for initimate and exclusivity or a larger, volume restauarant? Consider the size of the space and how it can be laid out to accommodate your ideal demographic and number of people. Smaller settings can be great for fine dining or for more exclusive, high end restaurants whereas larger spaces can be great for open concept and family friendly restaurants.
• Due diligence; If you find a place that is a great price and checks all of your boxes, sometimes it can seem too good to be true, and sometimes this is the case. Make sure to do your part in verifying that any place you love is up to code and in line with local and regional regulation.
• Parking; if you are offering parking, make sure that you know how many spots and make sure that, before deciding on a location, that you know how much of a priority parking is to the success of your business and to your target demographic.
• Price; perhaps one of the most obvious and important considerations is the price. Consider whether you want to buy or lease space and build a budget accordingly. Try to be diligent and firm with your budget once it is established to make sure that you set yourself up for success. You can also negotiate the price and make sure that you do so.