i need advise on how best to set up a chinese take out restaurant?

Question

My friend and i are planning on setting up a chinese take out restaurant. We really do not have money to pay a consultant to do this for us. We will appreciate any information and advise. We need advise on the business generally how best to go about it, utensils to use and menus.

It will not be an eat-in restaurant but a take-out place. so we are looking at just space for kitchen and waiting area for placing orders and pick ups.

Answer 1

Premises will be the major start up expense associated with a Chinese restaurant. The cost of renting or purchasing suitable premises will depend significantly on the location you choose. You will need to ensure the location is easily accessible for the range of customers you could attract, and that the surrounding areas have plenty of parking. It will also be necessary to budget for the renovation and refurbishment of the premises to ensure they meet with current hygiene standards.



Depending on the state of the premises you choose, you may need to fit out the kitchen with non-porous work surfaces and a range of industrial cooking equipment, such as industrial ovens (from £1,500 each), an extraction system (from £500), industrial fridges and freezers (from £800) and dishwashers (from £400). In addition you will need to invest in a number of woks, as well as general kitchen equipment such as knives, pans and chopping boards.



The restaurant will need to be welcoming and comfortable for diners, and you will need to budget for a range of tables of different sizes (from £50 each for a small two person table, to £250 for larger tables), as well as chairs (from £50 each). You may choose to fit out a bar area with comfortable couches where customers can wait until their table is ready. You will also need to budget for linen, crockery, cutlery, glasses and cups. The Catering Equipment Distributors Association (CEDA - www.ceda.co.uk) provides information on suppliers across the UK who will be able to provide detailed costings.

Generic expenses to budget for include utilities, a PC and printer for taking customer bookings and keeping records (from £400), insurance, staff uniforms, and the costs associated with advertising and marketing your restaurant.

Shop around and see who will supply cheap menus, maybe you could even design them yourselves on a computer but most printing comapanies will offer the service, just go with the cheapest

Answer 2

FOR USA - (I believe it is about the same in other countries.)

If you don't have any experience, it will be better for you to buy an existing Chinese take-out restaurant instead of setting up a new one. You can find many Chinese take-out restaurant that are on-sale in the Chinese newspaper. You don't need to pay a consultant fee, but the seller will teach you everything, or even allow you to learn with them for a few months (They teach you everything including where to get source of the food and supplies, how to prepare each dish, how to take order if your English is not good and even driving direction to local address etc.) The cost of buying one usually is cheaper than setting up a new one as you also bought all used tools (If you are counting all the cost including adveristing, lose money for first few months, license to meet different requirements etc.) The seller will give you some record of how many business the take-out will get for each month etc.

Well... I have a couple friends. Originally, they are nothing to do with Restaurant business, but they both are owners of a Chinese take-out. Both of them never enters kitchen before owning a Chinese take-out. Their Take-out still runs fine.

- Maybe you will ask why people are selling their business if they are profitable.
A Chinese take out opens every day from 11 to 11, plus 1 or 2 hours of preparation. You are going to work over 12 hours a day and at least 6 days a week. You need a partner - mostly spouse, you may have 1 day off per week. No public holiday except 1 day Thanksgiving, and no vacation. You gain money but no time to spend at all. You will know why you want to sell it even it is in good profit after 10 years or so. (There are quite some people retire at late 40 to early 50 and went back to China. Or selling their business, and take a year or two as vacation, and buy another one when the vacation is off.)

Answer 3

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* The Restaurant Business Start-up Guide by Paul Daniels
* Restaurants That Work: Case Studies of the Best in the Industry by Martin E. Dorf
* Restaurant Financial Basics by Raymond S. Schmidgall
* Opening a Restaurant or Other Food Business Starter Kit: How to Prepare a Restaurant Business Plan and Feasibility Study by Sharon Fullen
* Upstart Guide Owning & Managing a Restaurant by Roy S. Alonzo
* The Restaurant Managers Handbook: How to Set Up, Operate, and Manage a Financially Successful Food Service Operation by Douglas Robert Brown

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!