4 Tips for Setting Up a New Branch for Your Restaurant
Any brand in the food service industry has the potential to grow, and restaurants are bound to benefit exponentially if they are able to branch out to other locations. If you’re an owner, you will have to think about building a new brand at some point, especially as your brand gains traction and there’s a growth in the demand for your offers in other places. However, you shouldn’t see this as the pinnacle of your restaurant’s success. While a new branch could help add more revenue and increase brand awareness, there are factors you will need to look into before you put your plans into motion.
You will be spending considerable resources to finance everything, from securing a commercial space to ensuring the new branch is staffed by reliable people. There’s also the uncertainty over how well your new branch will catch on with the local community. It’s a process that’s far from being simple and straightforward, but it could be a risk worth taking if you have a long-term vision of your brand’s success. Using the guide below will help you know where and how to get started:
1. Analyze your current business situation
Building a new branch for your restaurant isn’t something you will do on a whim. The effort should be backed up by concrete data about your business’s context that will help you determine whether it’s ripe for an expansion. Consider taking a step back and analyzing how your restaurant is doing in terms of sales, reviews, and marketing. If you’ve been operating for over a year now and you’ve already reached your break-even point, you might be able to start planning a new branch.
However, your decision shouldn’t be based on good numbers alone. It’s just as important to look at your business’s weaknesses and identify factors that would make an expansion too costly or significantly unfeasible. You may have too many competitors in your current location, and you might find it too costly to build a new branch in the next town.
There’s also the question of sustainability, especially if you put current inflation rates into perspective and you’re planning to minimize the amount of money you will be using to fuel your expansion. In any case, it matters to consider all factors before coming up with a blueprint and getting the ball rolling.
2. Scout the ideal location
When it comes to choosing a place for building a new branch, it’s crucial to think about which site best benefits your brand. For the most part, you will need to choose a location where rent is comparatively lower while also keeping in mind the amount of foot traffic the site gets. From a logistics point of view, you will have to make sure the new branch is close to your first site. Take as much time as you need to list down possible sites for your target location. Thorough research is needed so you can narrow down possible options into a few that will help you meet your targets.
You may have to opt to purchase a commercial lot and build your branch from the ground up, but you will need to secure permits, which could cost you more. Then again, so long as the site is the most perfect for your restaurant, you won’t have to worry about the long-term costs. You just have to make sure that the new site uses the same style as the original branch, but at the same time, it must have its own personality.
3. Build a network of partners and suppliers
Another crucial part of the expansion process is to reach out to other business owners or real estate professionals working locally. Aside from getting help from a real estate broker in terms of finding a good site for your new branch, you will also need contractors and an architect who can flesh out the details of your restaurant, making sure that it’s consistent with your brand identity. You want to re-hire the builder you contracted for your first site to pull this off.
In addition to this, you will need to hire a moving service, especially if you’re planning to upgrade to a larger site. Consider looking into on site storage containers for rent that are capable of transporting large equipment from your original site to your new branch. This will eliminate having to rent a traditional storage unit that might cost more and prove to be less convenient for your business
4. Customize your messaging and service for the new location
As you go around to opening your new restaurant branch, you should be able to allocate time and resources for marketing locally. Aside from announcing your new branch on your restaurant’s official social media pages, you might also want to run online ads targeting users living within and around your new site. Be sure to localize your marketing messages so that your restaurant connects better with the local population.
Service quality should also be elevated to maintain consistency with your branding. You may hire servers in the local community and train them on developing effective customer service skills. Your brand could also benefit from localizing your menu by adding dishes and other items that local customers would like. For good measure, consider giving out discount vouchers celebrating the opening of your new branch.
Endnote
As you make plans for your new restaurant branch, these tips should help you set up your new location and open you up to new opportunities for your brand.
