How To Open A Restaurant And Bar

Being a proud owner of a restaurant, especially that of a restaurant and bar,

or restro-bar seems like a glamorous job. Opening your own restaurant is
indeed a financially rewarding business with high returns and is also
considered easier and more fascinating than most jobs. However, glorious as
it may seem, it is also one of the most tedious businesses out there, with
high risks. In fact, 60% of all restaurants shut down within the first year of
operations. Therefore, it is important to have a clear plan and understanding
of the business before you venture out into the restaurant industry.

In this particular article, we’ll discuss how to open a successful restaurant

and bar in India. You will get to know about the investments, what kind of
location you need, the required workforce, and the licenses needed for
opening and running a restaurant and bar. However, before you move ahead,
you need to decide what kind of restaurant and bar you are going to open.
There are six types of restaurant and bar formats, namely-
  Club
 Specialty Bar
 Brewpub or Beer Bar
 Sports Bar
 Neighborhood Bar
 Franchise bar

Once you have decided on the format, you can now consider the other
requirements for opening a restro-bar.

1. How To Decide The Location Of The Restaurant And Bar

Unlike casual dining restaurants, the restaurant cum bar needs a space of
around 5,000 SqFt to 10,000 SqFt ideally spread over one to two floors. In
present times, the trend is to have an open and a closed sitting area so as
that customer can enjoy both kind of ambiance based on their preferred
choice. Apart from that, you should look for good high-end shopping streets
and markets, or high-end malls and near office complexes. According to
experts, locations which are near to office complexes which have
more than 10,000 to 20,000 employees are the best places to open
restro-bars as footfalls are high. It is more likely that the employees to
turn around to the nearest bar or pub to catch up with their colleagues and
friends post office hours. However, getting a space of 5000 SqFt – 10,000
SqFt isn’t easy. The average rent for space around 5,000 SqFt can be around
Rs 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh (depending upon the location). Also, you should keep in
mind that just being present in the right market isn’t enough; you should
also have the right accessibility as well so as to get customers and the right
footfall. Choose an area which has a designated parking space.

The total cost of acquiring a space for restaurant and bar comes out to be
around Rs 6 lakhs (one month advance and two-month security).
2. Choosing The Right Kitchen Equipment And Raw Material

It is essential to have a sturdy backend for your restaurant and bar. Study
Kitchen equipment and good quality raw material help achieve the smooth
functioning of the backend.

Having the right equipment not just make the whole process easy but it also
helps in having less dependency on the high-skilled employees. According
to industry experts, if you get the right equipment such as burners,
fryers, ovens you can drastically save on costs in the long run as they
give high returns in terms of quality and speed. Some of the
equipment such as working tables and racks can be bought old or previously
used if you want to save costs. The cost of the total kitchen set up also
depends upon the cuisine one wants to serve.

The total cost of kitchen equipment may vary from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs.
Also, the raw material at the time of installation may cost between Rs 1.5
lakhs to Rs 2 lakhs. And since we are opening a bar as well, the liquor
storage may cost around Rs 10-Rs 12 lakhs. Apart from the kitchen
equipment, one should also have good crockery as customers pay attention
to each and every detail. A good crockery and bar set-up for a restaurant
and bar would cost Rs 6 lakhs.

3. Deciding The Service Area Of the Restaurant and Bar

Customers usually visit restro-bars to relax and have a good time. Thus
choose the ambiance and colors of your restaurant that promotes this
feeling. Warm shades are usually preferred for restro-bars. Apart from this,
the furniture should be equally comfortable. So, it is advised to have more
soft cushy seats, sofas, loungers and comfortable chairs for dining of the
guests. You can further hire an interior designer for giving a complete
look and feel of the restro-bar. The professionals may charge you on
the upside but the cost will be minimal in the long run if your bar
cum restaurant does well. The total cost of interiors, plus furniture may
cost you around Rs 15 lakhs – Rs 20 lakhs.
Apart from that, a good POS is a dire necessity as the inventory for the
restaurant and bar is pretty huge and can be difficult to manage. Think of
your POS as not just a billing software, but as an investment that can help
you manage your restaurant better, and also help cut down costs in several
areas. Integrated inventory management, CRM, in-depth reporting, and
analytics are some of the must-have features in your POS for the restaurant.
The basic POS software can cost you around Rs 30,000 per year, but it is
advisable to go for the complete restaurant management software, as it
helps you in the long run.

4. Licenses And Registration Needed For Restro-bars

The restaurant and bar format require more licenses and approvals than any
other restaurant format. A minimum of eight licenses is required for your
restro-bar to open.

The licenses required to open a restaurant and bar are as follows-

 Liquor License
 Shop Establishment License
 Police Eating House License
 Local Municipal Authority License
 FSSAI License
 Fire Safety Certificate
 GST Registration

Other licenses required are Music License, Certificate of Environmental

Clearance and License from the Fire Department. Among all, liquor
licenses, FSSAI license, GST registration and local municipal health
licenses are the most important one to start the restaurant
operations with. The rest can be applied for once the bar cum restaurant is
operational and can be procured in the next two to three months. The total
cost of licenses can be around Rs 10 lakhs.

Here is a detailed guide about the list of licenses required to open a

restaurant business in India and the steps to procuring them.
5. Workforce Or Manpower Needed For A Restro-bar

An average of 25-30 staff is required for the proper and smooth functioning
of a restaurant cum bar. This may include the Head Chef, Ched De Partie,
Commis level chefs, helpers, waiters, captain, Bartenders, and bouncers. The
salaries of the staff depend on their experience and skills. Find below the
average salary estimation of the employees. Below are the details of the
number of employees required and their salaries in a restro-bar.

6. Deciding The Staff Uniform

A smartly dressed staff leaves a good impression on the customers. Since a

restaurant and bar is usually a big establishment, it is even more important
for your staff to look sharp. For waiters, you can go for shirts and trousers
while for kitchen staff t-shirts and chef coats depending upon the level they
are working at. At the initial stage of operations, one should have
proper branding on employee uniforms, which gives your restaurant
an upmarket feel. We recommend good Chef coats (25 units), shirts,
trousers, t-shirt and Cap (50 units) which will cost around Rs 75,000 and last
for at least six months of the operations.
7. Marketing The Right Way

While taking care of the basic necessities of the restaurant, the small and
finer details are often missed. For example, you may consider your menu to
be just a piece of paper with your dishes listed on it, but it is so much more
than that. A well-designed menu with the logo of your restaurant goes a long
way in restaurant branding, and also plays an instrumental role in upselling
your drinks.

It is advised to hire a professional designer who can help you in getting the
desired logo and menu at a cost not exceeding more than Rs 2,000. Apart
from this a well-designed light board, the menu for tables and
pamphlets for offline marketing are essential parts of Marketing. It is
advised to invest in developing a good and attractive table menu. One can go
from lavish hard cardboard menu to a laminated booklet. If you have the
budget, you can also run paid ads and campaigns on the social media for
digital marketing

Also, it is important to explain each and every dish in one line so as to help
customers order. Remember to train your staff to upsell the menu. Also,
online tie-ups are essential in today’s internet age to gain customer traction
which will not cost more than a meeting with the alliance team of the food-
tech portal.

A restro-bar requires more capital investment at the initial stage but

is also one of the most lucrative and high ROI formats in the
restaurant business. However, it also one of the most daunting formats,
requiring extreme care and involvement of the restaurant owner. Since you’d
be catering to more number of customers, and handling a bigger
establishment, your involvement as an owner becomes a must for the
successful operation of your restaurant and bar.
It is essential that you keep a track of your business, right from inventory to
the sales, and stay updated with the daily reports. For instance, you can
use POSist’s Cockpit App that gives you real-time reports and updates about
your restaurant business, that you can access right on your mobile.