Restaurant for sale

Before you create a business plan, write a menu, or head to the bank to apply for a loan, you must first decide where exactly your restaurant is going to be located. A restaurant’s location is as crucial to its success as great food and service. It will influence many parts of your restaurant, including the menu. If you already have a certain restaurant location in mind, don’t get too attached until you know if it has all the right requirements for a successful restaurant.

Four Factors to Help You Find a New Restaurant Location

Population Base

Are there enough people in the area to support your business? For example, is the restaurant location in the heart of a thriving downtown shopping district, or along a busy freeway? There needs to be enough people who live in the area, or pass through the area on a regular basis to keep you busy. To determine the population base of a particular area, you can do a site study. However, these can cost up to $25,000. Most people looking at their first restaurant don’t have enough money in their budget for a professional survey. A less expensive method to determine the population base of certain area is to use a circle graph, as well as asking the local chamber of commerce and town office for more information.

Parking

Will there be enough parking to accommodate all the seats in your new restaurant? Ideally, a new restaurant location should have its own parking lot. If that isn’t an option, is there public parking near the restaurant location?

Accessibility

There’s a reason that major restaurant chains are often located near highway and freeway exits: It makes them accessible for customers. Motorists can reach the restaurant without fighting traffic or driving out of their way. Most successful restaurant locations (but not all) are easy to find.

Check the Location’s Zoning Ordinances

Some locations are obviously in commercial zones, such as busy downtowns and developed strips of highway. Other locations may be on the fringes of a commercial and or residential zone. Before you even call or inquire, contact the town manager to find out if the building is properly zoned for a restaurant. Be sure to ask about serving alcohol in that particular area as well. Some towns prohibit the sale of alcohol within so many feet of a church or house of worship, while other towns still maintain “dry” ordinances left over from prohibition.

Visibility

This goes along with accessibility and is very important for new restaurant locations. People have to know the restaurant is there. This is why property prices in downtown districts and developed strips are higher than other areas. They offer a level of visibility that can bring in a great deal of walk-in business.

Don’t be impulsive

You may visit one spot and decide that it is “the one.” But before you start sketching out the dining room; be sure to visit multiple sites. Visit the prospective restaurant sites during different times of days, during the week and on weekends. Bring in a property appraiser to give you a property appraisal on your prospective location as well as the other structures in the same local.  Is the area really busy during the work day and dead at night and on weekends? Patience pays off when selecting a restaurant space.

Summary

While a good location doesn’t guarantee a successful restaurant, it sure can help. A poor location doesn’t automatically doom a burgeoning restaurant, but nor does it help. Choosing the right location for your new restaurant will depend largely on your concept and budget.