Hi,
I want to open a pho restaurant in the Bay Area (San Jose/San Francisco). I'm looking for help in these:
- size of equipment, and potential costs,
- guesstimated weekly food costs,
- Pos system versus no system,
- How big or small menu
Can someone give me some tips?
Thanks.
@sereeuspho Your question is too broad. It's akin to "I want to buy a car, so what kind make and model should I buy, what should its mpg be, should it be gasoline or hybrid or all electric, how many seats should it have, and what color should it be?"
Can you be more specific? A little more context will help.
@sereeuspho What Cuong said is so true. I've been there, and I know asking the right questions with the right focus and level of details will get you the right answers for you. Otherwise you can find lots of junk info out there on the Internet.
Any useful tips people give you will depend on what you want to do.
- size of equipment, and potential costs,
Equipment and associated cost will depend on your menu, recipes, ingredients and prep/cooking process.
- guesstimated weekly food costs,
Your food costs depend on your recipe and quantities served, plus any waste, shrinkage, spoilage, etc.
- Pos system versus no system,
POS system you choose depends on what features you want with it. It's not about whether you need one. It's about picking the right features for what you need.
How big or small menu
Now you have the right focus to begin. Your menu size depends on your concept, what you want to do versus what you're proficient at, what your local clients are like, and what your competition is doing.
Bottom line: You need to develop your concept as a start, then use that to create everything that will make up your new business.
I've been through this process both before I started working with Cuong and after I got him involved in a new project, so I can speak from experience. Here's what most newbies do not realize: the type of questions you are asking are very typical of individuals who start the process in on the wrong foot. These are questions best asked after you have developed a good concept and business mission and goals, or at least asked while you are developing your concept and business mission and goals. I highly recommend you pay attention to the latter first. Without understanding what you want to do, it's not to your benefit to receive random or generic advice and suggestions. My 2 cents.
With the COVID-19 raging I see restaurants are scrambling to stay open and get some revenue. I have always been interested in opening my own pho restaurant, so my question is what are some new considerations to incorporate into a new pho restaurant concept? It seems that when this is all blown over, people are even more open to takeouts and deliveries models. Anyone cares to share their views? Thanks.
@sheriwaiii I'd have to say, at times like this I bet restaurateurs are glad to have takouts and deliveries to count on to keep their kitchen crew somewhat busy.
But while this will definitely help customers feel more comfortable ordering their dinners this way, I truly think eating out at restaurants is still one of the most enjoyable experiences a human being can have and want, and therefore eating at restaurants will still remain the main mode of serving food to people. When this whole thing blows over, people will be out to restaurants again.
So I would recommend to stick to the normal process of building a restaurant business, that is, design a strong concept that meets both your personal and local requirements. At the same time, give yourself the best chance for success by considering as many revenue to generating avenues as possible, and that means to include take-outs and deliveries in one form or another.
