You’ve heard the statistics, 90% of all restaurants fail within the first year. Fortunately, for everyone involved that appears to be inaccurate. The actual rate is more like 23%, which means that 77% of all restaurants remain open after the first year.
Great news, right? Absolutely, because it means that much more often than not people that try actually do succeed. And even better news is that there are some straight forward pieces to the puzzle of success that you can focus on to even improve your odds now and in the long term.
Restaurant failures are predictable because there just aren’t any new mistakes to make. That’s why this infographic by ChefHero outlining the 10 ways restaurants fail is the perfect antidote to that possibility.
The infographic below takes pains to review each of these 10 typical failure points and simultaneously explains solutions to avoid them. The reasons will not be surprising to any of you that have been around the industry.
Location, Location, Location
It starts with the one issue you can’t get wrong -- location. To avoid a mistake here, restaurant operators need to research and have patience, things in short supply when someone is excited about their chance to restaurant success. But there is no denying if your location is bad, you’re unlikely to see your first year anniversary.
It finishes with reminding to pay heed to your guests when they complain about your quality. Any negative feedback needs to be a call to action in your kitchen to get things right. Guests remind us all the time they value quality at a fair first when making choices. They might even forgive you a blunder if your food quality is great, but serve people poor quality and you’ll learn very quickly what they think about the rest of your execution.
The other eight reasons are equally compelling and no less obvious. Which means they are important to remember; we all can get caught up in the excitement and optimism of a new venture. Read them and check the boxes on those you are getting/got right and focus honestly on the ones you haven’t. Even by reviewing the infographic you will increase your chance of staying in the 77% that remained open after their first year.
Good Luck!
Infographic by ChefHero