Opening a restaurant will require quite a bit of capital. But, there are cost cutting techniques, and several ways around having all that capital up front, when you utilize these simple aspects of running your business.

Because opening a new restaurant is costly, it is important to look for shortcuts to the total expenses you need early on. You do not want to take shortcuts so as to reduce the quality of service or food, but there are certain things you can do to make your restaurant run efficiently, while reducing operational costs. These are a few ways to reduce costs, operate efficiently, and manage your clientele best, when you are just getting in to the restaurant business.

How To Reduce The Cost Of Opening A Restaurant

Lease Equipment –

Purchasing brand new refrigerators, coolers, stoves, gas grills, and bar equipment is going to cost you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. One simple solution is to lease equipment. Not only does this allow you the opportunity to use the equipment you need from day one, it allows you to do so without having to come up with the higher costs up front. And, if you can lease used equipment that is in good condition, this is an even better way to save. Not only will the lease cost be a little lower, but equipment that was well taken care of will run just as efficiently.

Monitor Business –

Do this in the sense that you notice when your peak hours are. If you open at 11 AM and close at 10 PM during the week, are you really making the most possible? This is a wait and see technique. Give it a few weeks or months, and assess where you are. Monitor which hours of the day you do most business, to determine how much staff you need on hand. Further, if you stay open later, and there is limited business, reduce your staff, so you can cut on these costs. This is really an approach that you can play for a few months, so you can assess your peak hours, when business is slow, and determine which cuts have to be made, so that you can reduce overall expenses.

Run Specials –

Specials are not only are great way to draw in new customers when opening, but also a way to reduce costs of food and drinks. If you run specials for items on the menu that cost less money to prepare, you will pull in profits. For the lower priced dishes on your menu, run them at a reduced price. Since the foods don’t cost much to prepare, you are not only going to bring in more patrons, you are also going to find that the cost cutting is going to result in customers ordering more. Also, do drink specials if you have a bar. two for one deals, or discounts on draft beers make for great efficiency. Not only are certain drinks extremely inexpensive, but when you keep patrons sitting at the bar, and having a great time, they tend to stay longer, and eventually end up ordering more.

Running a restaurant is expensive, and even if you can cut costs, and open with limited capital, you need consistency in order to keep the doors open. You do not want to seem cheap, and can’t do things to cut cost, if they are going to compromise on the quality. You want to cut costs, while still providing the best service and highest quality dining and drinking experience, each time your guests come in the doors, and come in for a meal at your establishment.

There are simple things you can do to reduce costs, without having to give up the quality of service, or the quality of the foods you are going to serve at your restaurant. So, take the time to plan things out, find out what equipment deals you can find, and find the right distributors for foods, so you can cut costs on these expenses. Not only will it result in lower operational costs for your restaurant, it is also going to allow you to open the doors, even if you have limited capital on hand when you are just getting started with your business.

For more information on leasing restaurant equipment, simply CLICK HERE.