How to Open a Restaurant Step by Step
A practical order of work for opening a restaurant, from the concept and the numbers to licences, equipment, hiring, a soft launch and the first month.
Updated 9 min read
On this page
Key takeaways
- Prove the numbers on paper before you sign a lease: one concept, one menu, one weekly break even.
- Start the licence and registration paperwork early, because councils and health departments set the pace, not you.
- Buy for the menu you will actually cook, and keep three months of costs in reserve.
- Run a soft launch with friends and neighbours before the public opening, then fix what it shows.
In short: opening a restaurant is a sequence, and the order matters. Decide the concept and prove the numbers, secure the money and the site, deal with the legal side early, then equip, hire, test and open. Most expensive mistakes come from doing these out of order.
Every country has its own rules, so this guide gives you the order of work and the questions to ask. Where the law matters we point you to official sources. Check your local authority before you rely on anything here, and use an accountant or solicitor for tax and legal choices.
Step 1: Decide what you are opening
Write one paragraph that a stranger could understand: what you serve, to whom, at what price, and why they would choose you over the place down the road. A concept that needs three paragraphs is usually not yet a concept.
Settle these decisions before anything else:
- Format. Full service, counter service, café, takeaway, bakery, food truck or a dark kitchen that only sells online.
- Guest. Office workers at lunch, families at the weekend, students late at night. The guest decides the site, the price and the opening hours.
- Menu size. Aim for a menu your kitchen can cook well at the busiest hour with the team you can afford.
- Price range. Not a hope, but a range based on what similar places nearby really charge.
Visit ten competitors at the times you plan to trade. Count tables, note the prices and watch how full they are at 12:30 and 20:00. That evening of notes is worth more than any generic report.
Step 2: Prove the numbers on paper
Before you look at a lease, build a simple model: the average spend per guest, the number of guests you can realistically serve, the cost of food, the cost of staff and the fixed costs. Our guides on the restaurant business plan, start up costs and food cost percentage walk through each part.
The question the model must answer is plain: how many guests a week do you need to cover every cost, and is that number believable for the site you have in mind? If you need to be full every night to break even, the concept or the rent is wrong.
Step 3: Secure the money
Most owners combine their own savings with a loan, a partner, a landlord contribution or equipment finance. Whichever you choose, add up the cost of opening in three parts: the build and equipment, the opening stock and the reserve for the first months while trade grows.
Keep the reserve. Many restaurants that fail did not lose because of a bad idea, they ran out of cash in the first quarter while sales were still building. Read our guide to restaurant cash flow before you commit.
Open a separate business bank account early. Keep owner money and restaurant money apart from the first day, because it makes tax, loans and every later decision simpler.
Step 4: Find the site and read the lease
The best site is the one that matches your guest, not the busiest street. Check footfall at the hours you will trade, visibility from the street, parking or transport, the neighbours, and whether delivery drivers can reach you.
Before signing a lease, ask a solicitor to read it and ask the council whether the use is allowed. Check:
- The permitted use of the unit (food service, alcohol, opening hours).
- Who pays for repairs, the extraction system and the structure.
- The length of the lease, break clauses and how rent is reviewed.
- Whether the previous tenant's equipment is included, working and legal to use.
Ask the landlord for a rent free period to cover the fit out. It is a common request.
Step 5: Do the legal and licensing work early
This is the part that most often delays an opening, so start it while you are still planning the site. The details differ widely, but the usual categories are:
- Registering the business and the food business with the local authority.
- Planning or zoning approval and building regulations for any works.
- Fire safety, electrical and gas safety certificates.
- Alcohol licensing if you serve drinks, and a music or entertainment licence where the law requires one.
- Staff: employment contracts, right to work checks, payroll registration and insurance.
Our guide to licences and permits explains the categories in more detail. As of October 2026, for example, UK councils generally ask new food businesses to register at least 28 days before opening, and registration is free through GOV.UK. Other countries have different timings, so ask your local authority which steps apply and in what order. The official starting point in the UK is the government's running a food business guide.
You also need a written food safety system. Read about the HACCP plan now, not the week before opening.
Step 6: Plan the kitchen and the dining room
Design the kitchen around the flow of food: delivery, storage, preparation, cooking, the pass and service. A kitchen that makes cooks cross each other's paths slows every ticket for years. We cover this in kitchen layout.
In the dining room, count seats against the numbers in your model, plan for wheelchair and pushchair access, and think about where the till, the printers and the waiter route will sit. Decide how guests will order: at the table with a waiter, by QR code, at a counter, at a kiosk or online for collection and delivery.
Step 7: Buy equipment and technology
Buy for the menu you will actually cook. A new restaurant rarely needs the biggest fryer or the second oven in the first month. Buy used where safe and sensible, lease where cash is tight, and always check warranties and service contracts.
Decide your technology stack before the opening date, not after. At minimum you need a till or POS, a way to send tickets to the kitchen (printers or a kitchen display), card payments and a way to take online orders if you plan to deliver or offer collection. Our technology checklist and POS cost guide help you compare.
DineHarbor includes a POS, kitchen display, online ordering with no commission and menu import from a photo, with a 30 day free trial, so you can build and test your whole setup before the opening date. See the pricing page for current plans.
Step 8: Build the menu and the costs
Cost every dish before you print a menu. Our guides on recipe costing and how to price a menu show how. Make sure that every dish has a clear allergen record from the start, because you will need it for the first guest who asks. If you only have a paper menu today, turn it into an online menu in an afternoon.
Choose suppliers, agree delivery days and set minimum stock levels. See suppliers and ordering for what to ask.
Step 9: Hire and train
Hire the head chef or kitchen lead first and the manager second, because they shape everyone else. Then hire for the rota you actually need. Hiring and training take longer than you think, so plan at least four weeks of training before opening, including at least two full practice services.
Step 10: Run a soft launch
A soft launch is an invitation only service for friends, family, neighbours and local businesses, ideally two or three evenings with a limited menu and a lower price or free tasting. Treat it as a test, not a party.
Watch for:
- Ticket times and which station slows down. See ticket times and peak service.
- Dishes that confuse the server or the guest.
- Printer, till and card reader problems.
- Anything the allergen records got wrong.
Ask for honest written feedback and fix the top five items before the public opening.
Step 11: Open, and watch the first month
On the opening day, keep the menu short, staff the floor generously and have the owner on the floor. For the first four weeks, check the numbers weekly: sales, food cost, labour cost and the five weekly numbers. Early signs of trouble show up in the first month, and they are easier to fix when the lease and the staff are still new.
Claim your Google Business Profile before you open, so the first guests find correct hours and a menu.
The five mistakes to avoid
- Signing the lease before the model works. The rent is the one cost you cannot negotiate later.
- Spending the whole budget on the fit out. Keep the reserve.
- Starting the paperwork late. Licences, registration and inspections run on the authority's calendar.
- A huge menu. It raises waste, training time and ticket times.
- No numbers after opening. If you do not look at the figures weekly, you find out about problems from your bank.
A realistic timeline
The table is a rough guide for a new site that needs building work. A turnkey takeover can be much shorter.
| Phase | Typical length | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Concept and model | 4 to 8 weeks | Visits, menu idea, numbers |
| Money and site | 4 to 12 weeks | Funding, search, lease |
| Legal and design | 6 to 16 weeks | Permits, plans, quotes |
| Build and equip | 6 to 16 weeks | Works, kit, tech set up |
| Hire and train | 4 to 6 weeks | Team, practice services |
| Soft launch | 1 week | Test services, fixes |
Ready to set up your menu, till and online ordering before opening day? Start the 30 day free trial with no card needed.
Questions and answers
How long does it take to open a restaurant?
Plan for six to twelve months from first idea to opening day for a new site. Licensing and registration can take weeks to months depending on where you are, and building work often runs longer than the quote says. Taking over an existing restaurant can be much faster.
How much money do I need to open a restaurant?
It depends heavily on the country, the city, the size and whether the site is already fitted out. Build your own figure from the cost buckets in our start up costs guide and add a reserve of at least three months of running costs.
Do I need restaurant experience to open one?
It is not a legal requirement in most places, but you need someone on the team who has run a service, controlled costs and handled a kitchen. If that is not you, hire or partner with that person before you commit money.
What is the first thing to do when opening a restaurant?
Write down the concept, the target guest, the menu and the price range, then test the numbers. Everything else, from the site to the equipment, follows from those four decisions.
Should I open with a small menu?
Yes, in almost every case. A short menu means less stock, less waste, faster training and a faster kitchen. You can add dishes once you know what sells.
See it in DineHarbor
About the author
Editorial team
The DineHarbor team writes this blog for restaurant owners and managers. Every article is checked against the product before it is published, so what we describe is what the software does.
All articles by DineHarbor team
