How to Choose a Restaurant Concept and Location

In short: a good restaurant site is one where enough of the right people pass at the right times, at a total occupancy cost your sales can carry. Decide the concept, write down who it is for, then test each site with counts, comparisons and a careful reading of the lease.

About 8 minutes to read. General information as of October 2026. Property law differs between countries and regions; take advice before signing a lease.

Many failed restaurants had good food. They were in the wrong place, at the wrong price, or on a lease that took too much of every pound of sales. Choosing the concept and the site together is the cheapest insurance you can buy.

Start with a concept you can say in one sentence

"A fast, fresh lunch for office workers within five minutes of the station" is a concept. "Great food for everyone" is not. A useful concept names:

• The guest: office workers, families, students, couples on a night out, residents.
• The moment: a quick lunch, a weekend brunch, a long dinner, a late snack, an order at home.
• The price: the average spend per head and per order, set realistically.
• The format: table service, counter service, takeaway only, delivery only, or a mix.

The concept decides the site. A lunch trade lives on weekday footfall near offices. A family dinner place wants parking, space for prams and a residential area. A delivery kitchen wants cheap rent and a map full of homes. Our business plan guide shows how to put this on one page, and the dark kitchen guide covers the delivery only format.

Check demand before you check units

Look at the market first:

1. Who is already serving this guest? Walk the area and list every competitor within your trading radius, their price, their opening hours and how busy they look at your hours.
2. What is missing? A gap is only a gap if people would pay for what fills it. Ask residents and workers what they currently do for lunch or dinner.
3. Who lives and works nearby? National statistics offices publish population and household data by area; your local council and business improvement district may publish footfall and vacancy data. Use those as a first filter.

Be honest about competition. A street full of similar places can mean a proven food destination, or it can mean a saturated one. Visit at peak hours and look at the queues.

Count footfall yourself

Paid footfall reports exist, but a simple count teaches you more. Choose three or four time slots that match your trading hours, for example 08:00 to 09:00, 12:00 to 13:00, 18:00 to 19:00 and 21:00 to 22:00. At each, stand outside the unit and count people passing in one direction for 15 minutes, then multiply by four for an hourly estimate.

Also note:

• How many people slow down or look at the shop windows.
• Which side of the street gets the sun and the foot traffic.
• Whether the pavement is wide enough to queue or sit outside.
• What happens on match days, market days or school holidays, and whether trade drops in the evening or in winter.

Judge visibility and access

Guests must find you easily and decide in seconds. Check:

• Can you be seen from both directions along the street?
• Is there a clear entrance and room for a sign, within planning rules?
• Is the unit step free, or can it be made so? Accessibility is both a legal duty in many countries and a sound business choice.
• Where is the nearest public transport, parking, bike storage and drop off point for delivery riders?
• Is the area safe and well lit after dark?

Check the unit works as a kitchen

A good street can hide an impossible unit. Before you fall in love with a site, check the practical things, in the order that costs most to fix:

1. Extraction and ventilation. Can a proper extraction route reach the outside? Does the landlord, the planning authority or a neighbour restrict it?
2. Power, gas and water. Is there enough capacity, and who pays to upgrade it?
3. Drainage and grease. Is there a place for a grease trap and enough floor drainage?
4. Space. Is there room for storage, a delivery entrance, a staff area and waste bins? See kitchen layout.
5. Permitted use. Does the unit already have the right planning class for a restaurant or takeaway, and the right licence history? See licences and permits.

Ask the landlord for the previous tenant's use, any enforcement notices and any survey reports.

Add up the true occupancy cost

Rent is the headline, but the occupancy cost includes:

• Rent and any service charge.
• Business rates or the local property tax.
• Building and contents insurance, where the lease requires you to pay.
• Repairs and maintenance duties.
• Utilities.
• Legal fees and any deposit or personal guarantee.

Divide your total occupancy cost by your expected monthly sales. Many owners aim to keep it well below their food and labour costs, but there is no universal figure, and published rules of thumb vary by concept. See prime cost and startup costs to build the full picture.

Read the lease like a business partner

A commercial lease is a long commitment. Look for these points, and ask a solicitor to explain them:

• Term and break clauses. How long are you committed, and can you leave early, and at what cost?
• Rent reviews. When does the rent change, and by what formula?
• Rent free period. Fit out takes time; a rent free period during works is common to ask for.
• Repairing duties. Are you responsible for the whole building or only the inside?
• Assignment and subletting. Can you sell the business and pass on the lease?
• Personal guarantee. Would you be personally liable if the company fails?
• Use clause. Does it allow your concept, including extended hours and takeaway?
• Renewal rights. In some countries, tenants have a statutory right to renew; in others they do not.

In England and Wales, for example, the voluntary Code for Leasing Business Premises is a negotiating checklist and its occupier guide explains these terms, though a landlord may not follow it. Other countries differ, so take local advice.

Test the demand before you sign

You do not have to be certain, but you can reduce the risk:

• Run a pop up, market stall or supper club with the same menu and see what guests order and pay.
• Take pre orders from your social media followers or a local group.
• Sell from a delivery kitchen first, then open a dining room if the area asks for it.
• Ask nearby businesses whether they would order lunch from you.

Real orders beat opinions every time.

Delivery reach can rescue or sink a site

If delivery or collection is part of the plan, the map matters as much as the pavement. Look at how many homes and offices are within a realistic drive time of the unit, and where the roads, rivers and rail lines break the area up. DineHarbor's drive time delivery zones draw the area by real driving time rather than a simple circle, which helps you see what you can reach before a meal goes cold. See takeaway and delivery profit for the economics.

Plan the first 12 months of numbers

Before you sign, write down the monthly break even sales for the site: occupancy, labour, food and the rest of your costs. If that figure is more than your honest estimate of sales, look for a cheaper unit or a smaller concept. Once you are trading, weekly numbers show whether you are on track, and reports in DineHarbor show sales by hour so you can see whether the site's trade matches your count.

A short site scorecard

Score each candidate site from 1 to 5 on:

1. Footfall at your trading hours.
2. Fit with your guest and price.
3. Visibility and access.
4. Kitchen suitability.
5. Total occupancy cost against expected sales.
6. Lease terms.
7. Delivery reach, if relevant.
8. Competition and gaps.

A site that scores low on any one of the first five is worth walking away from.

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