Catering Equipment

Entering the Food Service Business

You want to get into the food service business but don’t know where to start. This article will discuss various venues available to entrepreneurs and some of the challenges associated with each type of business. It is not unheard of for businesses to operate more than one of the types of operations described below.

Restaurants

Opening a brick and mortar restaurant site is one of the most difficult of the choices listed here. Successfully planning for, financing, opening and sustaining a successful restaurant is a very rare occurrence. Statistically more new restaurants fail than make it. Don’t get discouraged though. If this is your goal, it can be done and the risks can be minimized. If you don’t have a lot of cash available to you and need to start from scratch, you might want to start with one of the less expensive method listed here and save your profits towards the ultimate goal of owning your own place. You will need to do a lot of planning and research to be successful. It is highly advised that you get help from someone who knows what they are doing. One of the best ways to insure your success is to purchase an existing, turn key operation. There are many out there to choose from. Though most restaurants for sale are usually not doing well or the owners wouldn’t sell them, there are legitimate reasons for selling a successful business. You must look long and hard for the right business selling for the right reasons but they are out there. Use someone who knows the business to help you through the process when you do find one. The business must be thoroughly analyzed to insure it is as successful as the owner is professing. It is not uncommon for owners to exaggerate. In fact it is highly likely and you should suspect it until proven otherwise. The bottom line for opening a restaurant is that you will need to have a lot of cash on hand to sustain it one way or the other. New restaurants rarely are profitable right away and it may take months or years. You will need working capitol to keep afloat during this period. Even with a turn key business, it is wise to have a cash buffer available to you while you learn the new business. It may not be as profitable for you as it was for the previous owner. At least not right away.

Mobile Concessions

Mobile concessions are a much cheaper way to start a food service business than opening a restaurant but there are still some substantial costs and a lot of hoops to jump through.

There are many different ways these types of operations are implemented. Some mobile units move from place to place daily and serve specific clients each day. The most common of these is the mobile catering van. These are usually set up with a grill and typically serve breakfast and/or lunch. Trailers are also popular and can be set up to provide any type of service you can think of.

No matter what type of scenario you must find a place or places where you are allowed to park and serve food. First off, this requires permission from the business and/or property owner. You will need to insure you have the proper permits required from the local government. Check with your local Health Department to find out what the specific requirements are in your State/County/City/Location. In most cases your equipment (van, trailer, cart, tent, etc….)needs to be compliant with requirements set out by the local governing bodies. Usually the equipment must be inpsected for compliance and a certificate of compliance is issued. Do not operate a mobile food service operation until you are absolutley sure you have met all governmental requirements, have the proper permits and are licensed to do so. This is a tedious process but it is not insumountable. It is still cheaper than opening a permanent location (restaurant).

Catering

Catering is probably one of the most flexible and reasonbly priced ways to get started in the food service business. You can start from your own kitchen at home and cater to small parties and events with minimal outlay of capitol. Once your reputation grows and you have saved enough capitol to expand your operation, you can then look into getting the space and equipment to take you to the next level. The range of possibilities is endless. From catering small parties out of your own kitchen on a shoestring budget to catering events with hundreds of people and all of the fancy trimmings, table settings and servers. There is a lot of money to be made here. As with all of the options, you must insure you have a business lisence and you have all of the proper permits and are in compliance with the local health code.

Vending Machines

Though not quite what some would consider traditional food service, operating vending routes is worth mentioning. One vending machine will not make you rich but people do make a lot of money operating networks with several machines. Vending machines often need maintenance. You will need a truck or van to move the machines around and carry all of your supplies. Like mobile concessions, you will need to find locations to put the machines. Usually you will offer the owner of the location a portion of the profits in order to intice them to let you in. This type of business takes a lot of time to replenish the machines, keep them maintained and insure the customers are happy. You may have to hire help once you get past a certain number of machines to maintain. As with the other options, you will need a business license and need to insure you comply with all health department requirements and government regulations. As with restaurants, it might be wise to look at turnkey operations for sale. This will save you a lot of time and will make you money a lot quiker. The previous owner will have done almost all of the work for you. As with any pruchase of this magnatude you should do a lot of analysis of the business before comitting to the purchase. Get someone who knows what they are doing to help you.

Event Booths

The last method we will discuss is event booths. Many owners of restaurants, catering companies and for that matter mobile catering operations participate in these events. Some examples would be the county fair, a fourth of july celebration, concerts, street fairs, farmer’s markets, carnivals, etc….. These types of events seem to be endless in type and are usually run during the warmer months of the year due to their outdoor nature. As with mobile catering vehicles, there is a lot to do with regard to compliance, permitting, licensing, etc… Not only do you need to insure you comply with all government regulations but you will also need to qualify and be permitted by each of the events themselves. Sometimes the process can be overwhealming. With that said though, if you have good food to offer and you can get through all of the hoops, these events can bring in a lot of money in a short period of time. In most cases, you can run a booth with minimal costs by using a tent, tables, coolers for refrigeration, etc…. Once you have the capitol, you can then invest in more sophisticated equipment which will enable you to sell a lot more volume due to efficiency. As always, you must comply with Health Department and other government regulations.

Once you decide which avenue you wish to pursue, there is a lot more research to be done.  Part of that is finding the right equipment. Please visit some of the advertisers on our site to beging your search. You may also want to read some of the other infomative articles on this site regarding equipment to get a better idea of what to look for.

Good luch in your search :)

Filed Under Food Service Businesses | 3 Comments

Welcome to our Site

The Catering EquipmentSite is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs who want break into the catering or restaurant business. Soon we will publish informational articles to help people determine their equipment needs and how to find the best quality equipment for the best price. Come back often to read the newest posts.

Filed Under Welcome | Leave a Comment