Breakfast is not only an important meal to get you up and moving– turns out it’s also big business. 62 percent of Americans say it’s their favorite meal of the day and many prefer going out to eat breakfast, especially since pandemic re-openings. If you are a savvy entrepreneur thinking of getting into the breakfast business, you have good instincts. Opening a breakfast restaurant can be a profitable venture. Breakfast Restaurants & Diners are a $10 billion dollar industry here in the U.S.
Affordable Ingredients
Here’s the why. Breakfast foods are affordable and easy. And consumers seem to like having someone else do the meal preparation for them. No one wants to start off their busy day and mess up the kitchen. This means that starting a restaurant that focuses primarily on breakfast foods is lucrative.
But just keeping breakfast hours may not bring in the money you’re looking for. Many restaurants extend breakfast hours or serve all day breakfasts thanks to its increasing popularity. Nearly 80 percent of consumers say they enjoy breakfast offerings at their favorite restaurant all day long. Proof of that is that we are seeing terms like brunch, brinner and bresserts. If you have the staffing to open early for prep and stay open past lunch, the breakfast all day option is a good one.
Things to Consider Before Opening a Breakfast Restaurant
Here’s some food for thought. Before you prep that first meal, consider a few things:
- Are you ok with early morning hours (Do you have a good alarm clock?)
- Location, location, location – do your research, you will need to be in a high visibility, accessible area for the best foot traffic
- Is a breakfast restaurant needed in this area? Is there demand or competition?
- Did you save for this large investment?
- Are you a people-person? You will be engaging with staff and patrons
10 Steps to Opening a Breakfast Restaurant
Once you’ve thought this through, look at these steps toward cooking up your breakfast business.
- Define the concept: You need to have a clear concept about this business. What is your ultimate goal? What will be the feel of the restaurant? What’s the décor? Will you hire an architect to design the space and a contractor for build-out? What’s the name/logo? Is this a take-out only option, food truck, or build-out sit-down restaurant? Is it breakfast all day, limited service or to go? What hours will you keep? Where do you want to be located?
- Business Plan- This is a very important step. You may want to hire specialists to help you through these steps, or you can go it alone. The U.S. Small Business Administration provides a step-by-step guide for a business plan complete with instructions on how to prepare an executive summary, company description, industry analysis, geographic analysis, target market analysis, food safety plan, sample menu, marketing plan, management strategy, and financial plan. Starting a business you will want to consult with experts, especially business accountants and an attorney to assist with licensing and permits.
- Funding- Evaluate all your cost through financial analysis. Real estate, construction, equipment and staffing to name a few. Then figure out how to finance it. Do you have good credit? Are you eligible for a small business loan? Do you have investors? Do you have enough personal capital to stay afloat until profits are generated?
- Register your Business/Licenses and Permits-The IRS will want to know about you. Obtain an EIN (Employer identification Number). Perhaps you will want to go through the legal channels of trademarking your name and logo as well. Research regulations in your area to determine the permits and licenses you need. There are food safety regulations and standards you must follow to stay in business.
- Location– To be in the service industry in a business dependent on the public, you must be in an area visible and accessible to your patrons. Work with a commercial realtor to select a site dependent on dimensions you need.
- Equipment- This is a huge expense. You need to know what type of equipment is necessary to provide the meals you want to serve. Some equipment can be leased or purchased.
- Technology- The to-do list should include effective software for food purchase orders, online ordering and payroll. You will want an interactive website with ordering capabilities.
- Staffing- Since the pandemic, labor is a tricky matter in the food industry. Be prepared to offer good wages and incentives to attract effective employees who are good with people.
- Marketing- Develop a marketing plan. Potential patrons need to be aware that your restaurant is coming and when it will be open. Use traditional media and social media to bring in new customers, and create a loyal following. Although it’s another expense, hiring a marketing agency to take care of your promotions may have a long term pay-off.
- Menu and Pricing- This is the whole reason you’re in business. The food you serve should compliment the concept and your brand. Then there’s the issue of pricing. This is how you make your money. Experts say your prices also reflect your brand but you must have a sustainable mark-up to stay in business and enjoy a profit. Restaurant analysts say 25-35 percent is the ideal food cost percentage range. That allows you to cover your raw food price with a good profit margin.
SoBol for Breakfast
Of course, you can go through all these steps, or enjoy franchise business ownership with an effective all day breakfast restaurant—SoBol. Through franchising, you don’t worry about these steps, we’ve taken care of it for you. You make an initial investment with your franchise fee and we provide you our proven model, reputable brand name, training, support, marketing, site selection and grand opening assistance.
And the menu? How about all-day breakfast acai bowls and smoothies? At SoBol, we know why breakfast franchises are a good investment.
Health and wellness is a $52 billion dollar industry in the U.S. with growth accelerating as people take stock in their lifestyle choices throughout the pandemic. With growing concern for healthy eating, acai is a growing healthy food trend delivering strong profits for the bowl and smoothie market. More and more people want healthy offering for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks which is why hand-held meal options like our fresh fruit and vegetable bowls and smoothies are seeing remarkable growth. With more than 50 locations now up and running, our franchisees are seeing nearly $600,000 in annual store revenue.
If you want to provide your community with healthy food options all day long using a proven model showing great profit, sign up and let’s get started making you part of the SoBol family.