How much would it cost to start a restaurant?

Question

I was wondering, it might be something I wanna do when I'm older, owning my own restaurant. Does anyone know what the price range might be in for starting one, it wouldn't be anything fancy, something like a diner or a pizza place, any ideas?

Answer 1

Probably a couple hundred thousand dollars,  maybe more and could be a lot more, depending on many factors.  Own your building or lease space?  New equipment or used?  Franchise, or just your own restaurant?

Answer 2

Before you go any further with your plan (dream?), I STRONGLY recommend you contact your local Small Business Development Center (at your local community college) and talk to them; the counseling is free.  And sign up for the NxLevel Entrepreneurial program...  it's a 12 session course that walks you through the ins and outs of starting or growing your business, and as part of that you will write a business plan.  At the end of the class your plan will be reviewed by a lending professional, and will be critiqued, telling you the strong points of your plan AND the weak points.  Then you can work on the weak points and hopefully get it into shape to actually present to a lender and get the loan you need.  There is a cost ($375.00 last year at my SBDC) for the NxLevel program, but it’s a lot cheaper than losing your investment.

When you work through your initial business plan, you will get a fair idea of what it's going to cost.  Your biggest expense will be rent, buying the equipment you need and completing the buildout, even for a diner.  

Even if you hire a professional to write your plan, you should still take the NxLevel course.  It saved me from going into a business that would have failed within a year from lack of resources.  

Business plans may be a pain in the butt to prepare, but without one, your business is doomed to failure.  To start with, you won't know what your start-up costs are going to be, what kind of income to expect, what your ongoing expenses are, who your competition is, and even whether or not you can make a profit.  Without a GOOD business plan, you will not be able to get a business loan to get your business off the ground.