Business Plan for New Restaurant
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, Australia, situated on the banks of Parramatta River. It is the administrative capital of city of Parramatta, which is one of the metropolitan cities of Sydney. It is founded in 1788 and it is the oldest inland settlements by the Europeans in Australia. Currently Parramatta is one of the biggest business and commercial centers of Australia. Westfield Parramatta, the ninth largest shopping center of Australia with 498 stores, is situated here (Rauscher and Momtaz 2017).
Parramatta is home to almost 19.2% Indians, with main Indian languages spoken are Gujarati 6.6% and Hindi 5.8% (Cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au 2017). Being a cosmopolitan area, Parramatta has numerous restaurants of different cuisines, Indian being one of the major types. This report discusses the business plan for opening a new Indian restaurant in Parramatta.
The author gathered information about the fact and figures primary and secondary data. For primary data, he conducted a survey for two months on the customers who came to Westfield center. For secondary data, he used the government websites on infrastructural development and food industry, websites of Restaurant and Catering Australia, National Restaurant Association, City of Parramatta and Westfield Parramatta. After data collection, he used quantitative method to analyze the data and used charts from the government websites (Refer to appendix).
Location is the most important factor for opening up a new restaurant. In 2014, the world famous Indian vegetarian restaurant chain Saravanaa Bhavan opened its first outlet Australia. Almost every type of Indian food, such as, North Indian, South Indian, sweets, is available in this locality (Rca.asn.au 2015). However, Westfield Parramatta does not have any Indian restaurant till date. The shopping center has got few food outlets that include only 1 Asian restaurant. Hence, for any Indian restaurant entrepreneur, Westfield Parramatta is a good choice for opening a new Indian restaurant (Mealey 2016).
The other important factors for choosing the location are as follows:
- Parking: it is one the major factor for a restaurant to be popular. In 2014, there were 258,621 registered private vehicles in the city (Stat.abs.gov.au 2015). Hence, a large number of people prefer to travel in their own car. If the restaurant does not have a proper and sufficient parking facility, it will not be popular. Westfield, being the ninth largest shopping mall, 4,206 parking spaces (Westfield.com.au 2017).
- Visibility: setting up a restaurant in a place where footfall is high is a good advertisement strategy. Westfield gets a huge footfall throughout the year, and thus, a new restaurant would be noticed by a major percentage of the population.
- Size of the restaurant: a restaurant needs adequate space for proper functioning. Be it a snacks corner or a big dining, it requires enough space to set up. Westfield, with a retail floor area of 137,407 sq meters, has enough space to let a new restaurant open up (Westfield.com.au 2017).
- Safety: it is a major concern for any business before opening, especially if it is a restaurant which deals with fire, food and people. The location must have all the proper safety equipments installed, which is not a problem for Westfield. It is an already established shopping center, which has the best safety measures already installed (Rca.asn.au 2015).
- Rivals in the neighborhood: this is one of the major factors, which influences the business. In Westfield there is no Indian restaurant. It has got approximately 12 restaurants and fast food corners. Hence, opening an Indian restaurant would definitely attract the customers (com.au., 2017).
- Negotiating the lease: the rules regarding the leasing of space are transparent in big companies. It is expected that the terms and conditions of leasing would be clear and can be negotiated with a major unit like Westfield.
In the area near Westfield, there are many established Indian restaurants, such as, Handi Lazeez Indian restaurant, Anjappar Australia, Neelam Indian Restaurant, Taj Indian Masala at Homebush, Indian Chopsticks, Standard Indian Restaurant – North Parramatta, Hyderabad House, Billu’s Indian Eatery, Indian Home Kitchen and many more, serving varieties of Indian cuisine (Baker 2014). Majority of these are quite popular restaurants in that locality. Not only the local Indians prefer to dine in those restaurants, the Australians are also quite regular in those places (Refer to appendix). Hence, to make an entry and sustain in that locality, a new business must formulate a strategy to attract the local whites (Martinez?Fernandez et al. 2012).
The City of Parramatta and NSW Food Authority jointly regulate the food businesses of Parramatta. They give advice and approval to the new food businesses, they supervise the food hygiene activities, check the contamination, look into the complaints and ensuring that the food businesses comply with the laws. If the businesses do not follow the rules, they may face fines or prosecutions (Foodstandards.gov.au 2015).
Any new food business in Parramatta must register with the City of Parramatta. It must notify the City in case of opening a new business, closing down, shifting to new location or premises, selling to new proprietor and changing their trading name.
Research Methodology
For temporary food outlets in the fairs and events, owners must register and acquire approval from the City.
Any food business must pass the Health Inspection by the City, which includes Food Safety Standards set by NSW Food Authority. These consist of health and hygiene regulations, food handling, cleanliness and sanitation, food temperature control, pest management, food safety practices, food labeling compliance. This inspection is conducted annually at a nominal fee. Every year the businesses must conduct this inspection to comply with the law (Cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au 2017).
NSW Food Laws require certain businesses, who sell ready-to-eat food, potentially hazardous food and food without the original supplier packaging, to have at least one trained Food Safety Supervisor (FSS).
Food safety regulations are outlined by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and are applicable for all types of food and beverage businesses. These regulations are same throughout the Australia. If a new business does not follow these rules, it might not get license or may be shut down even after opening (Foodstandards.gov.au 2015).
Westfield Parramatta is the best possible location for opening a new Indian restaurant. The absence of any other Indian eatery inside the shopping center can be advantageous for the success of the restaurant if the owner can play the cards well. There are a few recommendations for the new venture (entrepreneur.com 2016):
The intentions and passion to fulfill those intentions should be right. The owner must be able to foresee the future and act accordingly. However, before investing huge money, he should be very clear about his ideas.
He must also formulate a proper business plan. It the plan is not solid, the business is bound to fail. He must do thorough market research on the competitors and their strategies, target customers groups, customers’ tastes and preferences, local economic and demographic condition, marketing promotions, discounts, pricing, menu options etc (Refer to appendix).
Testing the menu is another crucial factor. Before formally opening up, the owner must invite some people for food testing. It is a great way to know what will work and what not. He must innovate or restructure the items and prices according to the feedbacks.
The restaurant owner should give importance in hiring the right staffs. From managers to chefs to waiters, each position is very significant in this business. Not only managing the business, but greeting the customers is also very important to be popular in the industry (Refer to appendix).
Proper and innovative advertisement strategies are required too. The owner must print some attractive fliers with discount offers and distribute those to the potential customers through billing counters of the shopping stores and postal services of Parramatta. It should also give out free food samples in events and utilize the local media (Oliver 2012).
It should also have sufficient funding, be prepared for loss and other uncertainties for at least initial 6 months, have alternate plans for making profits and must have planning for reducing labor and food cost to survive and making profit (Furgison 2014).
The owner must get a proper license to open up the restaurant in Westfield. He must also comply with the Food Safety and Health Inspection regulations by the City of Parramatta and NSW Food Authority.
Conclusion:
Restaurant business is tricky one in all over the world. One must play the cards very carefully to achieve success in this industry. The above report discusses the business plan for opening up a new Indian restaurant in Westfield Parramatta, the ninth largest shopping center of Australia. The proposed location is an excellent choice as there is no other Indian restaurant inside the shopping center and footfall is much higher than other locations. The studies have shown that, the Indian population in Parramatta is growing and there is increase in restaurant visits by the local people. Hence, if the new restaurant can attract the Indians as well the locals, it can flourish. It must select the items in the menu in a way which would suit the taste buds of both the customer groups. It should also keep a sober décor, friendly and knowledgeable staffs, lower prices and choice of entrees and sides to make the menu flexible to attract the shoppers who come to Westfield. Once it makes a way into the industry and survive the initial hurdles, the new Indian restaurant can be a feather in the crown of the Indian restaurant lists of Parramatta.
References:
Baker, P., 2014. Fat nation: why so many Australians are obese and how to fix it. The Conversation. [online] Available at: https://theconversation.com/fat-nation-why-so-many-australians-are-obese-and-how-to-fix-it-23783 [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au., 2017. Regulations for Food Businesses | City of Parramatta. [online] Available at: https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/business-development/start-your-business/regulations-for-food-businesses [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
entrepreneur.com., 2016. The Staff You Need to Hire to Run a Restaurant. [online] Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/282438 [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Foodstandards.gov.au., 2015. Safe Food Australia 2nd Edition. [online] Available at: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/publications/Pages/safefoodaustralia2nd519.aspx [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Furgison, L., 2014. How to Start a Successful Restaurant. [Blog] Bplans. Available at: https://articles.bplans.com/start-successful-restaurant-guide/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Martinez?Fernandez, C., Audirac, I., Fol, S. and Cunningham?Sabot, E., 2012. Shrinking cities: Urban challenges of globalization. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 36(2), pp.213-225.
Mealey, L., 2016. What to Consider Before Choosing a Restaurant Location. [Blog] The Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/choosing-restaurant-location-2888543 [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Oliver, C., 2012. Groundbreaking Survey Reveals How Diners Choose Restaurants. [online] angelsmith.net. Available at: https://angelsmith.net/social-media-marketing/groundbreaking-survey-reveals-how-diners-choose-restaurants/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Rauscher, R.C. and Momtaz, S., 2017. Planning in Greater Sydney–Parramatta City Case Study. In Cities in Global Transition (pp. 179-198). Springer International Publishing.
Rca.asn.au., 2015. Annual Report – Restaurant & Catering Industry Association. [online] Available at: https://rca.asn.au/rca/about/annual-report/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Stat.abs.gov.au., 2015. Sydney – Parramatta : Region Data Summary. [online] Available at: https://stat.abs.gov.au/itt/r.jsp?RegionSummary®ion=125&dataset=abs_regional_asgs&geoconcept=region&datasetasgs=abs_regional_asgs&datasetlga=abs_nrp9_lga®ionlga=region®ionasgs=region [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
Westfield.com.au., 2017. Westfield Parramatta. [online] Available at: https://www.westfield.com.au/parramatta [Accessed 29 Mar. 2017].
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