Things to consider before opening a second location for your restaurant Part I

 Opening a second location for an existing restaurant can be the single most difficult decision a restaurant owner can make. Having two restaurants can not only create new operating and management challenges many owners don't anticipate, but can put to risk not only the new restaurant but also the already existing one as well. Since this is a broad topic we have broken it down to two parts. Part I of "Things to consider before opening a second location for your restaurant" concentrates on what we call foundation questions which we first think each owner should answer and then build a solid plan on how to accomplish them. Part II of these series gives details on the areas we believe a restaurant owners should concentrate before opening a second location. So here are the things we think every owner should consider before making this life changing decision:
1. Consider the time, resources, and risk entailed in opening a second restaurant, and if possible talk to other owners who have already opened a second location. What have they learned? What would they change?
2. Look into your projections, they should be realistic. Then take your worst case scenario and make it your best case scenario, and ask yourself can you live with the results?
3. Do you have systems in place already set up that have been established to work?
4. And last but not least ask yourself: have you exhausted all of your existing options of profitability in your operation?
To learn more read Part II...