Accomplished restaurateur Billy Blatty owns several bars and restaurants in Louisiana, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada, including Sofia, Lucky Foo’s, Belle’s Diner, and Barcadia. Possessing more than 22 years of experience in the industry, Billy Blatty has extensive experience in creating and developing restaurant concepts.
The overall idea that defines a restaurant is known as the concept. This includes everything from dining room decor and service style to the type of food and menu design. Most of the time, the first step to deciding on the right restaurant concept is looking at the competition in the area. Learning about the local competition gives new restaurateurs great information about the average prices for their type of cuisine, the type of people that enjoy a particular type of cuisine or atmosphere, and the type of food offered by competitors. With this information, hopeful restaurants can figure out their target market and determine how they will stand out from the competition.
When developing a restaurant concept, it’s also important to consider location and budget. The location of a restaurant plays a big role in whether it succeeds or fails. Restaurants want a property that has plenty of parking and is in an area that is capable of affording the prices owners plan on requesting for the food at their establishment. Meanwhile, the budget dictates how much owners have to spend on staff, equipment, property, and other items to get their restaurant up and running. Owners do not want to spend more money than they have when setting up a new restaurant.
Finally, there’s the menu. The food on the menu should all fall in line with the overall feel of the restaurant. This means it should follow the restaurant’s theme and feature prices that make sense for the type of restaurant the establishment is. Restaurateurs who have a signature dish in mind can build the rest of their menu around this dish to give themselves a good place to start.
The overall idea that defines a restaurant is known as the concept. This includes everything from dining room decor and service style to the type of food and menu design. Most of the time, the first step to deciding on the right restaurant concept is looking at the competition in the area. Learning about the local competition gives new restaurateurs great information about the average prices for their type of cuisine, the type of people that enjoy a particular type of cuisine or atmosphere, and the type of food offered by competitors. With this information, hopeful restaurants can figure out their target market and determine how they will stand out from the competition.
When developing a restaurant concept, it’s also important to consider location and budget. The location of a restaurant plays a big role in whether it succeeds or fails. Restaurants want a property that has plenty of parking and is in an area that is capable of affording the prices owners plan on requesting for the food at their establishment. Meanwhile, the budget dictates how much owners have to spend on staff, equipment, property, and other items to get their restaurant up and running. Owners do not want to spend more money than they have when setting up a new restaurant.
Finally, there’s the menu. The food on the menu should all fall in line with the overall feel of the restaurant. This means it should follow the restaurant’s theme and feature prices that make sense for the type of restaurant the establishment is. Restaurateurs who have a signature dish in mind can build the rest of their menu around this dish to give themselves a good place to start.
