Should I open another restaurant after failing?
Restaurant profit margins are often as low as six percent, meaning minimum wage hikes can wipe out earnings entirely. Former owners who lost their businesses because they were too scared to raise prices struggle to shake the downsides of the industry. Taking personal blame for the closure leaves them doubting if they are cut out for the business, keeping them stressing about their future instead of trying again.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Raising menu prices to offset wage hikesDid this help you?
- 2Finding mentors or working for a corporate restaurant to learn operational processesDid this help you?
- 3Working as a General Manager elsewhere instead of taking on the risk of ownershipDid this help you?
- 4Testing the waters first with a low-overhead coffee or smoothie pop-up.Did this help you?
- 5Getting a mentor or free business coaching from SCORE or SBDC.Did this help you?
- 6Pivoting to learning commercial real estate instead of food service.Did this help you?
- 7Costing out a short menu to calculate exact break-even daily sales before committing.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I agree, ultimately I should have raised prices with wage hikes, and I was too scared to do it. Them closing was on me in the end. Still can't shake the downsides of the industry, and if I'm cut out for it.”source ↗
“With the thin margins (these were Chronic Taco shops), benefits, retirement, and high pay are hard to offer.”source ↗
“I owned two restaurants for 5 years. Margins were already thin when I started (around 6 to 7%). Then Arizona raised the minimum wage twice in three years and wiped out what was left.”source ↗
“I don’t have much knowledge besides the fact that I worked as a line cook for 4 years. It’s not something that particularly passions me but I could not fathom the idea of making no money post bachelor degree.”source ↗
“Is it something that the average Joe can do? I need something concrete so that I can stop stressing about my future it’s torturing me”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2What commercial restaurant equipment is safe to buy used?
- 3How to find a new business idea after shutting down a company
- 9How to get out of the restaurant business when you're completely burned out
- 2Where do I even start when opening a small business?
- 2Do I need a degree to open a restaurant?
- 14Should I register a business before making any money?