Starting a restaurant/cafe

By amit sharma on March 17, 2012 30 Comments / 1424 views

Hiya,

Am looking to start my own small cafe with a gift shop in New Delhi, very close to Barakhamba road, the place is a ground floor with a space of about 500 sq feets and I have 2 more floors to expand if it kicks off, its inside a market with a daily footfall of around 300-500 ppl on weekends and about 150-200 on weekdays.

– I own the place so there’s no direct liability of rentals to worry about, but ofcourse it should justify the rental income which is lost by opening the cafe.

– I’ve no prior experience of running a cafe or a shop so really looking for someone who has an experience into the same to share the bits and pieces and important things on how to run a cafe.

– I plan to keep this cafe open from about 9 am to about 10 pm, does that means I need to run this as 2 shifts operations

– What are the legalities involved in running a cafe and a shop like MCD, Delhi police, fire service permissions and all

– What are the peripheral possible income sources to run the cafe e.g. livemedia, is there an agency who can facilitate such things

– How about a software for billing and inventory

– How about trademark, copyright issues related to naming my cafe?

– How can I make it more engaging and ppl-friendly?

I will addon as more things come to my mind, but please let me know anything related to the same 🙂

Thanks a ton!

Amit.

Comments

amit sharma

30 Comments

amit sharma March 17, 2012, 5:09 am

Just to let you know, am already running an online gifts to India store with the name vouchersmate.com rightnow so products for gift shop are not a trouble at all 🙂
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal March 19, 2012, 3:10 am

Can u add photos? I will promote this post
amit sharma March 20, 2012, 4:52 am

Thanks Alok, will do it now 🙂
Siddhartha Patni March 21, 2012, 8:29 am

its a good idea..but instead of the gift shop..why dont u open up a gaming zone which will have all yester years games such as carrom,chess,monopoly,scrabble and other board games and have leagues and championships running along.This would add to the fun of food n cafe and also encourage sponsorships for u…i mean in the day n age of computer gaming this might come as a fresh change..an old form of social gaming revisited….other cafes do this but not on championship league basis..
Pradeep Arora March 21, 2012, 8:32 am

I quite like the Idea of Sid…

But one more quesstion is why only Cafe ?? Any perticular reason or just interest ?
Shruti March 21, 2012, 8:45 am

Hi There,

Have you heard of Kunzum Travel Cafe in Hauz Khas Village? Do pay a visit, see if you can arrange a meeting with the owner @ajayjain who is very open to sharing ideas about his business model (a super convenient but engaging one) and expanding. Ping me @sacredeastwind for more
Ishaan Bhardwaj March 21, 2012, 8:48 am

Hi,

I am interested, can you email me more details?
Gurpreet Singh Tikku March 21, 2012, 1:49 pm

Hi Amit,Regards to your post today.Please feel free to mail me and share your number at gurpreet@infinityrealestate.co.in. I am sure that some thing could be worked out. For more visit http://www.infinityrealestate.co.in.
No Charges for fellow Rodinhooders.
Thanks
Mohamed Madani March 21, 2012, 2:20 pm

@ Amit

Well, i think you need to just learn more about Chaipatty Teafe in Bangalore. Its a place with a difference. The use of earthen pots, bamboo chairs and the menu with maggi noodles being served etc is really nice. I am not asking you to implement the same but it can serve as an awesome example. Your menu has to be really appealing to the crowd to return to your cafe. So, your customer acquisition will depend on the menu as well as the ambiance. Why don’t you offer Free Wi-Fi and make it a hub spot..? there is so much experimentation that you can do along with a gift store.
amit sharma March 22, 2012, 4:27 am

Hey Ishaan, my email is a@avenirlabs.com, let me know what more details you need and how you can help 🙂
amit sharma March 22, 2012, 4:28 am

Thanks Gurpreet, let me know how you can help? I’ve emailed you my contact no.

Amit.
amit sharma March 22, 2012, 4:29 am

Thanks Shruti, I know Ajay pretty well and we did discuss about extending Kunzum to this place however the crowd is quite different from hauz khas to this place, so thought of going my own way 🙂

A.
amit sharma March 22, 2012, 4:31 am

Hey Sid, thats a gr8 idea, but how would that add upto revenue, I would love to do that and since have the all required space as I have about 3 floors with 500 sqfts on each floor, I can do that but not sure how it will kick in the revenue bit, any more ideas?

A.
amit sharma March 22, 2012, 4:32 am

Thanks buddy, working on something quite innovative myself 🙂
amit sharma March 22, 2012, 4:34 am

PS : Just to add a bit more info, this place is located about 500 mts from Barakhamba road, but not sure how I can get people to come across those 500 mts and spend time here, am quite keen on promoting it as an alternative to Cha bar as thats closed now , but not sure how I can promote various small events and workshops e.g. startups media events, small chat sessions among various groups of ppl ?

Really looking forward to more ideas 🙂
Siddhartha Patni March 22, 2012, 4:53 am

firstly the games would initiate longer time spent by the customers that would automatically lead to increased no. of orders and secondly and more importantly once the concept starts generating some traction then i feel u will get a lot of association and sponsorship offers which can generate far more revenue than a gift shop can probably do.This would also help u to create a niche for the cafe as done by Kunzum promoting itself as a travel cafe…so it will add up to ur brand value ….and lastly once u get things rolling and starts to do well…u can franchise out..again a source of super revenue…
Nakul March 22, 2012, 10:10 am

Amit, the place looks mean and the idea of having a cafe sounds good too.I am a passionate cook and have a dabbled here and there in a dhaba/cafe and would love to give you an idea or two about the menu and look and feel of the place. However, if you know the audience you are catering to, it will be a wicked joint.

Please feel free to hit me back on knakulrao@gmail.com.

cheers !
Ashish Kothari March 22, 2012, 1:08 pm

Hey Amit, i have been a student entrepreneur and that too in Foods & Beverage industry which won many accolades. So my experience could be of great help as i had also started from scratch. Also can a small idea after reading this and looking at the pics. Do write back on ashish.d.k86@gmail.com. Would be keen to hear from you.
bhavesh shah March 22, 2012, 3:16 pm

Hi

My view is contarian

I actually dont understand why you want to get into in which you have zero experiance. Is the hassle gonna be worth. Are you made out to be a restauranter …. All of us wanna be fit and healthy but we dont go to gyms – so yeah maybe you would love to be in the food business but are you really prepared for the hassles of it …. If you really are passionate about it why dont you work in a cafe for a 3- 6 months or so – learn the ropes and then venture out ( if you still have the netu left 🙂 ) – whats the harm ??.. Have you considered this ?

to me this project looks a non starter – if you are gonna do it on borrowed capital i would like you to reconsider ..

Forget about permissions etc have you done the basic maths – i.e breakeven point

electricity+ wagees ( 2 shifts)+ your time+ opportunity cost of rental = X

Then if avg spend per person is Y so you need X/Y number of customers ( C ) and if your market walkingn are W then you would need W% conversions to reach C – Does that lok to be feasible number

Life is short – 15 – 20 years is your max high performance entreprenuer shelf life – hope you have your focus and passion in place and then you get on with it – food is a terrific business but question is – is this what you want in your life – when you get up in the morning will it make you rush out of your bed…

Regards

Bhavesh Shah
Adith Podhar March 23, 2012, 9:38 am

Hi Amit, u can contact me if you need any suggestions/inputs. I had started a F&B venture by the name of ‘Crepeteria’ (http://www.crepeteria.in) and ran it for almost 4 years before moving out to join a PE fund. I know the challenges faced in this business and can give you genuine advice based on my hands-on experience.

Remember, the most important thing is to understand your prospective customers…and not get carried away by words like ‘ideas’ ‘experimentation’ ‘innovation’…you need to offer what ‘they’ (and not ‘you’) will like and at what price points..its your long-term goals from the venture which you need to keep in mind at the planning stage itself.

Cheers!

adithpodhar@gmail.com
amit sharma March 23, 2012, 10:48 am

wow thanks a ton! Bhavesh thats a really great advise and I love the fact that you took the effort to jot down in such a detail, really appreciate it man.

Well so first reason, y to do it, well I dont know man, am more of a doer, and being that ways has worked for me in the past so quite keen to go out and learn and earn 🙂 I think as the life is short it makes all the more sense to fail and learn all the more and take the unknown path as that gives me the kicks.

By the way I liked your office thingi and may start that in my own building in Delhi soon as well!

A.
amit sharma March 23, 2012, 10:49 am

Thanks mate, just mailed back to you!

A.
amit sharma March 24, 2012, 5:01 am

Alok, thanks for promoting this post man, got great inputs from a lot of guys 🙂 and feels how good the power of community and networking is 🙂

Cheers

Amit.
amit sharma March 26, 2012, 4:46 am

Hey Gurpreet, havent heard from you?

A.
Gurpreet Singh Tikku March 27, 2012, 8:37 am

Hi Amit…………..

I guess, I didn’t receive a mail from you with your phone number and your email id.

Anyways, have picked your mail id from here and have mailed you a while back.
Chirag Yadav April 23, 2012, 6:39 am

Hi Amit,

I think u did pose as a interested franchisee to understand Chaipatty model but in later half f d discussion came clean to say starting out solo by urself was ur real intent. Well for this space especially since its BK road very few ppl will have it on thirr agenda so an unknown brand with hardly any visibility will be a tough draw. I say u start with promoting your idea which i am sure would be distinct & ur own creative mashup. When i started off neither did i have a partner, mentor or even a Rodinhood like platform. It was a gut feeling properly & diligently executed. Competition checked in the vicinity & service standards set. I tell u nothing is rocket science unless made out to be. All the best to you..

Regards,
Chirag
Chaipatty
Chirag Yadav April 23, 2012, 4:40 pm

Thanks Mohamed for finding us inspirung enough. We love to keep it simple enough with enough & more to impress or get a person thinking & noticing us. Do come by the next time you are around. Would love to share a Chai & some conversation.

Thanks so much 🙂

Cheers from Chaipatty 🙂
Faiz Uddin April 26, 2012, 6:36 am

The problem with the idea is that it though one might argue that customers will spend more time in the cafe/gaming lounge, their is no guarantee that they will order food, unless one somehow links the usage of the facilities with the order value – i.e., the time purchased to experience or use a game is complemented with some initial snacks and thereafter every food order allows the customers to extend the usage. – Just thinking out aloud. And sponsorship is directly linked to the type of clientele. Any brand worth their while would want to know the typical client and whether the client is its target audience.
Ruchi Vaidya December 26, 2012, 12:15 pm

Hello amit. would love to know where you are with the restaurant idea!
asha chaudhry October 21, 2014, 5:10 am

hey amit,

did you start your cafe?

we’d all love to hear about what happened! do update us on your journey 🙂