Want to start a restaurant(Chinese Cruise) in Bristol

[EY1]

I will immigrate to Uk in September and planning to open a Chinese restaurant in Bristol. After surfing the web, find out that the renovation fee is not realistic....
What should I do about:
(1) Apply working visa to hire Chef (Chinese Cuisine)
(2) the renovation estimate cost, 3000sq. feet.
(3) I have operated business in Hong Kong for 20 years in training business but I have zero experience in F&B. Any difficulties I will be hard to overcome?
Thanks

 

[fisicx]

What do you mean the renovation cost is unrealistic? Who prepared the estimate? If you can’t afford it choose a different location.

 

[Mark T Jones]

You probably need to go to a catering specific site for advice re visas, employment etc.

Renovation/ fit out costs are entirely dependent on the state of the unit you take on and what you want to achieve - ideally you want a former restaurant site complete with fittings and furniture (I'm aware that chinese kitchen differ a lot from others)

F & B is extremely tough at the moment ingredient costs and labour costs have risen as have energy costs, all of which ways into margin.

Demand remains pretty good, but the cost of living crisis threatens to change that.

 

[japancool]

There are a lot of "Chinese" restaurants in this country, mostly offering the same, not very good, fried food. Don't be like them.

Outside of London, places serving good Cantonese food are very rare though. I reckon if you did that, you'd be very successful.

 

[WaveJumper]

What has made you pick Bristol

 

[ecommerce84]

There are a lot of "Chinese" restaurants in this country, mostly offering the same, not very good, fried food. Don't be like them.

Outside of London, places serving good Cantonese food are very rare though. I reckon if you did that, you'd be very successful.

Wait, are you telling me that chicken curry and chips is not authentic Chinese food?

 

[japancool]

Wait, are you telling me that chicken curry and chips is not authentic Chinese food?

As authentic as chicken tikka masala.

 

[MOIC]

3) I have operated business in Hong Kong for 20 years in training business but I have zero experience in F&B. Any difficulties I will be hard to overcome?

Plenty!

Start doing your research.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Do you have your own Visa confirmed

I am told it's very hard to get a visa for chefs to work in the UK, you are expected to either hire someone already with a work visa or train them yourselves

Many uk restaurants are finding trading very difficult at present time with lots closing due to the inflation limiting many people cutting back on visiting restaurants

One big amarican outlet in the UK ,yesterday announced massive closures, over 100 to shut

 

[fisicx]

Many uk restaurants are finding trading very difficult at present time with lots closing due to the inflation limiting many people cutting back on visiting restaurants

And staff. Places close because they can’t get the staff.

And people are lazy. Rather get a delivery than go out and be social. It’s not lack of cash that stops them going out.

 

[IanSuth]

Be aware unless your kitchen is visible to the diners that it is not considered a GOQ (genuine occupational qualification) to require a chef in an ethnic restaurant to be from that ethnicity/country so you will NOT get a visa to bring in a chinese chef, you will be expected to recruit locally

 

[The Byre]

I have zero experience in F&B.

In which case, you will fail! Everything about the restaurant trade is different to cooking and serving meals at home. And a South Chinese kitchen setup is different again! You will need an experienced Chinese chef to design the kitchen and an experienced designer for the front-of-house.

Any difficulties I will be hard to overcome?

1. Getting fresh ingredients is becoming almost impossible, especially for South Chinese things like fish, seafood, bamboo shoots and things like that. There are specialist wholesale companies for wild mushrooms, fresh (i.e. alive!) seafood and fish, etc. and you will need someone who knows those suppliers. Bamboo shoots - set up a hothouse and grow your own (or serve the same tinned gunk as all the other places do!)

2. Organised crime is reported to be still targeting Chinese restaurants by 'insisting' that you buy (at inflated prices) from those wholesalers that they have got their hooks into. And they all just have dried, tinned rubbish - which might be why most Chinese restaurants seem to just serve deep-fried glue!

3. Setting up and equipping a restaurant is expensive. You can access used stuff, but most of that has been used to death and is close to useless.

4. Bristol is not cheap!

As with any business activity, there are 1001 things you need to know about running a restaurant.

 

[japancool]

Be aware unless your kitchen is visible to the diners that it is not considered a GOQ (genuine occupational qualification) to require a chef in an ethnic restaurant to be from that ethnicity/country so you will NOT get a visa to bring in a chinese chef, you will be expected to recruit locally

Huh - does that mean you can require the front of house staff to be of that ethnicity?

 

[Newchodge]

Huh - does that mean you can require the front of house staff to be of that ethnicity?

Yes, a proportion of them for 'authenticity'. It is known as a Genuine Occupational Requirement. https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/what-does-act-say#h3

 

[japancool]

Yes, a proportion of them for 'authenticity'. It is known as a Genuine Occupational Requirement. https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/what-does-act-say#h3

In practise, it seems they just have to look "about right". I've lost track of the number of Japanese restaurants I've been into that have been staffed by Chinese people.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

I have zero experience in F&B.

My first comment is that this enough not to go down this route.

However, having visited HK 30+ times, knowing lots of HK business owners and appreciating the traditional hard work ethic, this isn't a normal situation.

The big hurdle (outside of F&B experience) is lack of UK experience - a very different business environment that HK!

 

[Smitheemma]

What has made you pick Bristol

 

[WaveJumper]

What has made you pick Bristol

I am still waiting to find out

 

[Newchodge]

I am still waiting to find out

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

[fantheflames]

What has made you pick Bristol

Living in Bristol, and very curious to know why OP has chosen Bristol out of all the locations in the UK.

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

There are a lot of "Chinese" restaurants in this country, mostly offering the same, not very good, fried food. Don't be like them.

Outside of London, places serving good Cantonese food are very rare though. I reckon if you did that, you'd be very successful.

This is a great way to go bust quickly. This is literally the worst, possible advice.

I grew up in Chinese restaurants and been there, done that. My little Chinese mother packed me off to a Chinese restaurant when I was a teenager and while it wasn't my thing, I saw what worked.

To answer your questions:

1. Hiring a chef on a working visa... well, forget about it. The Chinese restaurant owners I know used 'backdoor' solutions of varying degrees of legality, lodging chefs in private accommodation while they were here.
2. Renovation estimates for 3,000 sq feet: £200 per square foot is the general rule for a complete transformation although this varies according to what needs to be done. I know the guys who renovate specifically Chinese restaurants and can put you in touch with one if you want. They would need to know what needs to be done.
3. If you have a ton of experience around businesses, you will understand the restaurant business.

Chinese restaurants are about location, marketing, positioning, pricing and experience plus distribution if you're thinking about the delivery business, just like any business. Recruitment is a challenge with several solutions. There was a dumpling chain which did well which preceded Wagamama and my family helped the owner with the menu, accounting, staff and a few elements around the experience. I worked for the owner as well but again, a lifetime away, and this was absolutely no different from any other business. Positioning, brand, marketing, pricing, location etc... were all critical and you can figure this out although having an expert advising you can't hurt.

Happy to connect you with a multi-millionaire former restaurant owner who'd probably be happy to help. He's an ex-Hong Konger from back in the day and can talk you through what works as he's now retired and probably a bit bored.

I'm in video production now and not interested in the Chinese restaurant business but happy to have a chat if you DM me.

Like any business, it's about creating the right package.

 

[japancool]

This is a great way to go bust quickly. This is literally the worst, possible advice.

I grew up in Chinese restaurants and been there, done that. My little Chinese mother packed me off to a Chinese restaurant when I was a teenager and while it wasn't my thing, I saw what worked.

Works rather well in London, and the one Cantonese restaurant here does extremely well.

But hey, if British people want to eat the same slop that comes out of these so-called Chinese restaurants - which the owners themselves don't eat - who am I to argue.

What works now has significantly changed from what works 20-30 years ago. There are *lots* of dishes available on menus these days that were never available before. There's a reason for that.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

But hey, if British people want to eat the same slop that comes out of these so-called Chinese restaurants - which the owners themselves don't eat - who am I to argue.

I know what you're saying but unfortunately people know what they like and what they've always had and you can't get them out of it. It's the same with Indian food, of which I'm a huge fan. 99% of Indian restaurants are "BIR" (British Indian Restaurant). Quite often just different coloured slop. Korma - yellow slop. Tikka Masala - bright red slop. Jalfrezi - red slop with some peppers in, and so on.

Where I live we have a heavy Pakistani community and some of their small cafes serve up simply the most amazing curries (incidentally it's a lifelong goal of mine to replicate how they do it and I still haven't been able to!). It's a world away from the BIR rubbish, although the environment isn't one you'd go and sit in for a romantic meal, nor do they serve alcohol. For years I've been saying that somebody should open a nice restaurant, as people expect it to look and serving alcohol but with the Pakistani style food, to introduce it to more people. Somebody did just that a year or so ago and guess what..... 99% of the people eating there are asian! I've recommended it to so many people locally, many have tried it and whilst a lot of them have enjoyed it there have also been comments like "they don't even have Chicken Tikka Masala on the menu"..... "there was spice in my korma that shouldn't be spicy"....... "that's more like a bloody stew than a curry there was no sauce".... and so on and so on. And so next week off they pop back to the local crap curry house that's been serving the same old muck since the 1980's! The mind boggles.

 

[japancool]

I know what you're saying but unfortunately people know what they like and what they've always had and you can't get them out of it. It's the same with Indian food, of which I'm a huge fan. 99% of Indian restaurants are "BIR" (British Indian Restaurant). Quite often just different coloured slop. Korma - yellow slop. Tikka Masala - bright red slop. Jalfrezi - red slop with some peppers in, and so on.

Where I live we have a heavy Pakistani community and some of their small cafes serve up simply the most amazing curries (incidentally it's a lifelong goal of mine to replicate how they do it and I still haven't been able to!). It's a world away from the BIR rubbish, although the environment isn't one you'd go and sit in for a romantic meal, nor do they serve alcohol. For years I've been saying that somebody should open a nice restaurant, as people expect it to look and serving alcohol but with the Pakistani style food, to introduce it to more people. Somebody did just that a year or so ago and guess what..... 99% of the people eating there are asian! I've recommended it to so many people locally, many have tried it and whilst a lot of them have enjoyed it there have also been comments like "they don't even have Chicken Tikka Masala on the menu"..... "there was spice in my korma that shouldn't be spicy"....... "that's more like a bloody stew than a curry there was no sauce".... and so on and so on. And so next week off they pop back to the local crap curry house that's been serving the same old muck since the 1980's! The mind boggles.

I reckon people these days are becoming more sophisticated - look at the restaurants offering Japanese food, Vietnamese pho etc., stuff that you'd never have been able to find 20 years ago.

The Four Seasons in Picadilly has an amazing reputation - people come from all over the world for their roast duck, but it's actually no better than the roast duck you'd find anywhere in China or Chinatowns all over Asia, but it's just good for the UK! And as with your example - all the people eating in it are Asian.

I guess it depends on where you are. I must admit, I don't know Bristol.

 

[MRQ]

This is a great way to go bust quickly. This is literally the worst, possible advice.

I grew up in Chinese restaurants and been there, done that. My little Chinese mother packed me off to a Chinese restaurant when I was a teenager and while it wasn't my thing, I saw what worked

Paul is quite correct... By co-incidence I too have links to the British Chinese Community. ...Chinese Uncle, adopted Siblings of Chinese descent. My (late) eldest daughter had maternal grandparents hailing from Shanghai and Hong Kong. They were all part of a group of friends who had come over in the late 50s and early 60s to set up Chinese restaurants/takeaways and scattered all over the British Isles.

It was do-able then. ...Partly I think because air travel was opening up the world and there was a certain 'newness' about what hey were doing.

To cut a long and complex story short, by the early 1980s when 'all us kids' were becoming young adults; very few would go into the catering trade. Most had other interests, many were quite academic and had other plans. - But few saw a future in it.

My fiancee (as she was at the time) was encouraged by her Father to pick up the family business; and was sent to the local college to do an HND in Hospitality Management. - She never followed that path and to be honest; only ever took that course of study to keep her dad happy. Her youngest sister and her husband eventually took over and quietly ran the shops down when the 'olds' passed away as they moved into other things.

Roll on 40 years from when we were emerging as young adults and it seems to have become an even tougher business... and the only people I see possibly surviving in it are the multi-generation British Born Chinese. - The notion of 'move to Britain, set up a takeaway' is completely outdated.

One of the things growing up around the catering trade as a child taught me (and my peers) is that it's ridiculously hard work, and actually ridiculously skilled work. - Like running a pub or a corner shop; it's one of those things everybody thinks they can do; but most will go bust trying. ...To survive in that trade you need to have lived and breathed it all your life; it's not just a case of knocking out a good Spring Roll and a tasty Curry for the family; it's not even remotely that!

Works rather well in London, and the one Cantonese restaurant here does extremely well.

Oddly enough, like Paul I too am in Video Production - have been all my working life. I trained in London in the early 80s with Thames, lived there for nearly six years; and London was a different planet from the rest of Britain back then. - It's even more alien now! Some of us don't even go there except under duress"

I'd suggest that coming to Britain from HK today to set up in catering is yesterday's dream... a bit like the old Jumbo in HK was. Fabulous at the time, but it has had its day. - We all know poor old Jumbo is sunk; not just 'capsized.

 

[japancool]

Roll on 40 years from when we were emerging as young adults and it seems to have become an even tougher business... and the only people I see possibly surviving in it are the multi-generation British Born Chinese. - The notion of 'move to Britain, set up a takeaway' is completely outdated.

I don't disagree, but it depends what your aim is. If you're setting up a "Chinese takeaway" - there are lots of those around, most of them sell the same sort of stuff, and cater to a certain demographic. On the other hand, if you're actually setting up a dine-in restaurant then that is potentially very different.

The one Cantonese restaurant I referred to earlier is here in Leeds. It's a fairly new establishment (as in, set up in the last decade) and it's much more of a high-end establishment. It does delivery, but I get the impression that's just an aside. It does, for example, Cantonese roast duck, roast belly pork and soy chicken - stuff that I'd never seen outside London before.

It's a similar thing with Thai restaurants. You now get dishes that would have been unthinkable 10, 20 years ago, stuff that only Thai people would actually have known about or eaten, but they're more common now from the higher end dine-in restaurants. The crappy student-type takeaways still sell the same greasy slop with too much coconut milk that did when I was a student.

You'd have to be pretty well financed to do it though, and research the demographic where you want to set up.

 

[MRQ]

I don't disagree, but it depends what your aim is. If you're setting up a "Chinese takeaway" - there are lots of those around, most of them sell the same sort of stuff, and cater to a certain demographic. On the other hand, if you're actually setting up a dine-in restaurant then that is potentially very different.

The one Cantonese restaurant I referred to earlier is here in Leeds. It's a fairly new establishment (as in, set up in the last decade) and it's much more of a high-end establishment. It does delivery, but I get the impression that's just an aside. It does, for example, Cantonese roast duck, roast belly pork and soy chicken - stuff that I'd never seen outside London before.

It's a similar thing with Thai restaurants. You now get dishes that would have been unthinkable 10, 20 years ago, stuff that only Thai people would actually have known about or eaten, but they're more common now from the higher end dine-in restaurants. The crappy student-type takeaways still sell the same greasy slop with too much coconut milk that did when I was a student.

You'd have to be pretty well financed to do it though, and research the demographic where you want to set up.

...You'd have to be pretty well financed yes; it's not like half-a-century or more ago where you could set up on a wing and a prayer. The proposal (like any business proposal) would need to be well researched and sound and you'd really need to have the professional skills and locus.

It's the old story... everybody eats, everybody cooks; so everybody is the equal of a professional restaurateur or chef... You find the same mentality in many (maybe most) other trades.

 

[Porky]

Many are not considering the potential customer demographic

Bristol is a Student City home to about 45,000 students, something like 25,000 University of Bristol and 20,000 UWE so place is crawling with students much of the year and frankly most don't have a pot to pee in, or rather will spend the cash on clubs, party's and events but are not big spenders on food other than cheap snacks, fast food, student meal deals and alike.

Yes there are some locals that may have more spending power but limited compared to students. My view is a top quality restaurant would struggle in this location, there would be better locations for sure. Now if they are hitting the student demographic with cheap meal deals and can make that viable then they might be onto something. I would imagine it could be a quite a challenge delivering anything of quality for the right price.

That's my thoughts anyhow

 

[Mark T Jones]

I reckon people these days are becoming more sophisticated - look at the restaurants offering Japanese food, Vietnamese pho etc., stuff that you'd never have been able to find 20 years ago.

The Four Seasons in Picadilly has an amazing reputation - people come from all over the world for their roast duck, but it's actually no better than the roast duck you'd find anywhere in China or Chinatowns all over Asia, but it's just good for the UK! And as with your example - all the people eating in it are Asian.

I guess it depends on where you are. I must admit, I don't know Bristol.

The commonest single mistake independent restaurants make is to fixate on what they like or they believe to be good rather than what their demographic is happy to pay for (repeatedly).

Depressingly, the most reliable money-making formulas still revolve around mediocre ingredients and generic shite- irrespective of food genre.

You can of course make money with quality or specific niches- always subject to solid market research. You absolutely can't assume that a Beefeater customer would prefer a quality steak, even at a similar price

 

[japancool]

Depressingly, the most reliable money-making formulas still revolve around mediocre ingredients and generic shite- irrespective of food genre.

Hence the donner kebab.

 

[BobzYourUncle]

I'm no expert in the restaurant industry. But more on the takeout trade. Have done many years of it. We are still very old skool every aspect is time consuming, labour intensive and a lot more effort going into the prep, marinading, baking, slow cooking because we are making things from scratch. What I find in today's new takeout places.. its either everything is deep fried and put salt pepper on everything or put a sauce on it and stick it all in a box. Like all u can eat buffet in a box kinda thing. But mainly fried stuff. Spring rolls, prawn toast and crispy chicken. I can see why. Profit margin is great, bulk buy the rolls, buy lots of sprinkle flavoured powder. No need to employ highly skilled staff. So cheap labour. There's next to no prep. If only it was that easy in my days.

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

The commonest single mistake independent restaurants make is to fixate on what they like or they believe to be good rather than what their demographic is happy to pay for (repeatedly).

Depressingly, the most reliable money-making formulas still revolve around mediocre ingredients and generic shite- irrespective of food genre.

You can of course make money with quality or specific niches- always subject to solid market research. You absolutely can't assume that a Beefeater customer would prefer a quality steak, even at a similar price

Exactly this in the UK. The fastest way to go bust with a restaurant is to open it based on something you like. e.g. Cantonese. It's all about the market.

And don't overestimate what customers will taste and the relative benefits of creating a great look rather than great food.

A case in point is a (Chinese) family friend accidentally had a load of mislabeled wine arrive. It was sweet, white wine. No-one noticed until around 100+ bottles had been sold in his restaurant. That's 100+ people who can't tell the difference between sweet and not sweet.

He eventually made his fortune with low cost, frozen dumplings and had crazy famous people in his Chelsea restaurant because his marketing was amazing. Because as BobzYourUncle says, a really important element is the cost of ingredients, ease of storing and cooking, recruitment, chef salaries etc.... Creating a formulaic product anyone can cook makes hiring much easier which is incredibly important to margins which is the thing that makes you rich.

And making the restaurant look cool so customers 'feel' the food is higher priced is important.

Anyhow, even though I grew up in that world, I don't do that because the restaurant business is extremely complex. Video production is waaay easier. I just listen to my customers, understand their needs and provide something they need. Need more sales? How about a couple of video customer testimonials... Much more straightforward than a very challenging world.

 

[IanSuth]

Many are not considering the potential customer demographic

Bristol is a Student City home to about 45,000 students, something like 25,000 University of Bristol and 20,000 UWE so place is crawling with students much of the year and frankly most don't have a pot to pee in, or rather will spend the cash on clubs, party's and events but are not big spenders on food other than cheap snacks, fast food, student meal deals and alike.

Yes there are some locals that may have more spending power but limited compared to students. My view is a top quality restaurant would struggle in this location, there would be better locations for sure. Now if they are hitting the student demographic with cheap meal deals and can make that viable then they might be onto something. I would imagine it could be a quite a challenge delivering anything of quality for the right price.

That's my thoughts anyhow

Here is a review of a Chinese place in Reading that is about 100m from the uni front gate (which has a large number of chinese students), it is the opposite of high end but seems to be the opposite of "standard chinese food". The review also points out the issues that are to be had with this approach

Our dinner came to thirty-three pounds, not including tip, and as she was taking our payment the owner asked us if we’d put a review on TripAdvisor. She got some poor reviews, she said, from people who complained about the pricing and didn’t seem to understand that the restaurant was offering authentic Chinese food rather than bright orange takeaway fare. Another review said the restaurant was “blind to the only two white guys” – especially strange as all the other diners there on my visit were Chinese and I hadn’t felt anything but welcomed. I said something noncommittal about how I’d do what I could.

Kungfu Kitchen

I love lists, to an extent which probably verges on unhealthy. At any given time I have several on my phone: things to do; shopping to get; household chores to finish; people to see. I enjoy the fe…

ediblereading.com

There are some other reviews of Bristol eateries but most are of Reading ones

 

[japancool]

Excellent stuff. Braised pork belly...

As I said earlier, the authentic Cantonese restaurants that I know of in Leeds and London are doing very well indeed. They're not targeting the student demographic.

Same with the authentic Thai and Japanese restaurants (although calling the Japanese ones "authentic" is stretching the term). You wouldn't have had eel donburi on the menus just a few years ago. There is a demand for authentic food as consumers become more familiar with them.

Orange slop caters to a particular demographic. Depends very much on the locals. Making a blanket statement that it will fail is missing the point.

 

[BobzYourUncle]

We are friends with a pretty authentic Chinese restaurants in Nottingham who employs a dim sum chef and has a separate menu for chinese customers to order from as some of the food they think won't appeal to western palates. 70% of his customers are chinese. He's had a bit of a revival for his business which was slowing down pre 2020. But with the arrival of many BNO hong kongers settling in Nottingham wanting classic chinese dishes and hand made dim sum. Not the frozen made from a factory stuff. It's now hard to get a table there without pre booking. My daughter has been living in Bristol for the a fair few years. Undergrad and doing PhD at UoB. She says there's a huge number of chinese student. Bubble Tea seems to be a thing. 5 years ago she said bubble tea was fairly unknown. Now there's loads of bubble tea shops in Bristol and pretty popular with westerners. Which I was actually quite surprised with as I thought it's a passing fad. But nope think it's here to stay. But chinese restaurant wise. There isn't really a nice one. That has a nice balance of authentic and western palate variety. They end up one or the other. And depend either mostly chinese or mostly western customers.

 

[Porky]

Excellent stuff. Braised pork belly...

As I said earlier, the authentic Cantonese restaurants that I know of in Leeds and London are doing very well indeed. They're not targeting the student demographic.

Same with the authentic Thai and Japanese restaurants (although calling the Japanese ones "authentic" is stretching the term). You wouldn't have had eel donburi on the menus just a few years ago. There is a demand for authentic food as consumers become more familiar with them.

Orange slop caters to a particular demographic. Depends very much on the locals. Making a blanket statement that it will fail is missing the point.

@japancool

Certainly not making a blanket statement that it will fail. I hope they are a MAJOR success. Personally, I will travel to visit a decent restaurant and buy quality every time and nothing i enjoy more than a quality Cantonese or even Quality Indian cuisine restaurant and I am more than happy to pay a significant premium for it.

However, for whatever reason the numbers of quality restaurants are diminishing because for every one person like me that wants quality, there are 20 that wont pay the price unfortunately. We see this even in affluent locations. Yes you will argue XYZ restaurant serves quality and you struggle to get a booking its so popular but they are limited in numbers.

I am merely pointing out that Students are not notorious for splashing the cash and if you position a restaurant in a location that has swarms of students passing its window 24/7 you need to consider that. If you ignore the customer demographic on your door step it could cost you not to mention make it harder to reach your target clientele as the message is drowned due the high numbers of customers you don't want.

The last thing they want is to open a restaurant and receive loads of negative reviews complaining about the price as perfectly illustrated by @IanSuth before they have even got going.

 

[japancool]

Certainly not making a blanket statement that it will fail. I hope they are a MAJOR success. Personally, I will travel to visit a decent restaurant and buy quality every time and nothing i enjoy more than a quality Cantonese or even Quality Indian cuisine restaurant and I am more than happy to pay a significant premium for it.

However, for whatever reason the numbers of quality restaurants are diminishing because for every one person like me that wants quality, there are 20 that wont pay the price unfortunately. We see this even in affluent locations. Yes you will argue XYZ restaurant serves quality and you struggle to get a booking its so popular but they are limited in numbers.

Oh absolutely. Especially now, restaurants are closing left, right and centre, I would generally say now isn't the time to open one.

I am merely pointing out that Students are not notorious for splashing the cash and if you position a restaurant in a location that has swarms of students passing its window 24/7 you need to consider that. If you ignore the customer demographic on your door step it could cost you not to mention make it harder to reach your target clientele as the message is drowned due the high numbers of customers you don't want.

That's true, although I would say that in my experience international students, and Chinese students in particular, tend to be quite affluent. Considering how much our universities charge them, they have to be, to be here in the first place!

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

Kerb appeal, local demographics, pricing, logistics (mostly the logistics of cooking), location, look, brand, costs, marketing etc... are all the first things to think about and make a restaurant successful.

Starting from 'we'll open genre x' is the fastest way to fail. It should be the other way around. What is most likely to work?

At least that's my experience and my Chinese family and family friends experiences when it comes to opening restaurants. If anyone knows how to do it consistently the other way around then I'm happy to learn.