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December 20, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The Major Milestones You Must Reach

The Major Milestones You Must Reach to Open a Restaurant

by David Klemt

Opening a restaurant is no small task, with projects requiring the completion of 500 unique tasks before welcoming guests.

KRG Hospitality president Doug Radkey identified these tasks several years ago. The commitment to systematically accomplish these tasks is a cornerstone of our approach to all projects.

Our feasibility studies, branding, concept and brand development, and programming are unique and customized to every client. However, the journey from idea to grand opening is a path dotted by hundreds of waypoints.

There’s a reason we call our project plans Roadmaps to Success: we’re here to help guide our clients to and through each waypoint on the map.

Below you’ll find just 50—just a tenth—of the unique tasks we at KRG believe you must complete before your grand opening. You’ll find more than 80 tasks in the brand-new 2023 KRG Hospitality Restaurant Start-up Cost Report + Checklist.

Both the list below and the checklist included in our free Restaurant Start-up Cost Report download will give you an idea of what we work on with each of our clients. These tasks should also highlight the enormity that is taking your concept from idea to brick and mortar.

To download your free copy of our 2023 Restaurant Start-up Cost Report + Checklist, click here.

Planning & Admin Tasks

Complete your project feasibility study.
Develop your concept and brand plan.
Develop and test a layout/drawing.
Complete a strategic business plan.
Complete a marketing and tech stack plan.
Finalize your start-up budget.
Analyze and secure necessary funding.

The Support Team Tasks

You’ll need to secure:

Business insurance broker
Business and liquor license attorney
Restaurant and bar consultant
Project manager
General contractor and trades
Mentor or coach

Site Development Tasks

When it comes to these tasks, you may have an idea of roughly what to expect.

For example, one necessary task is…securing your property of choice. Another task to cross off or set a check next to? Signing the lease.

But there are other tasks you may not anticipate or think of when planning to open a restaurant:

Submit drawings to municipality.
Start and manage project renovations.
Set a SMART opening date proposal.
Set up and submit deposits for utilities.
Develop your service sequence (flow).

You’ll also need to source the following:

Exhaust hood supplier
Millworker and specialty supplier
Interior and exterior signage company
Grease trap cleaning
Used oil pickup/recycling
Exhaust hood cleaning

Operations Development Tasks

Complete a kitchen workflow plan.
Complete service sequence analysis.
Source take-out container suppliers.
Secure security, sound, and video, plus applicable licenses.
Secure point-of-sale and tech Systems.
Develop recipe books for kitchen and bar.
Develop package of standard operating procedures.

Brand Development Tasks

Developing your brand involves much more than choosing a logo and colors.

Consider every design and service element a branding opportunity. Your brand development tasks will include developing:

your core statements;
graphic design/branding kit;
website and social media accounts;
a promo video strategy;
a “coming/opening soon” plan; and
your media strategy for the launch.

You’ll also need to:

complete the F&B concept stage;
complete the F&B testing stage;
source menu cover supplier (for dine-in version)
complete a photo shoot; and
plan for and execute a soft opening.

Team Development Tasks

Develop your staff hiring strategy.
Plan for and complete HR and compliance forms.
Develop onboarding manuals.
Source staff uniform suppliers.
Promote job fair or interview dates.
Hold a staff orientation night.
Execute a staff-building exercise shift.
Create a brand ambassador program.

Image: KRG Hospitality

United States Capitol Building exterior and Peace Memorial

December 19, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Restaurant Tax Credit Support Grows

Bipartisan Effort for Restaurant Revitalization Tax Credit Grows

by David Klemt

One week after the Restaurant Revitalization Tax Credit Act introduction in the Senate, a companion bill is in play.

This time, the bill is a bipartisan effort. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is the sponsor of HR 9574. Joining him are Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Dean Phillips (D-MN).

HR 9574 is nearly identical to the Senate version, S.5219. In fact, the only real difference relates to number of employees.

Restaurant Revitalization Tax Credit Act Summary

Just like the bill in Senate currently, the House of Representative bill proposes a $25,000 payroll offset for restaurants.

In terms of eligibility, HR 9574 is identical to S.5219: Restaurant Revitalization Fund applicants. More precisely, eligible applicants that applied for but didn’t receive an RRF grant.

Further eligibility requirements are as follows:

Restaurants with operating losses of at least 30 percent in 2020 and 2021 in comparison to 2019; or
restaurants with losses of at least 50 percent in either 2020 or 2021 in comparison to 2019.

If you’re familiar with the Senate’s version, which predates the House version by a week, you may be wondering about the difference between the two bills.

Well, it comes down to number of employees. For the Senate bill, restaurants with ten employees or fewer could be eligible for the maximum payroll tax credit. That credit, again, is up to $25,000 for 2023. For every employee over ten, the refund cap drops by $2,500.

However, the House bill approaches number of employees a bit differently. Restaurants with ten or fewer employees would receive the full $25,000 payroll tax offset. For restaurants with between 11 and 20 employees, the offset would be “partially refundable.”

A Lifeline

It’s likely that neither HR 9574 nor S.5219 will receive a vote until January 2023, at the earliest.

Of course, time is of the essence for our industry. This isn’t lost on Rep. Blumenauer—an author of the RESTAURANTS ACT of 2021—or his co-sponsors.

“Restaurants and their employees were hit harder than any other industry during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Rep. Blumenauer. “The federal government has provided some help to these institutions through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, legislation based on my RESTAURANTS Act. But the program has fallen short, with only one-third of all applicants receiving funding.”

To add to Rep. Blumenauer’s mention successful applicants, it’s estimated that more than 175,000 applicants haven’t received a grant.

Hope, as the saying goes, isn’t a strategy. But hopefully at least one of these bills is floored, voted on, and passed in January. Too many deserving restaurants have had to endure an agonizing series of RRF roller coasters.

To continue introducing bills—hope—just to watch them fail to go anywhere is becoming cruel at this point.

Image: Emily Studer on Unsplash

2023 KRG Hospitality Start-up Costs Guide

December 15, 2022by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

KRG Unveils 2023 Start-Up Guide

KRG Hospitality Unveils 2023 Restaurant Start-Up Cost Report + Checklist

KRG HOSPITALITY RELEASES FIFTH ANNUAL RESTAURANT START-UP COST REPORT + CHECKLIST

Toronto-based hospitality industry consulting firm with offices in key markets throughout Canada and the United States of America unveils their latest restaurant cost report, milestone checklist, and interactive hospitality calculator.

December 15, 2023 (TORONTO)—Today, KRG Hospitality unveils their 2023 Restaurant Start-up Cost Report + Checklist. The Toronto-based consulting firm specializes in startup restaurant and bar projects along with boutique hotels, experiential concepts, and entertainment venues. KRG also has offices in key markets throughout the United States of America.

For the past five years KRG has researched, reviewed, and published the annual start-up cost guide, one of the industry’s leading resources dedicated to restaurant project costing.

And each year this informative and transparent guide is used as a trusted budgeting tool by developers, lenders, contractors, consultants, and aspiring restaurateurs. The guide is founded upon KRG Hospitality’s proprietary database of previous project costs, which includes project data from restaurants, bars, and cafes developed over the past 24 months.

Further, this annual KRG Hospitality also includes a start-up checklist that identifies an array of crucial milestones: KRG president Doug Radkey has identified 500 unique tasks that must be completed for a successful restaurant opening.

This year’s checklist reveals a number of these crucial tasks. Updated for 2023, the guide also includes the interactive KRG Hospitality Calculator.

The costs to start a restaurant have been on a steady rise over the past 5 years. Major drivers are increases in inflation, interest, labor, construction, equipment. Of course, there are also the unique materials required to deliver a scalable, sustainable, memorable, profitable, and consistent on-premise, off-premise, or hybrid-style concept.

Drawing upon this comprehensive guide, an industry-leading expert has analyzed the information and provided a succinct and user-friendly summary of the findings for each major start-up category. This isn’t simply a couple of pages identifying a few costs. Rather, the fifth annual guide is a deep dive that provides real insight into what to expect in 2023.

The Checklist

As stated, there are 500 unique tasks an operator needs to complete over the course of developing and opening the doors to their concept.

To make it simple to navigate, the 2023 checklist is organized into sections: Planning & Admin, the Support Team, Site Development, Operations Development, Brand Development, and Team Development.

From starting off with the targeted, customized, and in-depth feasibility to planning and executing the soft opening, KRG identifies dozens of key milestones in this year’s guide.

Download your copy of the 2023 KRG Hospitality Restaurant Start-up Cost Report + Checklist today! Click here.

About KRG Hospitality

KRG Hospitality is a storied and respected agency with proven success over the past decade, delivering exceptional and award-winning concepts throughout a variety of markets found within Canada, the United States, and abroad since 2009. Specializing in startups, KRG is known for originality and innovation, rejecting cookie-cutter approaches to client projects. The agency provides clients with a clear framework tailored to their specific projects, helping to realize their vision for a scalable, sustainable, profitable, memorable, and consistent business. Learn more at KRGHospitality.com. Connect with KRG Hospitality and the Bar Hacks podcast on social: KRG Twitter, Bar Hacks Twitter, KRG Media Twitter, KRG LinkedIn.

Disclaimer

While using this guide helps develop a rough preliminary financial and strategic milestone plan, it is strongly recommended that you seek professional expert advice to provide you with a more precise, project specific estimate as each concept and market will be slightly different. KRG Hospitality Inc. is not responsible for any project that is not currently under contract within the company.

Image: KRG Hospitality

December 1, 2022by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

KRG Hospitality Adds to Team

KRG Hospitality Enters New Era of Growth with Addition to Team

by David Klemt

Kim Richardson joins the KRG Hospitality team, representing Philadelphia and the Northeastern US region via the agency’s new license program.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—KRG Hospitality today announces an exciting new addition to the consulting agency’s team. Following several years of success, KRG is now entering a new phase of growth.

Kim Richardson, who has more than 23 years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, will represent KRG at the agency’s Philadelphia office. Further, Richardson will be KRG’s representative for the Northeastern region of the United States, serving Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

As the newest member of the KRG team, Richardson is excited to bring all her hospitality industry knowledge and experience to the Philadelphia area. From Five Diamond Hotels to brick-and-mortar restaurants, she has had her hands in the Philadelphia hospitality scene since moving to the city in 2003. With an admiration for the industry since a very young age, she has a passion for all things hospitality. Most importantly, Richardson brings with her a passion and eagerness to help grow the industry and lead others to success.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than understanding a client’s dream, perfecting it, and bringing that vision to life,” says Richardson.

This exciting new addition to the KRG team represents the launch of the agency’s new licensed consultant program. KRG operates in several key markets—Toronto, Las Vegas, Calgary, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Nashville, Orlando, and the Caribbean—and is planning to add more partners as regional representatives throughout 2023.

“As we move forward from the pandemic era, we look forward to positioning the brand for continued and further success,” says KRG Hospitality president Doug Radkey. “Creating a licensed consultant program provides us the opportunity to reach a wider audience, provide additional value and support for our clients, and help push this exciting industry forward.”

About KRG Hospitality

Image: KRG Hospitality

August 30, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Discover the World’s 50 Best

Discover the World’s 50 Best with this Helpful Tool

by David Klemt

You may be familiar with the World’s 50 Best Bars and the World’s 50 Best Restaurants rankings, but do you know about their Discovery tool?

On episode 82 of the Bar Hacks podcast, Mark Sansom mentions this powerful and helpful tool. Sansom, for those who have yet to listen to the episode, is the content director for the World’s 50 Best Bars.

Put plainly, the World’s 50 Best rankings are powerful and influential. As Sansom says, when the organization shouts, people listen. Making the 100 to 51 or 50 to one list can change a restaurant or bar’s business. Exposure, traffic, revenue, status, longevity… The restaurant and bar lists are game changers for those who work hard enough to earn a spot.

However, the World’s 50 Best, as the name suggests, ranks just a few hundred restaurants and bars:

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 50 to one
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 100 to 51
Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
North America’s 50 Best Bars
Asia’s 50 Best Bars

So, the organization put their heads together. What if they could increase the chances that thousands of venues could find themselves on the radar of millions of people across the world? What could that do for a much larger swathe of deserving restaurants and bars?

50 Best Discovery

Enter, the 50 Best Discovery database.

“That’s the more egalitarian face of 50 Best, and that’s where we’re really excited about moving in the future,” says Sansom.

According to Sansom, there are more than 2,500 restaurants and bars just waiting for, well, discovery. It is, as he says, “the world’s most authoritative database on restaurants and bars anywhere.”

Compellingly, this is more than just a lonely input field chilling out on a webpage. Rather, there’s also a slideshow of 50 Best editor’s picks to scroll through. In using the tool for this article I discovered the following venues without even scrolling:

Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas
Cal Pep in Barcelona, Spain
Amass in Copenhagen, Denmark
Fyn Restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa

In other words, this tool is aptly named: The mission is discovery, and I’d say that mission is well on its way to achievement.

North America Results

Given the potential of the 50 Best Discovery database, I of course took it for a spin. You can do the same by clicking here.

Below, my results. In the interest of full transparency, it appears some cities in North America could use some work.

However, I feel confident that the 50 Best Discovery database will improve over time. After all, this is a new tool. Remember, the North America 50 Best Bars list is also brand new. As the organization recognizes more regions and venues, they’ll develop their database further.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Proof

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bar Raval
BarChef
The Shameful Tiki Room

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Botanist
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar
The Keefer Bar

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Greene St. Kitchen
Herbs & Rye
Wing Lei

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Bastion
The Catbird Seat
Pearl Diver

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Vedge
Zahav

Image: Marcus Loke on Unsplash