Let’s be honest, finding a restaurant space for lease is a rather frustrating and time-consuming process. It’s true, and as if that’s not enough, the risk of choosing the wrong location is pretty high.
You see, there’s a good reason as to why most restaurants fail and while poor decision-making is at the core, location is often the cause. In other words, the location of a restaurant is critical for success yet the importance of site selection is often a factor which many restaurant owners seem to ignore.
But what makes a good location and how can restaurant owners avoid this common mistake?
What to Consider When Searching for a Restaurant Space for Lease
Well, there are many factors which can influence the fortunes of a new business and it’s not simply a case of finding a restaurant space for lease. Budget will inevitably impact the final decision but facilities and local economy are just as important. At the same time, taking a macro view of the area is critical, for long term stability is needed for a restaurant to flourish in a new location.
For example, neighborhoods can change quickly and the truth is, even one or two miles is enough to impact the chances of success for a new business. With this in mind, many restaurant owners can end up in trouble as the location is simply a poor choice or their primary reason for choosing that location may have disappeared.
Either way, choosing the right location is critical and here are some important factors to keep in mind when searching for a restaurant space for lease:
Research and Ask the Right Questions
As a rule, there’s no such thing as the perfect location and every area will have a diverse range of unemployment, salary and source of jobs. At the same time, you should still find that some areas are more prosperous than others and through research, you can start to ask questions that will identify locations with the most potential. For example, what type of jobs or professionals are common in the area? Is the median salary increasing or decreasing? What large factories or companies are in the area? Is the number of jobs rising or falling?
Remember to Stick to Your Plans
If you end up with a real estate broker, remember to stick to your guns. After all, most brokers are reliant on commission and so advice can be somewhat biased or less calculated than you would like. Now, that’s not to say every agent wants to take advantage but through your own due diligence, you should have criteria for this site selection and sticking to this formula is often better than simply trusting the advice of a real estate agent.
Keep Your Intention and Budget Under Wraps
When it comes to negotiations, keep your intentions and emotions in check. For many listing agents, the main objective is to find the highest bid. For this reason, if they know your budget, you can be sure that the agent will push for the closest possible fee to this amount. On the other hand, if you remain neutral and try to conceal whatever budget you have available, you can retain more control over the initial asking price.
Avoid Repeating the Mistakes of Previous Tenants
As you know, existing infrastructure plays an important role in the site selection process. For example, when a property is already fitted with a kitchen, bathrooms and proper electrics, this can offer a ready made location for restaurant owners. However, great care should be taken with these properties and this is especially true if the property was the site of a previous restaurant.
The truth is, there is often good reason why these “burn locations” were often unsuccessful in the past. That is to say, when you find a restaurant space for lease, this may be the remnants of a previous restaurant which failed due to an ineffective location.
As you can see, site selection is critical and location is usually the most important aspect of finding a restaurant space for lease. After all, you can improve or renovate a property as much as you want but easily changing location is neither realistic, feasible or possible. Either way, take time to do your own due diligence and know that the research you put into choosing the right location for a restaurant will be a defining moment in the history of your business.