New Magazine Targets Restaurant Startups

Posted on July 23, 2004

Restaurant Startup & Growth, a new magazine published by Specialized Publications Company, is written for a segment long ignored by the hospitality industry -- those thousands of Americans who dream of opening their own restaurants, whether it's a neighborhood pizzeria or an expensive steakhouse. Over 36,000 new restaurants opened last year in the United States - and nearly three-fourths of them were independent units, not chain restaurants.

"If Rocco DiSpirito had read Restaurant Startup & Growth, events may have worked out smoother for him," said Gary Worden, the magazine's co-publisher and a successful restaurateur in his own right.

While it's true that new restaurants fail at higher numbers than other small businesses, Worden debunks the myth about extremely high failure rates of new restaurants. Studies show that new restaurant failure rates are from 23% to 27% in the first year. Poor management and lack of expertise account for more than half of new restaurant failures. Restaurant Startup & Growth offers how-to information for new restaurateurs covering everything from signage to tip reporting, from creating a wine list to buying a dishwasher.

"New restaurateurs spend a disproportionate amount of money on the beginning phases of their operations. That makes them excellent sales targets, but it also means stocking a new restaurant with food, liquor, furniture and equipment can be a minefield for the unwary and the naive," said Worden. "We've found that new restaurateurs are hungry for knowledge so they can make educated buying decisions."

The stakes are high for a new restaurateur. While it certainly depends on the size and scope of the establishment, most consultants peg restaurant startup costs in a range from $250,000 to $500,000. "If you do the numbers," said Worden, "you see new restaurateurs are a $13 billion plus market. For the most part, this is new money coming into the industry."



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