Opening a Restaurant: Where to Begin?

Opening a restaurant involves managing dozens of decisions simultaneously in a short timeframe. Legal, financial, operational, commercial: each aspect has its own requirements and pitfalls. To clarify the process, here are the main steps to address in order, along with the corresponding resources.

1. Choosing Your Legal Status

This is the first foundational decision. It determines your tax regime, your personal protection in case of bankruptcy, and how you partner if you are not operating alone. SARL, EURL, sole proprietorship: each option has its advantages depending on the project's scale and the number of partners.

Which Legal Status to Choose When Opening a Restaurant?

2. Establishing Your Business Plan

The business plan is not merely an administrative formality. It is the tool that compels you to quantify your assumptions: food cost, staff expenses, rent, margins on wines and dishes. It is also what convinces a bank or investor to trust you.

How to Establish Your Restaurant's Business Plan?

3. Obtaining Licenses and Permits

To serve alcohol, you need a license. To obtain it, you must first complete training and acquire an operating permit. The procedures vary depending on the type of alcohol served and whether you offer drinks outside of meal times.

What licenses are required to sell alcohol?

4. Completing Mandatory Training

While no specific diploma is required to open a restaurant, three training courses are mandatory: the operating permit training, food hygiene training, and if you sell alcohol after 10 PM, the PVBAN. Additional training — in cooking, management, or wine sales — is highly recommended.

Required Training for Opening a Restaurant

5. Building Your Wine List

The wine list is often the last priority when opening a restaurant. This is a mistake. It speaks to your positioning as much as your decor or menu. At launch, 15 to 20 well-chosen references are better than a list of 80 incoherent labels: less immobilized stock, clearer rotations, and a team that knows what it's serving.

Wine List: 6 Points to Boost Sales and Differentiate Yourself

How to Build a Restaurant Wine List?

10 Mistakes to Avoid on Your Wine List

6. Training Your Team in Wine Service

A well-curated wine list is useless if your team cannot effectively present it. A server who merely states "it's a light red" won't drive sales. A server who says "this is a fruity Gamay from a grower-producer, which pairs excellently with your poultry" will. Wine service training is an investment that quickly yields returns.

How to Properly Serve Wine in a Restaurant

7. Open a Terrace (if the project allows)

A terrace significantly boosts revenue during favorable weather. However, it requires a temporary public domain occupancy permit, issued by the local municipality. The application process should be anticipated: allow up to two months to receive a response.

What are the Conditions for Adding a Terrace to Your Restaurant?

Curate Your Selection with Les Grappes Pro

At Les Grappes Pro, we support restaurateurs, whether they are just opening or looking to refresh their wine selection. We offer over 5,000 references from grower-producers, with mixed cases available from 36 bottles, and a dedicated advisor to help you build a wine list consistent with your cuisine and clientele.

Register Your Restaurant