We hope this guide will give you a good overview of what it takes to open a restaurant and, most importantly, keep it open.
Foreward
Restaurants can be risky and stressful businesses. And the road to opening can be a very bumpy one. But if you decide you really want to move forward, we want you to succeed. We hope some of the tips and advice we’ve put together will help you get to where you want to go, or at least give you a sense of where it is you need to go. If you are already in the business and are looking for some insight, we hope you will find new ideas to help you improve your restaurant. You can never stop working on your restaurant. You can’t think for a minute that this is all about ‘opening.’ The real work — staying ‘top of mind’ among new and regular customers — never ends. And change is essential to your survival and success. In this business, you really are only as good as your last meal.
About the Guide
This guide was prepared for the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia (RANS) with the support of Tourism Nova Scotia in 2014, with minor updates in 2018 and 2023. It draws from a document originally prepared in the late 1990s with substantive new material added, particularly on running a restaurant. The project was coordinated by the Economic Planning Group. Content was prepared by Jane Wright (owner of the former “Jane’s on the Common”) and Katelyn Bourgoin (Red Riot/Brand Strategist) with input from Chef McKay (Menu Tools) and Kerra AuCoin Mansfield.
Thank you to Nova Scotia restaurateurs Jennie Dobbs (Morris East), Roland Glauser (Charlotte Lane Café), Chris Smith (Jamieson’s Irish House & Grill) and Joe McGuinness (Durty Nellys Irish Pub) for their invaluable comments which helped fine-tune the content. The ‘Helpful Tips’ scattered through the manual are based on their experience in the restaurant business.