Introduction

When I graduate, my degree will be in restaurant management.  The first question I get from someone after they learn that is usually “Are you going to open your own restaurant someday?”  The expected response is “Of course!  I’m going to own a (enter type of cuisine here) restaurant after I graduate.”  As if.  Though I dare you to tell them that.  All you’ll get is a pitiful look followed by a slew of questions that might as well never be asked, since the inquirer has already made up their mind that there’s no justification for what you just told them.

               

 I’ve never owned my own restaurant, and before working in one, I have to admit I was someone who romanticized the idea of starting my own.  How cool would that be?  You come into work every day and get to hang out in a kitchen, eating whatever you want and meeting all sorts of new people that come in to dine.  And the regulars!  How chic is the idea of having regulars?  People who are so dedicated to you and your restaurant that they can barely stand to be anywhere else.  People that you will seat no matter how long the line at the door is (Because, let’s face it, in your restaurant fantasy, you know there’s a line out the door and around the block-you’re place is just that cool).  I’m willing to bet that most people in this industry first become interested when they “realize” that all they want in life is to own their own restaurant someday.  I have to tell you though, after working for well-known chains and in comparison a privately-owned brand new restaurant, my opinion of ownership has dramatically changed.  My obviously stressed skin with its early onset wrinkles and bags is enough to convince me that it’s really not always as sexy as people make it seem.

              

Not to say it isn’t worth doing.  The benefits are definitely there.  I was hired on as an intern with the opening crew of the restaurant I’m currently at, and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else in the world.  After my internship was up, I was hired on full-time as a manager and despite all the headaches (and newfound need for heavier make-up), I love that I’m a part of something I can have a real impact on.  Corporate chain restaurants have so much bureaucracy that an individual store employee has little say over the big picture.  When it’s just you and your restaurant team, what each of you decides to do is going to have a much bigger influence.  The real trick lies in finding the right employees, who will hopefully impact your restaurant in a good way.