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Motivations for Buying a Restaurant, Bar or Club

By in 2010 - Volume 12

Here are some of the reasons that motivate individuals to go into the restaurant, bar and nightclub business.

Make a living and become financially successful. This is a priority motivation of most entrepreneurs that go into business. A well run restaurant, bar and club can be a good vehicle for generating cash flow on an ongoing basis.

Provide a service to the community. By providing a business that is accessible to the public you are providing a service to the community in terms of providing goods and services.

Express creativity. If you are a chef opening a restaurant is a vehicle to demonstrate your culinary skills to the public and you can experiment with new food and drink formulas. If you are an entertainer owning a club gives you a vehicle for showcasing your talent.

Provide a job for yourself and family members. There are many positions that are required for running a restaurant, bar and club that can be filled by the owner and family members if desired. However, think long and hard about hiring family members in your business as in many cases family members won’t work out which can jeopardize your future relationship with them. Remember it is challenging enough to maintain good relationships with family members under normal circumstances.

Lifestyle. Some types of restaurants are conducive for owners structuring desirable work hours. For example a downtown/financial district restaurant that is open for breakfast and lunch only five days a week is desirable for the owner in that he is free in the evenings and off on weekends. Most restaurant owners take the slowest weekdays off as weekends are the busiest days for most restaurants. Some owners prefer to take the slow days of during the week off as there aren’t as many people around and they can visit and do things while avoiding big crowds. Conversely many bar and club owners prefer to not work during the normal day hours and sleep in and do their personal business during the day and prefer working late nights when most of the bars and clubs do business. Also most clubs are only open four nights a week, Wednesday thru Saturday which affords these operators a lot of time off during the rest of the week.

Control Your Destiny. By owning your own business you are not at the whim of some employer who can eliminate your job at the snap of their finger which can create economic chaos for you and your family. This is especially true during high periods of high unemployment such as the great recession we recently experienced. If you are forty years of age or older it can be very difficult to get a job should you lose one and by owning your own business you can control your financial security for you and your family.

Personal Gratification. Operating a restaurant, bar and/or club is a very public and visible business which gives one much exposure to the general community as well as to friends, associates and family members. If you have a successful business you may become well known to many people which gives one a strong sense of personal gratification.

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About The Author
Steven Zimmerman, CBI, M&AMI, CBB, FIBBA

Steve is the Founder, Principal Broker and Chief Executive Officer of Restaurant Realty Company. Steve has personally sold/leased over 1,000 restaurant, bar and/or nightclub businesses and many related commercial buildings totaling 2+ million square feet of commercial space, collaborated with over 2,000 clients and completed over 3,000 valuations since 1996.His real estate experience also includes sales, acquisitions, management and ownership of numerous properties throughout California including restaurants, hotels, apartment buildings, single family houses, an office building and a multi-use retail building. Steve is also the author of Restaurant Dealmaker – An Insider’s Trade Secrets for Buying a Restaurant, Bar or Club available on Amazon. Prior to starting Restaurant Realty Company Steve had over 20 years of restaurant experience and was President and Chief Executive officer of Zim’s Restaurants, which was one of the largest privately owned restaurant chains in the San Francisco Bay Area. READ FULL BIO | HIRE EXPERT WITNESS - LEARN MORE