Open a Restaurant

Whether you’re starting a family diner or fine-food establishment, use Census Bureau data to create your dream restaurant.

Determine Your Restaurant Type

There are many types of restaurants to choose from, including casual dining, fast food, food trucks, pubs, and more. Choosing a restaurant type will help you with other business decisions — like finding your customers

Find Your customers

Our data can help you find out how much your customers can afford to spend. To determine who your ideal customers may be, you will want to consider the following pieces of information:

Median household income

Knowing how much people make in a year may help you decide how to price your food and drinks. The more money people earn, the more they may be able to spend at your restaurant.

Consumer spending

Understand what types of products and services your potential customers are spending their money on by using our consumer spending data. To learn more about how much people spend on restaurants in a certain area, look for consumer spending patterns on dining out.

TIP: Look at consumer spending habits within restaurant-related industries. Many people dine out before going to a movie or show, or grab drinks before or after eating at a restaurant; so, you might want to consider the consumer spending patterns for alcoholic beverages and entertainment.

Discover more information about finding your customers.

Choose a location

Choosing the perfect location for your restaurant relies on knowing your customers as well as understanding your competitors and complementary businesses.

Competing businesses

Other restaurants in your area are your competition. To some restaurateurs, a great location is an area that lacks restaurants, while to another restaurateur the best location is a dining hub with many existing restaurants. To understand the business landscape in a certain area, you may want to know how many customers each restaurant has on average. Our “population per establishment” data will help you determine this.

Complementary businesses

Businesses that may interest your target market but are not the same as your business are called complementary businesses. Establishing your restaurant near a complementary store may help boost your foot traffic since your customers are likely interested in similar goods or services.

Businesses that complement your restaurant include, but are not limited to, bakeries, entertainment venues, and bars.

Need help finding a location? Check out our guide for more information.

Write a business plan

Once you have figured out the foundational information for your restaurant and customers, it’s time to start a business plan.

Writing a business plan will help you create a roadmap for your restaurant and establish guidelines for the next three to five years of operations.

Not sure how to write a business plan for a restaurant? Learn more.

Apply for a loan

Banks and other small lenders will want to know about your restaurant’s target market and competitors. A Census Business Builder report can help you make a case for your restaurant by providing a data benchmark, and it can also help you demonstrate the strength of your business plan

Need help applying data to your loan application? Check out this Small Business Administration checklist for more information about applying for a loan.

Learn about Laws and Regulations

Every type of business has many laws and regulations to follow. For more information about federal regulations, consult the Small Business Administration. Want to know more about laws in your area? Talk with your local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Development Center.