How much to open up a restaurant? Like a small one with a small bar in it? (Stockton: maintenance, prices)

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

I mean this in the nicest way possible (truly).

If you're asking these questions, please, please, please dont open a restaurant. Or find a business partner who has the answers (and money) to open with you.

After Covid, I definitely would not open a restaurant in California.

[NORTY FLATZ]

Originally Posted by stablegenius

After Covid, I definitely would not open a restaurant in California.

After owning a business in Calif, I wouldn't open ANY business in this "anti-business" climate State.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ

After owning a business in Calif, I wouldn't open ANY business in this "anti-business" climate State.

Interestingly, in one recent year alone (2016) over 92,000 new start-ups in California disagreed with your assessment of the value in opening here. I guess California being the nation’s largest and wealthiest market overcame the frustrations with regulations and such, eh?

[evening sun]

Many small business are exempt from some laws. If Op if serious, I'd like to know which job he plans on doing in his new venture. Probably have to do 2 or 3 jobs to stay afloat.

[NORTY FLATZ]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Interestingly, in one recent year alone (2016) over 92,000 new start-ups in California disagreed with your assessment of the value in opening here. I guess California being the nation’s largest and wealthiest market overcame the frustrations with regulations and such, eh?

Be interesting to know how many of those "92,000" are still in operation....
In my business, I needed to move to a new facility. (The old facility location had been rezoned "residential" from heavy industrial.) After spending nearly $200,000 to get City council approval (5-0), the City then placed 105 "conditions" on me, in order to acquire a building permit. Just a couple of those conditions:

(Bear in mind, that I already had purchased the land to build my facility, based on where the City would allow me to build...)

1. Buy and create (and maintain) a park in excess of 1.5 acres. The park must be "willed" to the City of Oceanside at completion.

2. Install and maintain, paving /sidewalks/guttering for 5 city streets.

3. Install & maintain, signal lights at 8 city intersections. (Locations, TBD.)

These were not the largest, most expensive conditions. These are just random one's I recalled.

Oh, the last condition? I was to "will" my facility to the City of Oceanside, after 5 years....

I probably could have accomplished those 105 conditions, at a cost of about $12-15 million. I had people working on this cost analysis. Remember, this cost was ONLY to be allowed to build a facility. It was separate from the cost of building the facility itself. BTW~ this was back in 1990...

Today, the cost could likely be triple our projections from 1990....

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ

Be interesting to know how many of those "92,000" are still in operation....
In my business, I needed to move to a new facility. (The old facility location had been rezoned "residential" from heavy industrial.) After spending nearly $200,000 to get City council approval (5-0), the City then placed 105 "conditions" on me, in order to acquire a building permit. Just a couple of those conditions:

(Bear in mind, that I already had purchased the land to build my facility, based on where the City would allow me to build...)

1. Buy and create (and maintain) a park in excess of 1.5 acres. The park must be "willed" to the City of Oceanside at completion.

2. Install and maintain, paving /sidewalks/guttering for 5 city streets.

3. Install & maintain, signal lights at 8 city intersections. (Locations, TBD.)

These were not the largest, most expensive conditions. These are just random one's I recalled.

Oh, the last condition? I was to "will" my facility to the City of Oceanside, after 5 years....

I probably could have accomplished those 105 conditions, at a cost of about $12-15 million. I had people working on this cost analysis. Remember, this cost was ONLY to be allowed to build a facility. It was separate from the cost of building the facility itself. BTW~ this was back in 1990...

Today, the cost could likely be triple our projections from 1990....

Well, dunno how many might have failed or moved … but the reason I came across that statistic was to rebut another poster’s contention that businesses were leaving in droves … and the figure he used as his evidence was: 10,000 businesses left the state rolls over a three year recent period (I think it was 2018-2021).

A little elementary school arithmetic and it would appear businesses are thriving a tad more than leaving / failing … which guess is well supported by several commerce reports I saw at the time from state and public interest groups.

And then there’s the fact that more venture capital is being currently invested into California than in all other states combined.

Your story does read like a nightmare, though. And yet, we nevertheless ARE the nation’s biggest and wealthiest state marketplace, by far … and businesses and revenue are booming and resulting in surpluses.

Challenge in California is for lower income demographics to find any handle to hang on to.

[cruitr]

Tulemutt is a smart guy. The only way to make a lot of money in the restaurarant business is to start out with a lot of money. I used to sell restaurants and bars. I've seen very few people make money running a restaurant or a bar.

[23Born92]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

I mean this in the nicest way possible (truly).

If you're asking these questions, please, please, please dont open a restaurant. Or find a business partner who has the answers (and money) to open with you.

What details may you be referring to exactly?

[23Born92]

Originally Posted by stablegenius

After Covid, I definitely would not open a restaurant in California.

What about in 15-20 years?

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by 23Born92

What about in 15-20 years?

Ask someone with a functional crystal ball. Last time I checked, no one here owns one.

Why don't you get to know a couple of local successful restaurant owners and ask them these questions OP? Join an active restaurant industry web forum and ask them.