Did you know that in 2025 there are 50,335 restaurant locations in New York? If you want to become a new addition to this thriving market that generates $98.7B in restaurant & food service sales, you’ve reached the right place.
In this article, we will provide you with a thorough guide on how to open a restaurant in New York, starting from the business plan, location, and permits to hiring the best team, choosing the right technology, and promoting your business.
How to open a restaurant in New York
You can find a variety of guides out there on how to open a restaurant, but the information will differ for each location. This plan focuses solely on opening a restaurant in NYC, so you are sure to only find relevant tips for your future business.
1. Create a thorough business plan
Think of your restaurant as a house. The business plan is the foundation that supports your restaurant. It must include all the things that define your business, as well as a clear path to achieving success.
Here are the main components of a great business plan:
- Mission statement: why do you want to open a restaurant? What makes your restaurant special? What is your Unique Selling Proposition? How will you benefit future customers?
- Branding: creating a brand persona for your restaurant will help you stand out from the competitors. Choose a name, logo, tone of voice, and colors that you will use on every platform;
- Market analysis: is there interest in New York for your type of restaurant? Are there many competitors? How are they running their business?
- Type of service: will it be quick service or table service? Or maybe you are thinking about a food truck or a deli?
- Financial planning: include all estimated costs and predicted sales, down to the last penny;
- Operations plan: go through every process of your business and note down the details, from the chosen vendors, and necessary equipment to the staff requirements and operational procedures.
2. Get the necessary financing
New York is one of the most expensive cities, so it must come as no surprise that opening a restaurant in NYC will require a great investment. For example, the cost of a fast-casual restaurant starts at $250,000. You will have to cover the lease, equipment, ingredients, labor costs, and much more.
Therefore, securing financing can be considered one of the most important steps in starting a restaurant. Here are your options:
- Personal funds
- Loans from family and friends
- Crowdfunding
- Loans such as Bank Loans, Small Business Administration Loans or Alternative Sources
- Lines of credit
3. Acquire the required permits and licenses
Most people who are searching for how to open a restaurant in New York are looking for the specific permits and licenses that are required in this state. Here is the list:
- New York restaurant license: you can use the New York State Portal to get a restaurant license for NYC;
- Food seller’s permit: to allow you to sell food and charge sales tax;
- Employer identification number: use the IRS website to get yours so you can start hiring people;
- Certificate of occupancy: will demonstrate that your location follows local regulations and can be obtained from your city or county;
- Food Handler’s License: if you want to ensure food safety, have your kitchen staff take the food handling course so they can obtain the license;
- Liquor license: so you can legally sell alcohol on your premises;
- Food facility health permits: contact your local city and county so you can get all the necessary health permits that guarantee a stress-proof opening;
- Mobile food vending permit: if you plan to open a food truck and change its location.
4. Pick and secure a location
New York spreads over a large area and each neighborhood comes with different characteristics and types of customers. For example, Chelsea is a trendy neighborhood, but quite pricey and the East Village has more of a hippie vibe, full of students and a variety of restaurants.
Here are a few tips to help you pick a location that will work for your business:
- Consider your target audience: who will be your main customers? Will your restaurant be fine-dining and therefore you target high-earners? Or do you plan on opening a food truck that would be best suited for students? According to this, you must pick a location that is close to your restaurant, such as near a university if you want to attract students;
- Market conditions: no matter if you are buying or leasing, the price will be a big factor. Running a restaurant comes with a lot of costs, so you should aim to find a place at a reasonable price that will allow you to make a profit;
- Previous usage at the space: your best bet would be to find a location that used to be a restaurant as you will have to do a smaller amount of renovation;
- Foot traffic: while marketing will help bring people in, it can be useful to have your restaurant in a visible location to also attract passers-by.
5. Ensure you comply with ADA Accessibility
To attract as many customers as possible, you must make your restaurant accessible. By that, we mean picking a location near a variety of transportation modes, such as buses and metro, but also modifying your space to accommodate disabled people.
This is not optional, as every restaurant opened in the US must comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Here are some things to consider:
- Have an accessible entrance: with an adequate ramp or lift so disabled people can easily reach your restaurant from the sidewalk or parking;
- Provide space for maneuvering: don’t crowd your tables, leave enough space in the corridors for people who use a wheelchair to maneuver it;
- Provide accessible parking: if you have private parking, you must reserve some spots for people with disabilities.
6. Hire a productive team
If you’re wondering how to open a restaurant in New York, hiring the best employees is one of the main steps. Your staff will be the backbone of your business, preparing delicious menu items and providing clients with exceptional service.
Check out these tips on getting and retaining productive employees:
- Have a thorough interview: where you make it clear what the job responsibilities will be and what your expectations are. Moreover, ask relevant questions to find out what the candidates’ values are and if they would be a good fit for your team;
- Provide training: even experienced workers would benefit from training on a variety of topics such as upselling and food safety;
- Offer bonuses: if you want to increase employee retention, motivate them with bonuses for good performance.
Read more: Restaurant Staff Hiring: How to Recruit & Onboard New Employees
7. Get your insurance
Opening a restaurant in NYC comes with a lot of challenges and possible issues. Be it a fire, customer lawsuit, or employee theft, you can protect yourself and your restaurant by getting insurance. Here are some of your options:
- General liability insurance
- Commercial property insurance
- Liquor liability insurance
- Worker’s compensation insurance
- Food contamination insurance
Read more: 6 Must-Have Types of Restaurant Insurance You Can’t Miss
8. Create an unforgettable menu
What is the first thing you do when you find out about a new restaurant? Just like many others, check out their menu to see the menu items and prices. While picking the type of cuisine and settling on the best dishes is your specialty, we can help you with a couple of menu engineering tips:
- Allow people to customize their dishes with sizes and add-ons: a great way to increase your profit is to enable people to create their perfect dishes with toppings that have a high-profit margin;
- Place high-profit menu items near expensive ones: people will be tempted to choose the cheaper option, even if that option brings you more money than the expensive item;
- Add allergens and nutritional information to the menu: there are a lot of people who stick to specific diets and suffer from allergies. To accommodate their needs, you can add information about nutrition and allergens to each menu item;
- Enable on-premises ordering via QR code: if you want to increase the speed of service, allow customers to place an order and pay by simply scanning the QR code and using their phone. No unnecessary waiting times and a very easy set-up.
9. Get the best restaurant POS System
How to open a restaurant in New York? Start by securing the best technology that will make work easier for you and also increase customer satisfaction. The perfect example of this is the GloriaFood POS system which not only is good value for money but also comes with a variety of included useful features.
Here are some of the main GloriaFood restaurant POS features that will take your restaurant to the next level:
- Accept multiple payment methods: clients can easily pay for their food using either cash, debit or credit card, smartphone or smartwatch;
- Staff management: you can use the POS dashboard to oversee the actions each employee takes, from placing orders to returns and you can also add, remove, and update staff information in a few clicks. Moreover, you get access to a training module to show newbies the ropes with affecting your financials;
- Restaurant analytics: you get access to a variety of useful data such as the number of orders, number of sales, best-selling dishes, and efficient promotions. You can also check the log for each employee to identify potential fraud;
- Printer management: increase operational efficiency by setting up different printers in different areas of the restaurant, such as the bar, salad bar, and pizza station;
- Menu editing: use the POS dashboard to set stocks for the menu items and mark dishes as out of stock when you run out of ingredients.
10. Get your own online ordering system
No matter how big or small your location is, you will only be able to serve a limited number of customers in a day. To increase sales, you need to start selling your food online. Third-party apps are an option, but they can be expensive and have hidden fees.
To have complete control over the ordering process, get your own online ordering system from GloriaFood! It will only take you 10 minutes to add it to your website, where customers can place orders in just a few clicks.
Furthermore, the online ordering system is built into the GloriaFood POS, which allows to accept online orders automatically and send them to the designated kitchen stations. On top of that, you will be able to use a single dashboard to access both in-store and online ordering analytics.
If you don’t have a website, you can use the included restaurant website builder to generate a sales and SEO-optimized one that will rank you high in searches and lead customers to the Order button.
11. Build a strong marketing plan
Part of learning how to open a restaurant in New York involves becoming a master at promoting your business. To get people to visit your place and order online, you need to create hype around your restaurant.
Follow this proven recipe to get the word out about your restaurant and get more new and returning customers:
- Complete your Google Business Profile: you can increase visibility on Google Maps by updating your profile with a link to your menu and website, updated working hours, exact address, and many photos of your food and interior;
- Make a profile on review platforms: and encourage customers to leave positive reviews that will act as social proof and attract even more clients;
- Be active on social media: post mouth-watering pictures of your food, organize contests, and reply to comments and messages to boost engagement;
- Set up promotions: use the Promotions module from GloriaFood to add irresistible offers to the top of your menu in seconds;
- Start email marketing campaigns: with the Autopilot module from GloriaFood, you can send out personalized emailed campaigns to your customers. This will help you get more return clients, prevent cart abandonment, and reengage clients.
Final words
You now know the basics of how to open a restaurant in New York and it is up to you to do the hard work and make your business successful. If you want to make your work easier, you can rely on the efficient technology from GloriaFood to attract clients, increase customer satisfaction, and boost profit.
