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Should You Start a Restaurant or a Home-Based Catering Business?

If you are an entrepreneur who loves food or can produce quality food that people love to eat, then you may have considered combining the two in your next business venture. There are different options to choose from. Physical restaurants have always been popular but home-based catering has become more popular in recent times. There are pros and cons to both options. Here is a guide to whether it is better to start a restaurant or a home-based catering business.

Regulations

Opening a physical restaurant usually involves adhering to regulations involving food hygiene and getting the right licenses for your premises, such as commercial catering and alcohol sales. This is quite easy.

Opening a home-based catering business can be a little trickier. Where you live may make a difference in whether you can cook from home or whether you would have to run a commercial kitchen elsewhere. This will vary depending on the state and city you are based in so you will need to check this out before you start. It might make your choice easier than you think.

Space

Space will be a huge factor in which business is a better option. If you have a large kitchen that you can keep sterile enough to comply with food hygiene standards in your area, then it is certainly a viable option. If you have a small kitchen this might be less practical, especially if you have pets at home or a partner that uses the kitchen when working from home. If there are likely to be issues with physically cooking in your kitchen, then a physical restaurant might be a better idea, if only because you don’t have to share your space and they are usually larger establishments.

Cost

You might think that a physical restaurant will be more expensive to set up and run but that isn’t necessarily the case. Think about whether your existing home kitchen will be suitable for your business or whether you will have to spend a lot of money upgrading it before you can use it commercially. If you are running a home catering company, will you need to spend money on equipment such as delivery vans or catering ovens? Even things like insurance can vary in price depending on whether you are running a restaurant or a home catering business. Find out more here.

Revenue

As well as cost, you will also need to consider how much revenue each business idea will generate. You can make money through your website or work with food app companies such as Deliveroo. However, you are likely to get more footfall if you run a physical business, more people will know you are there as you are easily visible, and this can result in increased business. You have to work harder to get your name out there if you run a home catering business. As with any business, there are many things to consider before you start, and you should not start either business without careful consideration.