Tarik Manfaa’s Tips for Restaurant Owners
“Some say if you hate yourself, open a restaurant.”
“It can cost you your family.”
“It can cost you your health.”
Those are the words of Tarik Manfaa, who’s currently a teacher but has had years of experience owning popular restaurants.
Manfaa says the restaurant business is one of the most difficult businesses you can own.
“It takes a lot of time, money and work,” says Manfaa
“Long hours are often unavoidable.”
Manfaa opened his first pizzeria in 1996 and he made money immediately.
He opened his second restaurant in 2000 and it was wildly successful.
“It was a Moroccan restaurant with belly dancers. It was really successful, but it had no bar,” says Manfaa.
“In the end, that killed us.”
Manfaa says to be successful in the restaurant business, you must constantly be present to supervise and make sure everything is running properly.
If you’re lucky enough, you may have a brother or a sister who can supervise your restaurant for you, but that’s a rarity.
Successful restaurant businesses often require the owner’s presence to put out fires and make sure things go according to plan.
One mistake can cost your restaurant its reputation, and therefore its valuable customers.
“If you look at restaurants that are successful, most of the time they’re family-run. If you’re not there, your family member is there for you to make sure the quality of the food is consistent.”
Another tip Manfaa has is to give your customers big portions.
“It’s better to give your customers more than to give them less.”
“To be competitive, your prices need to be the best,” says Manfaa.
“Feed people.”
Manfaa says it’s also important to take care of your employees because they make you money and help your business grow.
“They’re in the front line and it’s not a one-man show,” says Manfaa.
Manfaa says you need to take care of your employees because they will take care of your customers.
“You need to provide good food excellent service,” says Manfaa.
Manfaa says if you take care of your employees, they’ll love their job and do everything in their power to make sure the business stays open and customers keep coming back.
Another tip Manfaa has is about the bathrooms.
“The bathrooms need to be clean.”
“If I want to know if a place is clean enough to eat at, I go to the bathroom,” says Manfaa.
“Clean your bathrooms because that says a lot about you.”
“If you can’t keep your bathroom clean, how can you keep your kitchen clean?”
Manfaa says not to be cheap either.
If you need a new fridge, buy that new fridge. Buy all the equipment you need to provide the best food, service, and environment.
“The more you spend, the more you’ll make,” says Manfaa.
Manfaa says one of his most important tips is location because the location of a restaurant will often determine its level of success.
“You have to be very convenient for your customers, but it also has to be something you can afford. You don’t want to be enslaved to your landlord.”
Manfaa says landlords may see you’re making money, then come back and increase the rent.
“I started my place off spending $1500, then the rent rose to $3700,” says Manfaa.
That’s one of the reasons why he closed his restaurant.
Another reason why Manfaa closed is that he couldn’t always be around.
When he wasn’t around, the quality and the service went down.
“You must be able to work at any time. You could be at a birthday party or on vacation, your chef could break a leg, but you need to be there.”
Manfaa’s last rule is to take care of your chef but also watch them diligently.
“Anything that the chef does, you should be able to do.”
“If your chef knows if they leave, your business is done, they may blackmail you or keep asking you are for raises,” says Manfaa.
“Anything that chef can do, you should be able to do or have a backup who can do it.”
“That’s the secret to success.”
If you want to learn more about Tarik Manfaa, stay tuned to our site.
You can also check out his recent interview with The Open News, where he gave his top tips for teachers:
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