"There were a lot of things I'd never dealt with before — employees, payroll, taxes, bank-account management, etc.," Doyle said. "You need to get a general knowledge of the working of the business before you start. There are a lot of issues that people don't see."
Be adaptable
While being consistent in food quality and service is important for success, the restaurant business is far from static.
"I have found over the years that you constantly need to be updating, renovating and evolving with the ever-changing taste of the public to be successful," Pipolo said.
Shemtob agreed, noting that his menu is constantly changing to allow for newer, more innovative dishes. When you come up with your concept and menu, it should be flexible enough to adapt when your customers ask for something new.
Learn from your mistakes
According to a recent Ohio State University study, more than half of all restaurants fail within the first three years. If your venture does fail, assess what went wrong and try again, keeping those things in mind. When Highlands Restaurant Group co-owner Donal Brophy and his business partners founded their most recent restaurant, Whitehall Bar + Kitchen (New York City), they used the lessons they learned when one of their restaurants was forced to close in 2011.
"We learned so much from the closing of our restaurant, Mary Queen of Scots," Brophy told BusinessNewsDaily. "The food must be spot-on from the beginning. The layout and flow of the space needs to work during a high-volume atmosphere. Most importantly, we learned how important it is to communicate well amongst the partners. It was such a tough time for all of us, but we made it through and opened Whitehall, which has been a massive success."