Questions for Restaurantuers

[embels]

I've got a business plan, a chef and some funding but now we're finding that getting a place in Helsinki is no easy feat. We are coming across locations that don't want a kitchen, aren't suitable for a kitchen and existing places not willing to sell for a reasonable amount. It seems like everybody we have talked to that has a place found it through connections. We'd like to fry but are now realizing that if we make that a necessity we might never find a place!

My question is, how did you find your place, how long did it take? Did you buy an already existing location or start from scratch? Is it reasonable to expect prices around 100K for 60 square meters? I'm not sure how you would ever make your money back in a place like that! Anybody have a location they are hoping to get out of or own a place that would be willing to put in a restaurant?

Anyway, any suggestions/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[hullu ulkomailainen]

We overpaid for our space. It Like 70sqm in Töölö, but out lease is Long and super cheap. A lot of the listings on eurohouse, actival etc. Are a bit pie in the sky, but you will need to pay a lot more than you would thinkfor a leasehold,

If you have little money don't even think of starting a proper restaurant from scratch, the delays and unexpected costs will bleed you dry. If you have some funding talk to the folks at newCo Helsinki they are super helpful. If you have a decent business plan and some funding you might be able to get a bank loan with an 80 percent finnvera guarantee( we did)

100k is pretty easy to pay off, depending on yr expenses

[embels]

Okay, thanks for the feedback. We're still on the search, and have actually started approaching existing places to see if we can "buy in" to their locations. It looks like that may be the way to go as everybody has said the same thing about starting from scratch with a "build" type place.