Starting up an African restaurant

[etana]

Hi!

I´m a student and I work with a multinational student group from Joensuu. We are thinking of starting up an African restaurant here.
I see from other discussion panels that many participants have business knowledge. Do you have experience about setting up restaurant in Finland?
What we are wondering is what kind of customers we could expect. We´d like to have a place where expatriates could meet and Finns got to taste some delicious African food.
Are you interested in African food? Or should we combine forces and make other ethnic foods to appeal to wider audiences?

Etana

[Pursuivant]

And how many people in Joensuu do you expect to come eat there daily? AFAIK its a pretty sorry state even in Helsinki there isn't but one or two restaurants serving any African cuisines except a few Moroccan & Egyptian ones. There used to be one Ghanaian/Nigerian but its also ceased for the time being. If you could get one running why not, but you need to go ask say one of the local pizzakebab dudes with what kind of investment/margin he runs his place and make the calculations accordingly. Someplace east Helsinki you'd maybe get at least expat crowd... east Finland... ummm... brave or crazy depends on the outcome

[Paul72]

Why the hell not, that sounds like an awesome business idea. Dont be scared of a small market, it will grow automatically with time when people get acquainted with the dishes you offer. And the good thing is that Finnish people are very eager and not scared of trying new things, and it will be a good way to make people of different cultures meet. Just have a good on your planning and it will be a good business to go into. Good luck!

[EP]

What we are wondering is what kind of customers we could expect.

Just about any kind, a lot depends on the prices. A couple of years ago I took a course of African cooking in local Työväenopisto. The teacher was from Zimbabwe and the pupils were both men and women, young and and middle aged and oldish. A mixed group.

First people would come out of curiosity, and if the food is good and the price is right they come back. Start small. A small restaurant full of people is way more inviting than a big restaurant with many empty tables.

[andy2410]

me personally living in Joensuu I see a lot of potential in this. Joensuu, even though is a small town, has many foreign students living here, from the region of Africa as well, so you already have a small target group to begin with. Finnish people in general are very kean into tasting new exotic foods.
The whole theme of having an African restaurant is very interesting but also the potential of offering other kinds of foods would definitely widen your customer-group. Maybe you could begin with only African and then later on expand the menu? It is always good to refresh the menu anyway once in a while, that will make people to come and visit and taste what's new, if they are pleased from their previous visits to the restaurant.

Personally, as a student in Joensuu, I would definitely love to visit your restaurant... of course pricing would also be a factor regarding the frequency of my visits.
Good luck

[Pursuivant]

has many foreign studies living here, from the region of Africa as well so you already have a small target group to begin with.

Students already complain and whine of the school cafteteria food being "to expensive"

[EP]

The whole theme of having an African restaurant is very interesting but also the potential of offering other kinds of foods would definitely widen your customer-group. Maybe you could begin with only African and then later on expand the menu

I would not be so sure about that. There was a new Turkish place opened nearby, and I was glad. But when I saw the menu I was disappointed. They could just as well have advertised that they are Italian, Spanish, French, Greek or a pizza parlour. I am not going back.

The same with the Cambodian place. They started Cambodian, and in just a few months the food turned into standard "Chinese". They lost a customer.

[FI_NP]

Many of continental restaurant have failed, but some of them are big success as well, so i agree and fully support with this idea. I am one of fan of african cuisine itself, so can be one of the regular customer to the restaurant.
Like every business there might be bit glitch in the beginning, specially in country like Finland where it need some dedication and some idea and reason for local people to really go there, and also some good reason to come back (just a general rule for every service oriented service)
my initial advice would be to have a customer segmentation in the area you and your team is going to start the business, its very important to start up with very narrow segment market, just not only to start with and being in eye with the people, but also to have reasons for others unknown people to go there for a reason.

Best of luck with the business idea you have and remember to take advice from the experts, they know the real thing necessary

[CarmenfromTexas]

Simple rules of the restaurant business.

1. It's hard work.
2. You'll be lucky not to lose money during the first two years.
3. Advertise or die.
4. Make good food and the customers will come.
5. Always taste the food daily. One sloppy cook can hurt your reputation.
6. It can become a great cash cow if you get it right.
7. If you've got kids, make a play room for them that is away from the customers. I promise you'll all live there whether you intend to or not.
8. The most honest looking person will steal from you. No one touches the register but you.
9. The employee who kisses your butt is the one you must watch extra closely.
10. It's hard work.

Good luck!

[rinso]

And the good thing is that Finnish people are very eager and not scared of trying new things

Finnish people in general are very kean into tasting new exotic foods.

This is not my experience.
Some are indeed eager to try new things, but the vast majority sticks with the known bland Finnish cuisine. Especially in the more rural areas the market for exotic food is very limited.
I agree with the others that your target group probably is students. But then again you are restricted to a low price range.
It might be better if you limit yourself to a coffee shop/lunch restaurant with one or two African specialities added to the menu.

[etana]

Yeah, what Pursuivant said about penny-pincher students is a problem. Especially younger people don´t like to pay much or they do not have money to pay. That´s why beginning with a take-out of thing that would keep the costs lower might be better. With a just a small place with few or none tables.
On the other hand middle-aged people can afford to eat out and they like to dine comfortably sitting on proper tables.
Tricky choises...

[EP]

Back to the question of "authentic". Last week I heard about a Thai place that opened nearby. So yesterday we went there. We will not be going back. I have been many times to Thailand and I don´t remember a single bad meal from those trips. Yesterday: shrimps were raw, vegetables were only canned bamboo shoots and two pieces of bell pepper, the dish was marked as extra hot in the menu but even my meatballs are more spicy. That was not a Thai place, I don´t know what it is. Well, people in the kitchen looked Thai but that is not enough. So if you say African, make it African.

[Pursuivant]

What you might also then look into is catering, say if theres some wedding etc. where people would be willing to shell out to get the stuff "authentic".

And also if you have a bunch of students i.e. young people sitting in a cafe/restaurant over that one cup of tea making noise, those middle-aged locals will look in and turn around from the door... so it is a bit of a dilemma. But say like my local has one place with a "pub side" and "food side" which arrangement works pretty well.

As you said, tricky choices

[MikeD]

I happen to know quite a lot about the business side of (other people's) restaurants, including a couple of ethnic ones. Based on what I've seen, here's some advice...

Basically, there are three types of potential customers:
1. Students and other young people who can't be bothered to cook for themselves.
2. People who come in for lunch during their work day.
3. People who come in for the experience (exotic flavours, atmosphere etc.)
Now, for the first two groups are the biggest by far and for them the price of food is very important, whereas the much smaller third group is prepared to spend quite a bit more. However, the initial cost of creating the suitably authentic atmosphere that the third group expects is considerable.

Make sure you know what the mandatory costs of running a business in Finland are. Many people have been taken by surprise when they haven't considered things like YEL and TyEL insurance (Google is your friend here). Find an accountant who's ready to advise you on these matters. If you're not sure of something, find out and don't assume.

Keep your paperwork in order. Make sure that there's a document for every transaction and that your accountant gets all the documents necessary to keep your books in order, and that they have the necessary clarifications if it's not instantly obvious how they relate to your business. Find out what can go into the books and what cannot. Do not try to pass off your personal costs as business costs (you wouldn't believe how many people try to do this!). Make sure that you pay your bills in time, and if for some reason you can't, contact the company in question before the bill is due to ask for more time. It's much easier (and cheaper!) for everyone involved to do things right the first time than to try and sort them out later.

When your restaurant first opens, it's going to attract quite a few customers. Do not think that this is permanent. It takes several months before the initial curiosity is satisfied and the number of customers settles to a steady level. Furthermore, the difference in sales between summer and winter months can be considerable as well.

Scared yet?

[CatNip]

Hi,

As a Finn, as someone coming from the "rural Finland", I think this is a good idea.
City or country side, we Finns are always nousy about new things:)
Good business plan, networking with local business life and friendly service might take long.

Check these links out:
http://www.expat-finland.com/entreprene ... shing.html
http://www.uranus.fi/en/opportunities/l ... p?id=64870
http://www.uusyrityskeskus.fi/pohjois-k ... index.html
http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/english/in_ ... index.html
http://www.vero.fi/?path=488,493,514&do ... nguage=ENG

Good luck:)