What is a Chain Restaurant? - On the Line | Toast POS

In the simplest terms, a chain restaurant is a group of restaurants with many different locations that share a name and concept. They can either be owned by the ... DISCLAIMER:Thiscontentisprovidedforinformationalpurposesonlyandisnotintendedaslegal,accounting,tax,HR,orotherprofessionaladvice.Youareresponsibleforyourowncompliancewithlawsandregulations.Youshouldcontactyourattorneyorotherrelevantadvisorforadvicespecifictoyourcircumstances. Therestaurantindustryismassive,andchainrestaurantsmakeupasignificantpercentageofit.Ifyou’relookingtostartyourownchainrestaurant,orjustwanttolearnmoreaboutthem,keepreading.  subscribe Restaurantnews,advice,andstories—rightinyourinbox. Jointhefun.Wepromisenottospamyou,swear. Newslettersign-up YoumusthaveJavascriptenabledinordertosubmitformsonourwebsite.Ifyou'dliketocontactToastpleasecallusat:(857)301-6002 Email Emailisrequired ZipCode ZipCodeisrequired We’llhandleyourinfoaccordingtoourprivacystatement. What’sachainrestaurant?Inthesimplestterms,achainrestaurantisagroupofrestaurantswithmanydifferentlocationsthatshareanameandconcept.Theycaneitherbeownedbythesamecompanyorbeindividuallyownedthroughfranchising.Thoughfastfoodisthemostpopulartypeofchainrestaurant,restaurantchainsdon’thavetobeaparticularrestauranttype.Chainrestaurantscanbesit-down,fast-casual,finedining,oranyotherconcept.Therearedifferingopinionswhenitcomestowhatmakesarestaurantachain,andhowmanylocationsarerequired.NewYorkCity,forexample,considersanymorethan15locationsachain,butothersarguethatasfewasthreecouldconstituteachain. ExamplesofPopularChainRestaurants HerearesomeofthemostpopularchainrestaurantsintheUS: Chipotle McDonald’s BurgerKing OliveGarden TheCheesecakeFactory Sonic TexasRoadhouse Applebee’s BuffaloWildWings Starbucks JimmyJohn’s PaneraBread Subway TacoBell Wendy’s  HowDoChainsDifferFromOtherRestaurants?CorporatepoliciesandstandardizationLargercompaniesgenerallyrequirestricterrulesandregulations,especiallywhentherearehundredsorthousandsoflocations.Guestsarelookingforconsistentexperiencesacrossallrestaurantsinachain,andthismeansthatstandardrules,regulations,andpoliciesareputinplacetokeepeverythingconsistent–regardlessoflocation.Menuitems,staffing,operatingprocedures,storelayout,design,andprettymucheverythingelseareconsistentacrossallbigchainrestaurants,withgenerallylittleroomforcreativity.BiggerStaff(andoften,morebenefits)Ofcourse,morerestaurantswillneedmorestaffmembers.Withalarger,moreestablishedrestaurantchain,thiscanalsocomewithmorestaffbenefits.Moreresourcesandmoneycan(andshould!)beallocatedtowardsbetterstaffbenefits–healthinsurance,parentalleave,andpaidtimeoffarealloptions.MoreFundingPopularchainrestaurantshavemoreresourcesallaround,andthiscanmakeiteasiertofundnewinnovationsandgrowth.Morefundingallowsrestaurantstogrowfaster,offercompetitivepayandbenefits,andtakemorerisks(hopefullyleadingtomorerewards). Whatwasthefirstchainrestaurant?Thefirstrestaurantchaindatesbacktothe19thcentury. TheHarveyHouserestaurants,ownedbytheFredHarveyCompany,firstservedtravelersalongseveralrailwaysspanningthewesternUnitedStates.ThefirstrestaurantopenedalongtheSantaFeRailwayin1878,andbythe1880s,therewereover17HarveyHouserestaurants.Thechaingrewthroughthe1930s,buildingupoperationstoover84locations. Thebusinesswassoldin1968butlaidthegroundworkformanyotherrestaurantchainstoflourishwiththesameconcept:buildingrestaurantswherepeoplearelookingforthem.  Readthisnext Operations HowtoExpandYourRestaurantBusiness Learnthestepsneededtoexpandyourrestaurantbusiness,fromcustomeranalysistobusinessplantograndopeningandbeyond. Whatisthelargestrestaurantchainintheworld?Subwaybreakstherecordforlargestrestaurantchain,withover42,000locationsworldwide,inover112countries.Wonderingwhatrestaurantchainservesthemostpeopleinayear?McDonald’sisthewinnerhere,withaveragedailycustomertraffictopping62millionpeople.  Howtostartachainrestaurant Ifyou’relookingforinformationonhowtoopenachainrestaurant,herearesomestepstotake.Openonerestaurant Thefirststepinstartingyourrestaurantchainistoopenthefirstlocation. Thisguideprovidesyourbeginner’schecklistto openingarestaurant,fromdevelopingabusinessplan,fundingyourvision,pickingalocation,andcreatingyourmenutogetyourchainofftoaprofitable,successfulstart. Asuccessfulchainstemsfromasuccessfulfirstlocation.Hiringandretainingagreatteam,keepingyourfinanceshealthy,usingtherighttechnology,andplanningforgrowthareallkeytoeventuallyaddinglocationsandexpandingyouroperations. Reviseyourbusinessplan Onceyouhaveasuccessfulfirstlocation,thefirststeptoopeningasecondlocationisanewbusinessplan. Inthissecondbusinessplan,you’llfinalizefundingforthisnewlocation,figureoutyourplanforscalingyourteam,andlayoutthestepstogofromonelocationtotwo. StartexpandingOnceyou’reattwo,keepgoingwiththethird,fourthandfifth.Slowandsteadygrowthiskeyforbuildingasuccessfulrestaurantbusiness.  RESOURCE RestaurantBusinessPlanTemplate Nomatterwhereyou’reatinyourrestaurantownershipjourney,abusinessplanwillbeyournorthstar.Organizeyourvisionandensurethatnothingisoverlookedwiththisfreetemplate. Download YoumusthaveJavascriptenabledinordertosubmitformsonourwebsite.Ifyou'dliketocontactToastpleasecallusat:(857)301-6002 FirstandLastName FirstandLastNameisrequired Email Emailisrequired PhoneNumber PhoneNumberisrequired RestaurantName RestaurantNameisrequired Whatisyourrole? Owner WaitStaff GeneralManager Chef Consultant Operations/IT Other Supplier TechnologyPartner Whatisyourrole? Whatisyourrole? isrequired Whatbestdescribesyourrestauranttype? FineDiningFullService FullServiceCasual QuickServiceCasual FoodTruck Bar/Nightclub Other Whatbestdescribesyourrestauranttype? Whatbestdescribesyourrestauranttype? isrequired Yes,I’dlikeademoofToast,arestauranttechnologyplatform. Yes,I'dlikeademoofToastisrequired ZipCode ZipCodeisrequired We’llhandleyourinfoaccordingtoourprivacystatement. HowtoOpenaRestaurantChainFranchiseOpeningarestaurantchainfranchiseisanotherwaytogoaboutoperatingachainrestaurant,withmuchofthegroundworkalreadyinplace.Mostpopularchainrestaurantsofferfranchises. Herearesomestepstotakewhenlookingtoopenachainrestaurantfranchise. DoyourresearchThefirststepistoresearchwhatkindoffranchiseyouwanttobuy.Marketresearchisessentialhere.Lookintowhatkindofrestaurantsareinyourlocalarea,whichfranchisesalreadyexist,whatmightbemissinginthemarket,andhowyoucanfillthatneed. Fromthere,youcandivedeeperintowhatfranchisesfitthatneed,andmakesensewithinyourskillsandinterests.Here,you’llwanttolookintohoweachindividualcompanyrunsitsfranchises,thetermsandconditions,start-upcosts,andotheressentialinformation. Don’tforgettosetupastrongbusinessplanatthispoint,aswell. Securefunding Althoughalotofthegroundworkwiththecustomerbase,branding,andstandardoperatingproceduresaredonewithfranchises,therearestillhighstart-upcosts. Thecosttoopenafranchisecanquicklyskyrocket–forexample,thecostofopeningaMcDonald’s,Wendy’s,orBurgerKingaveragesaround$1million,accordingtoBusinessInsider.Noteveryfranchiseisasexpensive,butfranchisefees,start-upcosts,androyaltyfeescanaddupquickly. Forsomesuggestionsonwheretostartwithsecuringrestaurantfinancing,checkoutthispost. Startbuilding Withalotofresearch,asolidbusinessplan,andsecuredfunding,you’rereadytogetstartedbuildingyourfranchise.Formoreinformationonlocationplanning,staffing,licensesandpermits,andmore,checkoutthispostonHowtoOpenaRestaurant.Mostmajorchainshaveinfopackets,applications,orseminarsaboutwhatittakestoownandrunafranchise,socompareyouroptionsamongdifferentchainsandseewhatmakessenseforyou.  ***Whetheryou’reopeninganewchainrestaurantorarestartingafranchise,planningisthekeytosuccess.Formoreideasto inspireyournewrestaurantconcept,checkoutthispost.  How-toGuide HowToOpenaRestaurant Hereisyourbeginnerschecklisttoopeningarestaurant:fromdevelopingabusinessplan,pickingalocation,developingyourmenu,andeverythinginbetween. GetAccess Byclickinganyoftheabovelinks,youwillbeleavingToast'swebsite. CarolinePrice CarolineworkedherwaythroughcollegebyperfectingherlatteskillsataBostonbakery.Nowshe’samemberoftheToastcontentmarketingteam. What’sachainrestaurant? Whatareexamplesofpopularchainrestaurants? Howdochainsdifferfromotherrestaurants? Whatwasthefirstchainrestaurant? Whatisthelargestrestaurantchainintheworld? Howtostartachainrestaurant Howtoopenarestaurantchainfranchise Don'tmissout. Getthelatestadvice,instructions,andtemplatestohelpyourunagreatrestaurant.Subscribenowtogetunlimitedaccesstothebeststoriesforfree. Getallthebeststoriesforfree.SubscribenowWe’llhandleyourinfoaccordingtoourprivacystatement. YoumusthaveJavascriptenabledinordertosubmitformsonourwebsite.Ifyou'dliketocontactToastpleasecallusat:(857)301-6002 Email Emailisrequired ZipCode ZipCodeisrequired We’llhandleyourinfoaccordingtoourprivacystatement. Closepop-up Subscribeto OntheLine Signuptogetindustryintel,advice,tools,andhonesttakesfromrealpeopletacklingtheirrestaurants’greatestchallenges. YoumusthaveJavascriptenabledinordertosubmitformsonourwebsite.Ifyou'dliketocontactToastpleasecallusat:(857)301-6002 Email Emailisrequired ZipCode ZipCodeisrequired We’llhandleyourinfoaccordingtoourprivacystatement.