People love to go out to restaurants no matter what day of the week. Even with COVID-19 changing the restaurant industry landscape, there's still a demand for dining options. Small restaurants offer a certain charm and uniqueness that larger restaurants and national chains lack.

Opening a small bistro is ideal for a niche concept. It requires less startup capital and has lower operating costs than a larger restaurant, and despite the smaller dining room size, a small bistro can turn sizeable profits. It takes the right amount of hard work, passion, and planning along with these tips to open a small bistro.

Choose a Restuarant Brand and Concept

A startup small bistro needs a clear concept and brand. Your bistro's concept should be clear about the style of service, the type of food served, and its ambiance. Your brand should encompass the bistro's identity, personality, and mission. The concept and brand go hand-in-hand, with the concept serving as the brand in action.

The design of the dining room should create a memorable dining experience that emanates your brand and concept. No matter the size or concept of your bistro, the dining room needs to include seating, wait stations, and storage. You'll want a flexible design for a small bistro dining room that allows for tables to be re-arranged to accommodate parties. You'll also want a setup that allows for servers to easily maneuver between tables.

Find the Right Cookware

You will need the right cookware, utensils, and kitchen accessories in your bistro's kitchen. Paying retail prices can eat up a large portion of your budget. Outlet Sale is an online store that offers wholesale prices on high-quality European kitchenware from Berlinger Hause and Blaumann. First-time customers can sign up for the company's newsletter to enjoy extra discounts and get the latest updates on their annual outlet sale.

Every purchase comes with free shipping throughout the United States, a 30-day exchange policy, a 90-day return policy, and exceptional customer service. Shop Outletsale to find lower prices on luxury pots and pans so that your bistro can cook in style.

Form Your Menu Items

What sort of cuisine will your bistro be serving? You'll need to establish the basic food items that will appear on your menu during the concept and branding phase. Having an idea of what food items will be on your menu is important for determining what kitchen equipment you will need, the staff you will hire, and the type of clientele you hope to attract.

You don't need to have your entire menu planned out or have all of your recipes perfected at this point. Closer to the time of opening for your first dinner service, it's a good idea to tailor your menu to increase your profits. Be willing to update your menu as you learn which items are popular and which aren't.

Don't Forget a POS System

The restaurant industry has had to adapt on the fly to the social changes that COVID-19 has brought. Online delivery orders have become more popular with customers who want to enjoy a restaurant meal without eating in a dining room. Cuboh is an online ordering manager that puts all your food delivery apps in one tablet. Your staff members can manage 86ing, refunds, upcharges, and more for all of your delivery platforms on an integrated POS in real-time.

When you open a new account someone from the Cuboh team will walk you through the onboarding process so you can start managing centralized online ordering and consolidated metrics on one dashboard. Cuboh seamlessly integrates with delivery platforms including Doordash, Dash40 Ventures, Uber Eats, and Chowly. You can see all the new features of the Good News Ventures and Altair Capital-backed POS system on their website and discover a new way to meet the online ordering demands of your customers.

Successful restaurants are those that have something unique to offer and deliver a memorable experience that keeps customers coming back for seconds.