How to Start a Rotisserie Chicken Restaurant
While it may seem as if all rotisserie chicken restaurants are the same, there are a great variety of them across the country, from those that sell Mexican-style rotisserie chicken to those that specialize in chicken cooked in a traditional, southern way. If you have solid rotisserie chicken recipes and cooking experience, opening a restaurant may be the ideal business venture for you. However, before starting a rotisserie chicken restaurant, you will need to do some thorough planning.
Choose a niche for your rotisserie chicken restaurant. For instance, your restaurant's chicken can be wood-fired, health-conscious, southern-style, home style, southwestern or eclectic, with unusual flavor offerings.
Obtain the licenses and permits needed in your area from your health department. Depending on where you are located, you may need a food enterprise permit, food manager certification, food handler permits, an assumed name certificate, tax identification number or employer identification number (EIN).
Lease or buy an appropriate location for your rotisserie chicken restaurant; keep your local health regulations in mind when choosing a space and ensure it has proper ventilation and water systems. Your restaurant can be located in a variety of places, such as a mall food court, sports arena or stadium, flea market, business office or shopping center.
Develop a well-rounded menu; few rotisserie chicken restaurants serve only chicken. Depending on your niche, you can also serve breads, pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, assorted vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, beverages and desserts.
Establish a network of food and ingredient suppliers by contacting your local farmer's market and getting a list of their vendors--buying local is cost-effective because you won't have to pay as much for transportation costs.
Purchase retail fixtures and supplies for your rotisserie restaurant, such as seating, condiment dispensers, branded napkins, plates and cups, disposable flatware, plastic bags and food containers. You will also need several rotisserie stands or roasters, depending upon how much chicken you expect to sell per day.
Hire staff for your rotisserie chicken restaurant--ensure all employees that come in contact with the food have valid food-handler permits or food-manager certification, if required in your area.
Promote your rotisserie restaurant by listing it in online and print business directories, starting a promotional blog or website or placing coupons in local area businesses.