How Do Successful Projects Think Before Opening a Restaurant or Cafe? A Practical Guide to Building a Strong and Stable Project in 2026

Restaurant & Cafe Encyclopedia — Deyafa Business
Consultants for Restaurant & Cafe Establishment and Development
Specialized Content in Operating, Developing, and Managing Food Projects & Building More Efficient and Stable Operating Systems

📌 Table of Contents

Success Begins with the Way of Thinking, Not Decor
Why Do Some Restaurants Disappear After Opening?
Does the Market Really Need Your Project?
Small or Big? Emotional vs. Rational Expansion
The Market After Delivery Apps and Digital Ratings
Financial and Operational Indicators + Two Case Studies
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions

1️⃣ Success Begins with the Way of Thinking, Not Decor

💡 Starting Truth:

The success of restaurants and cafes does not begin with decor, marketing hype, or number of followers. Rather, it begins with: the way of thinking, planning strength, market understanding, and building stable operations capable of continuing and achieving profits.

Successful projects think first about:

⚙️ Operations
How will the place work daily?

💰 Profitability
Are the numbers logical?

⭐ Customer Experience
What will the customer feel?

⚠️ Risk Management
What if things don’t go as planned?

Successful projects think about these elements before thinking about appearance or rapid spread.

⚠️ The Truth That Many Investors Don’t Talk About

A love of coffee or food does not necessarily mean the ability to manage a successful project.

The restaurant sector requires: daily decisions, pressure management, financial oversight, and quick solutions to operational problems.

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📊 The Difference Between a Beautiful Project and a Sustainable Project

Beautiful Project 🎨	Sustainable Project ✅
Strong design	Strong operations
Eye-catching opening	Stable quality
High spending	Financial oversight

Rapid spreadStable profits

Marketing hypeProfessional management

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🤔 The Starting Question…

If you had two options: a project with luxurious design and monthly costs of 90,000 SAR, or a simple project with costs of 40,000 SAR — both the same idea and same area. Which would you choose and why?

The smart investor chooses the lower-cost project at the beginning.

Why?

📉 Lower break-even point = faster profitability
🛡️ Larger safety margin if sales decline
🧪 Flexibility for trial and error without fatal financial pressure
🚀 After operations stabilize, expansion and upgrades are possible

Luxury can come later. Survival must come first.

2️⃣ Why Do Some Restaurants and Cafes Disappear After Opening?

Some projects achieve: a strong opening, rapid spread, and clear crowds.

But they begin to decline after a few months due to:

⚙️ Weak operations
💰 Poor financial planning
📈 High costs
👥 Team unpreparedness

💡 In reality: Some projects are ready for photography and opening, but they are not ready for real daily operations.

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🔴 Why Do Some Strong Openings Fail?

✅ Prepare for:

📸 Photography
📣 Marketing campaign
👤 Influencers

❌ Do NOT prepare for:

🔥 Operational pressure
📊 Order volume
✅ Quality management under pressure

The result: Order delays ← quality decline ← negative ratings ← rapid customer loss.

3️⃣ Does the Market Really Need Your Project?

One of the biggest mistakes: Building a project based solely on personal taste.

Some investors choose an idea because they:

🍔 Like a certain type of food
🏙️ Were impressed by a project in another city
📱 Saw a popular trend

Without studying: demand volume, customer nature, or actual competition.

📊 How to Study the Market Correctly?

Element	Why It Matters?	🛠️ How to Study It?
Number of competitors	Measure market strength	Google Maps + field visits
Target audience	Understand customers	Observe customers
Average prices	Determine your market position	Browse menus
Competitor ratings	Discover weaknesses	Google Reviews
Peak hours	Understand operational volume	Visit at different times
Strong areas	Choose appropriate location	Density analysis

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🔄 Why Shouldn’t You Imitate Successful Projects?

The success of some brands depends not only on the idea or design, but on: experience, management, timing, and operational strength.

What some don’t notice: Some projects imitate the menu, design, or visual identity, but they do not see the internal systems, management quality, or operational strength behind the scenes.

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🧪 How to Test an Idea Before Investing the Full Budget?

Some smart projects start through:

☁️ Cloud kitchen

⏳ Pop-up experience

📐 Small space

Why? To understand the market, customers, and demand behavior — before committing to a long-term lease.

4️⃣ Small or Big? Emotional vs. Rational Expansion

A smart start often helps with: testing the market, reducing risks, gradually improving operations, and early problem detection.

⚠️ When Is a Big Start Dangerous?

💰 Consuming most of the budget before operations
📐 Opening a larger space than needed
🚀 Expanding before building a stable system

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💀 Emotional Expansion

Some investors link success to: large space, number of branches, or spending size.

While stronger projects sometimes start: smaller and smarter.

“To start small and grow steadily is better than to start big and collapse quickly.”

🤝 The Importance of the Right Partner

Many projects face major problems due to: differences in thinking, lack of task distribution, or unclear authority.

Reason	Impact
Lack of clear agreement	Continuous disputes
Different goals	Conflicting decisions
Weak management	Operational chaos
Lack of oversight	Financial losses

5️⃣ The Market After Delivery Apps and Digital Ratings

🛵 How Has the Market Changed?

In the past: Competition depended on location, seating, and design.

Today: It also depends on:

⚡ Preparation speed
📦 Packaging quality
🛵 Delivery experience
📱 Ease of ordering

🧠 What do customers expect today? Speed, comfort, consistent quality, and an easy, uncomplicated experience.

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⭐ How Do Digital Ratings Affect Project Success?

Rating	Impact
4.7+	✅ High trust — customer chooses you automatically
4.3 – 4.6	⚠️ Good performance — customer compares you with others
Below 4.0	❌ Clear trust decline — customer avoids you

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🔄 What Makes Customers Return?

Customers return due to: comfort, speed, quality consistency, and customer experience.

Not only because of: location or decor.

6️⃣ Financial and Operational Indicators + Two Case Studies

📊 Key Indicators to Monitor

Indicator	Why It Matters?	🎯 Target
Food Cost	Measure profitability	Below 35%
Average Ticket	Measure spending	Annual growth
Waste Percentage	Loss reduction	Below 3%

Order preparation timeOperations improvementUnder 7 minutes

Return rateMeasure loyalty+40%

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💰 Why Is Liquidity a Critical Element?

Some projects spend most of their budget on: design, furniture, opening, and marketing.

Then they face a problem: liquidity shortage after opening.

In many projects, the problem is not just weak sales, but poor cash management or the absence of a clear operational plan for the first few months.

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📋 Why Are Operating Systems Important from the Start?

Successful projects build from the start: clear operating procedures, a monitoring system, training, and an organized administrative structure.

Problem	Result When Systems Are Absent
Quality variation	Loss of trust
Weak training	Frequent errors
Lack of oversight	High waste
Random decisions	Weak profits

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💀 Common Psychological Mistakes of Project Owners

❤️ Attachment to the idea

🙈 Ignoring numbers

💸 Emotional spending

🚀 Early expansion

🔄 Imitating competitors without study

💡 In reality: Some investors continue to pump money or expand the project despite clear operational problems, only because they are emotionally attached to the idea.

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☕ Case Study – A Cafe in Riyadh

The Problem: Started with strong design and a large opening campaign, but faced weak operations, slow service, and high costs.

The Solution: Reducing menu complexity, improving operations, reorganizing the team, and improving work procedures.

Indicator	Before	After 4 Months
Order time	15 minutes	7 minutes
Customer ratings	Average	Clear improvement
Waste	High	Significantly less
Profits	Unstable	Better

🍽️ Case Study – A Restaurant in New Cairo

The Problem: Relied on marketing hype and offers, but the return rate was weak.

The Solution: Improving customer experience, developing service quality, improving operational speed, and strengthening identity.

Indicator	Before	After
Return rate	Low	+38%
Customer ratings	Average	Clear improvement
Average ticket	Stable	Increased
Engagement	Weak	Better

7️⃣ Conclusion

🎯 The Mindset of a Successful Project

⚙️ Operations
📊 Management
💰 Profitability
⭐ Customer Experience

Successful projects think about these elements more than just hype or external appearance.

A strong project is not one that achieves a huge opening, but one capable of: continuing, controlling costs, maintaining quality, and achieving stable long-term growth.

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📊 Checklist: Before You Start Your Project

☐ I have studied the market and competitors (not just liked the idea)
☐ I have a financial model with three scenarios (optimistic, realistic, pessimistic)
☐ I have determined the break-even point and know when I will reach it
☐ I have a liquidity reserve covering 6 months of operation
☐ I have thought about daily operations as much as I thought about decor
☐ I have a plan to build and train a team before opening
☐ I understand that success = continuity, not opening hype

“A successful project is not measured by the size of its opening, but by the number of years it continues.“

8️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What is the most important reason for new restaurant failure?

Weak planning and focusing on external appearance more than operations and financial management.

Q2: Is starting small better?

In many cases yes, because it helps test the market, reduce risks, and gradually improve operations.

Q3: Do digital ratings affect sales?

Yes, because a large percentage of customers rely on Google and app ratings before trying any restaurant or cafe.

Q4: Is a good location enough for project success?

No, because customers may visit once due to location, but they return due to experience and service quality.

Q5: Why do some strong openings fail?

Because some projects prepare only for marketing without preparing for real operations and order pressure.

Q6: How can I test a project idea before investing the full budget?

You can start with a cloud kitchen, a pop-up experience, or a small space to understand the market and reduce risks.

Q7: What is the most common psychological mistake investors make?

Emotional expansion and pumping money without addressing fundamental operational problems.

Q8: Is decor more important than operations?

No, some projects have strong design but suffer from weak quality, slow service, or operational instability.

Q9: Why are operating systems important?

Because they help standardize quality, reduce errors, and improve operational stability.

Q10: How does customer experience help increase profits?

A good experience helps increase return rates, improve reputation, and increase positive recommendations and ratings.

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📣 Are You Thinking of Building a Restaurant or Cafe Project?

Some challenges are not only related to sales, but may be related to:

Weak operations |
High costs |
Waste |
Unclear systems |
Declining customer experience

Prepared by: The Development & Operations Team, Deyafa Business

📞 Contact the Development & Operations Team

Deyafa Business provides comprehensive services: feasibility studies, operating system design, training, and preparing projects for expansion and franchising.

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