How to Start a Crepe Restaurant Business

A crepe restaurant is a niche restaurant where crepe is the main delicacy that is prepared and served to customers. Served with a variety of fillings, crepes are a form of pancake that has been fried very thinly. Creperies are restaurants and establishments that specialize in selling crepes.

In addition to crepes, a crepe restaurant might also serve various specialties, snacks, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and takeout food.

According to the data at hand, there are 15.1 million people working in the restaurant industry in the United States. By 2028, 1.6 million additional restaurant jobs will be added. 10 percent of the total U.S. workforce is employed in restaurants.

Steps on How to Start a Crepe Restaurant Business

1. Conduct Market Research

Conducting thorough market research before opening a crepe restaurant is essential to maximizing revenue. Please note that creating market-based research questions consistent with your overall business goal and objective should be the first stage in the market research process for your crepe restaurant business.

In this regard, you should look for information that will help you maximize your business, information that will give you reliable data of what your potential market will be looking out for from a crepe restaurant business. You should also look for information that will help you run your crepe restaurant easily and also help you grow the business to profitability in the shortest amount of time.

a. Who is the Target Market for Crepe Restaurant Business?

• Everyone who resides in and around the location where you have your crepe restaurant
• Tourists and visitors.

b. Is a Crepe Restaurant a Profitable Business?

Yes, the crepe restaurant business is very profitable. As a matter of fact, the market size of the chain restaurants industry that crepe restaurant is a part of in the US has grown 2.2 percent per year on average between 2017 and 2022.

c. Are There Existing Niches in the Industry?

No, there are no niche ideas when it comes to crepe restaurants because crepe restaurants are a niche idea in the culinary and chain restaurant industry.

d. Who are the Major Competitors?

• Creme de la Crepe
• Crepes-a-Go-Go
• Bonjour Crepes & Wine
• Vive la Crêpe!
• La Crepe Nanou
• Crepes Bonaparte
• Stephanie’s Crepes
• Crêpes Parisiennes
• Crepe De France
• Crêpes à la Cart
• Choupette Crêperie & Cafè
• Flint Crepe Company
• The Crepe House
• Crepeccino Café & Crêperie
• Crêpes n’ Crepes – Cherry Creek North
• La Crepe de France
• 48th & Crepe
• Creme De La Crepe Long Beach
• The Crepevine
• Bonjour Crepes & Wine.

e. Are There County or State Regulations or Zoning Laws for Crepe Restaurant Business in the United States?

Yes, there are county and state regulations and zoning laws for the crepe restaurant business in the United States. Please keep in mind that the federal Food Code is set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA does not regulate specific crepe restaurant operations.

Instead, the Food Code serves as the foundation for each state’s individual food code. They may follow its principles, apply a different interpretation to them, or establish new ones.

f. Is There a Franchise for Crepe Restaurant Business?

Yes, there are franchise opportunities for crepe restaurants. Here are some of them;

• The Crêpe Café
• Eight Turn Crepe
• Crepe Station Café
• Sofi’s Crepes
• Crepe Delicious
• Crepe Company.

g. What Do You Need to Start a Crepe Restaurant Business?

• A Feasibility Report
• Business and Marketing Plans
• Business Licenses and Permits
• A Good Restaurant facility
• EIN (Employer Identification Number)/Federal Tax ID Number.
• A Corporate Bank Account
• Suppliers of crepes and other food ingredients and drinks
• Employees
• Startup Capital

2. Choose a Memorable Business Name

When looking to start a business, before you can begin to file the necessary documents with the constituted authorities or start your website, it is necessary that you come up with a name that you will be recognized with. It is essential that the name you come up with can easily be pronounced, is unique and easily memorable.

Some of the catchy business name ideas suitable for a crepe business are;

Creative Crepe Business Name ideas

• Rhodes Parks© Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• R Richard® Crepe Restaurants, LLC
• Lazarus Armani© Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Food Nest® Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Monica Martins™ Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Great Times™ Crepe Restaurants, LLC.
• Doris Paulson© Crepe Restaurants, LLC
• Crepe Court® Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Sean Macron© Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Elsie Murphey© Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Crepe Buff® Crepe Restaurants, LLC
• Republic Foods™ Crepe Restaurants, LLC
• Peter Pan© Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Wing Topia® Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Hunger Go™ Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Merlyn Astort™ Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Cherish Wade© Crepe Restaurants, Inc.
• Chef Nations® Crepe Restaurants, LLC
• Chloé Raphaël© Crêpe Restaurants, Inc.
• Chef Kingfisher© Crepe Restaurants, Inc.

3. Register Your Business

a. What Type of Business Structure is Best for a Restaurant?

In reality, there are a number of possibilities for a crepe restaurant’s corporate structure, but an LLC is the one that majority of players in this industry take into consideration. Crepe restaurants form LLCs in order to protect themselves in court.

Please keep in mind that an LLC will require an EIN if it is required to file any of the excise tax forms listed below or if it has any employees.

b. Steps to Form an LLC

• Choose a Name for Your LLC.
• File Articles of Organization.
• Choose a registered agent.
• Decide on member vs. manager management.
• Create an LLC operating agreement.
• Comply with other tax and regulatory requirements.
• File annual reports.

c. What Type of License is Needed to Open a Crepe Restaurant Business?

• General Business License
• Health and Safety Permit
• Food Handler’s License
• Liquor license
• Health and trade license
• Lift clearance license
• Zonal Permits
• Signage Permit
• Operational State Facility Inspections
• A music license if you want to play live, recorded, or stream music in your restaurant
• A dumpster placement permit that specifies where you can put your dumpster
• A valet parking permit if you plan to offer valet parking for customers
• Sidewalk permits if you plan to offer outside seating

d. What Type of Certification is Needed to Open a Crepe Restaurant Business?

These are some of the certifications you can work towards achieving if you want to run a crepe restaurant company;

• Clean Health Certificate
• Food handler Certification
• Catering Training Certificate

e. What Documents are Needed to Open a Crepe Restaurant Business?

These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run a crepe restaurant in the United States of America;

• DBA
• EIN
• Business and liability insurance
• Federal Tax Payer’s ID
• State Permit and Building Approval
• Certificate of Incorporation
• Business License
• Business Plan
• Employment Agreement (offer letters)
• Operating Agreement for LLCs
• Insurance Policy
• Online Terms of Use
• Online Privacy Policy Document
• Contract Document
• Company Bylaws
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

f. Do You Need a Trademark, Copyright, or Patent?

Generally speaking, you may not need to register a trademark if you’re thinking of starting a crepe restaurant business. This is because the nature of the business allows you to successfully manage the business without having any reason to sue anyone for using your intellectual property.

4. Cost Analysis and Budgeting

a. How Much Does It Cost to Start a Crepe Restaurant Business?

There is no clear-cut startup cost for a crepe restaurant, but available data shows that the cost for a small to medium restaurant can range from $150,000 to over $450,000.

b. What are the Costs Involved in Starting a Crepe Restaurant?

• Business Registration Fees – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $3,300.
• Marketing, Branding, and Promotions – $2,000.
• Business Consultant Fee – $2,500.
• Insurance – $8,400.
• Rent/Lease – $150,000.
• Other start-up expenses like stationery ($500), and phone and utility deposits ($1,800).
• Operational Cost (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $40,000
• Start-up Inventory – $35,000
• Store Equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $1,750
• Furnishing and Equipping the Restaurant – $75,000
• Website: $600
• Opening party: $3,000
• Miscellaneous: $2,000

c. What Factors Determine the Cost of Opening a Crepe Restaurant Business?

• The size of the crepe restaurant
• The choice of location
• The required licenses and permits
• The type of facility
• The type of related foods and drinks retailed in the crepe restaurant and additional services offerings
• The cost of branding, promotion, and marketing of the crepe restaurant
• The cost of furnishing and equipping the facility
• The cost of insurance policy covers
• The cost of registering the business
• Source of your crepes, food ingredients, supplies, and ongoing expenses
• Cost of recruiting and training your staff
• The cost for the purchase and customizing of uniforms
• The cost for the grand opening of the crepe restaurant business

d. Do You Need to Build a Facility? If YES, How Much Will It Cost?

In reality, building a new facility is not required for your crepe restaurant business, but if you have the necessary financing, it will benefit you.

e. What are the Ongoing Expenses of a Crepe Restaurant Business?

• Cooking supplies – food ingredients (flour, eggs, butter, salt, milk, water, sweet sauce or garnish, sugar, jam, Nutella et al)
• Utility bills (gas, internet subscriptions, phone bills, signage and software renewal fees et al)
• Salaries of employees
• Trucks and vans maintenance
• Insurance
• Rent
• Marketing costs

f. What is the Average Salary of your Staff?

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner) – $55,000 Per Year
• Human Resources and Amin Manager – $38,000 Per Year
• Restaurant Manager – $38,000 Per Year
• Accountants/Cashiers – $33,000 Per Year
• Chefs (Cooks) – $30,000 Per Year
• Waiters/Waitress – $26,000 Per Year
• Cleaners – $25,000 Per Year
• Security Guard -$24,000 Per Year

g. How Do You Get Funding to Start a Crepe Restaurant Business?

• Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
• Raising money from investors and business partners
• Sell shares to interested investors
• Applying for a loan from your bank/banks
• Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from the government, donor organizations, and angel investors
• Source for soft loans from your family members and friends.

5. Write a Business Plan

a. Executive Summary

Gabriel Léo® Crêpe Restaurants, Inc. is an American-based, licensed, specialty restaurant that specializes in making and selling different kinds of crêpes as well as other traditional French fares, coffee, and wine in a cozy, mosaic-tiled bistro with outside seating and enjoyable music.

In the center of Boston, Massachusetts, our restaurant will be situated in a tastefully decorated and conveniently situated establishment. At Gabriel Léo® Crêpe Restaurants, Inc., we always use the finest and freshest ingredients while making our crepes. We make all our crepes (pancakes) with great attention and pride.

b. Products and Service

• Preparing and serving different flavors of crepes
• Preparing and serving niche foods (French dishes)
• Sales of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages

c. Mission Statement

Our mission is to establish a crepe restaurant business that will be known as the crepe specialist.

Vision Statement

Our vision is to become the leading crepe restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts.

d. Goals and Objectives

The goals and objectives of a crepe restaurant business are to provide an outlet where people can visit to buy and eat crepes, other foods, and drinks.

e. Organizational Structure

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
• Human Resources and Admin Manager
• Restaurant Manager
• Accountants/Cashiers
• Chefs (Cooks)
• Waiters/Waitress
• Cleaners
• Security Guard

Marketing Plan

a. SWOT Analysis

Strength:

• Ideal location for a crepe restaurant business
• Highly experienced and qualified employees and management
• Access to finance from business partners
• Availability of different types of crepe delicacies
• Moderately priced menu
• Availability of table service and counter service
• Full bar, usually separate from the dining room
• Reliable and efficient inventory management system.

Weakness:

• Financial constraints may restrict the publicity and branding of the business
• The new business that will be competing with well-established crepe restaurants and other restaurants in the city.
• Inability to retain our highly experienced and qualified employees longer than we want during the teething stage of the business.

Opportunities:

• A rise in people who want to experiment with crepe
• Good support from the city – an important and growing part of Boston’s economy is the manufacture and sale of artisan foods, fancy foods like crepe, and novelty items
• Online market, new services, new technology, and of course the opening of new markets

Threat:

• The arrival of a new crepe restaurant or any other restaurant that serves crepes within our market space
• Economic uncertainty
• Liability problems
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could change its regulatory status and decide to enforce strict regulations that can strangulate new businesses like ours.

b. How Do Restaurants Make Money?

Crepe restaurants make money by selling the following products;

• Different flavors of crepes
• Niche foods (French dishes)
• Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
• Franchise

c. Payment Options

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via credit cards
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via mobile money transfer

d. Sales & Advertising Strategies

• Introduce the crepe restaurant by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to construction companies, clubs, corporate organizations, schools, households, and other key stakeholders throughout the city where your crepe restaurant is located.
• Advertise on the internet on blogs and forums, and also on social media like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to get your message across
• Create a basic website for your business so as to give your business an online presence
• Directly market crepe restaurant.
• Advertise our business in community-based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
• List your business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Encourage the use of word-of-mouth marketing (referrals)

Financial Projection

a. How Much Should You Charge for your Product/Service?

The price of a plate of crepes in a restaurant will depend on the size and other add-ons, but on average, crepes will cost you anywhere from $4 to $9, depending on the filling and where you got it.

b. How Much Profit Do Crepe Restaurant Owners Make a Year?

It depends, but the data that is currently available indicates that the average income for crepe restaurant owners ranges from $31,000 to $155,000 annually. The national average, according to their estimates, is roughly $65,000 per year.

c. What Factors Determine the Amount of Profit to Be Made?

• The capacity of the crepe restaurant
• The types of related food, snacks, and other drinks retailed in the restaurant
• The location of the crepe restaurant
• The management style of the crepe restaurant
• The business approach of the crepe restaurant
• The advertising and marketing strategies adopted by the crepe restaurant
• The number of years the crepe restaurant is in business

d. What is the Profit Margin of a Crepe Restaurant?

A basic guideline in the restaurant business is to keep food cost percentages between 28 and 32 percent. But rather than being a general rule that applies to all restaurants, this is more of a recommendation. Between quick service concepts and fine dining, as well as between different cities, there are differences in the average meal cost.

e. What is the Sales Forecast?

Below is the sales forecast for a restaurant. It is based on the location of the business and other factors as it relates to such startups in the United States;

• First Fiscal Year: $350,000
• Second Fiscal Year: $420,000
• Third Fiscal Year: $650,000

6. Set Up your Shop/Office

a. How Do You Choose a Perfect Location for the Crepe Restaurant?

• The demography of the location especially as it relates to families
• The demand for crepes in the location
• The purchasing power of the residents of the location
• Accessibility of the location and the road network
• The number of crepe restaurants, and regular restaurants in the location
• The local laws and regulations in the community/state
• Traffic, parking and security et al

b. What State and City are Best to Open a Crepe Restaurant?

• Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Palm Beach, Florida
• Washington, D.C.
• Scottsdale, Arizona
• Portland, Oregon
• Asheville, North Carolina
• Washington DC
• Chicago, Illinois
• New York City, New York
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Los Angeles, California
• San Francisco, California.

c. What Equipment is Needed to Operate a Crepe Restaurant?

Before you can open a restaurant, you should budget and buy chairs and dining tables, POS and receipt issuing machines, storage hardware (bins, racks, shelves, food case), counter area equipment (countertop, sink, ice machine, etc.),

(Flat Screen TVs, sound system, DVD players, gas cooker, deep fryers, deep freezers, fridge, blenders, store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage), serving utensils (plates, glasses, flatware) and fancy lightening amongst others.

7. Hire Employees

When it comes to hiring employees for a standard restaurant, you should make plans to hire a competent chief executive officer, human resource and admin manager, restaurant manager, chef (cook), waiters and waitresses, cleaners, and security guard.

8. Launch the Business Proper

In recent times, no crepe restaurant opens its door for business without first organizing an opening party to officially launch the business. You can choose to do a soft opening party if you are operating on a low budget or you can go for a grand opening party.

With the proper launching of the crepe restaurant, you will officially notify people in your city that your crepe restaurant is open for business.

a. What Makes a Crepe Restaurant Business Successful?

• Choose a good location and facility to launch the business
• Make sure you offer different ways of preparing crepes (give your customers options)
• Throw an open house party before officially opening the crepe restaurant business
• Be deliberate with your marketing sales approach
• Encourage the use of word of mouth to promote your crepe restaurant business
• Leverage all available online and offline platforms to promote your crepe restaurant business

b. What Happens During a Typical Day at a Crepe Restaurant?

• The restaurant is open for the day’s work
• The kitchen staff prepares the crepes, food, and snacks
• The serving areas, serving wares, chairs, and tables are properly arranged
• Customers are attended to
• Stocks are taken and reports are written and submitted to superior officers
• The business is closed for the day.

c. What Skills and Experience Do You Need to Build a Crepe Restaurant Business?

• Excellent culinary skills
• Excellent customer services skills
• Interpersonal skill
• Accounting and bookkeeping skills
• Business management skills
• Bargaining skill
• Work experience in a restaurant environment or niche restaurant
• Experience in managing people
• Experience in business administration
• Experience in preparing a wide variety of crepes and related delicacies.