Here's a great piece of advise from the uber-successful chef and businessman Bobby Flay.
What advice would you give an aspiring restaurateur?
Have twice as much capital as you think you need. If you think it's going to take eight months to build the restaurant, know that it's twice that. Expect the unexpected. It will ultimately happen, whether it's the health department [coming in], or the chef quits, or the gas line doesn't work. And go slow. Don't try to feed 300 people the first night. You want to be a good restaurant for 20 years, not 20 weeks.
O.D.O.o.O.D.B.
TY:WSJ 4/21/11
