Step-by-step guide to starting a successful Restaurant business.
They bring incremental orders and new-customer discovery, but commissions are steep and the app owns the customer relationship. Many restaurants use the apps for visibility while pushing repeat customers toward direct ordering with flyers in the bag or a small direct-order discount.
Reply publicly, briefly, and without arguing: acknowledge the miss, say what you're doing about it, and invite them back. Future diners judge you on the reply more than the complaint, and a defensive response does more damage than the original review.
Claim your Google Business Profile early, do a friends-and-family soft open to work out kinks and seed first reviews, and invite local food writers and micro-influencers to a preview night. A packed opening weekend from a hard launch with an untested kitchen creates bad reviews that follow you for a year.
Requirements vary by city and state, but expect health department permits, food-handler certifications, a liquor license if you serve alcohol, and signage or sidewalk-seating permits. Timelines for liquor licenses in particular can stretch for months, so start well before your target open date.