The figures of the business: "A restaurant that works earns between 250,000 and 300,000 euros per year"

Barcelona“You shouldn't open a restaurant out of enthusiasm, nor keep it open out of pity”, says Rafa Zafra, who recently closed the restaurant Per Feina in Barcelona. We are at a round table organized by The Fork on profitability in gastronomic businesses. Its participants, Nandu Jubany, Rafa Zafra, Carlota Claver, and Gary Llempén, have very different businesses, but one thing in common: they work and make money. “A restaurant that works earns between 250,000 and 300,000 euros a year,” says Zafra. They all exercise transparency and share advice that can be useful to anyone who wants to get into the restaurant business. Let's list some of the learnings they shared along with data from a study conducted by The Fork.

A good time to open restaurants

"I think it's a great time to open restaurants," says Jubany. Gary Llempén, CEO and Founder of Grupo Ceviche, has eighteen restaurants in Barcelona and two in Madrid, and agrees with him because his plan is to open a restaurant every 100 days. There are now 150 Peruvian restaurants in Barcelona. "The ceviche is sexy,” he assures, and says they are breaking sales records. He believes that in three years, Peruvian restaurants in Spain will double. And he shares that before, all were opened with Peruvian capital, but now it's not like that anymore. They are now developing the landing in Madrid, but his colleagues warn him that “many groups from Barcelona that have gone to Madrid have returned”.

For Llempén, part of their success is that they didn't have much competition. But it's not just a good time for the big groups. For Jubany, it's also a good time for small-scale operations. "Young people are more prepared than ever. There are more and more groups, but there's also the restaurant that a couple can open. These restaurants with soul have something that isn't reflected on the bill." But he warns that you have to work very hard: “It's true that some people think everything is a gift. There are no gifts. Customers know more and there's more to choose from. If you do something different and good, you'll surely succeed. The numbers will take care of themselves." "We groups are bigger, more efficient, but we lose our soul. That's what worries me most," he says, preferring to be described as "family" rather than "group." "I've closed restaurants that weren't doing badly. I'm happy when they tell me that the food at Pur is better than at Can Jubany. Because I already know that we do things well at Can Jubany." And he gives one last piece of advice to young people: "Take simple locations without spending too much. If you listen to everything they say, we wouldn't open anything. The entrepreneur has to do things. Those who stay at home looking at all the risks do nothing.”

The C of Ubiquity

Llempén states that the most difficult thing is when you open the second restaurant. That's when you realize you can't be in two places at once. "Well, Nandu can," says Zafra, nudging his colleague, who indeed travels many kilometers. For the Sevillian, there are many models. "There are days when I'm in Ibiza in the morning, in Barcelona during the day, and in Madrid in the evening. There's the Roca model, which has done something very intelligent, which is to stay in their area".

The chef from Can Jubany grew a lot after covid and started implementing the following measure: "I've made it so that my team, those who run it, get 10% of the business's ebitda. Not shares, because I have 20% of two restaurants in Singapore and I haven't seen a penny in twelve years. What's the point of having shares if you don't see anything?". In fact, Rita Soler, from elBullifoundation and present at the event, also recalls that when doing the math, the initial investment is rarely taken into account.

Sometimes you have to close

“Restaurants should not be opened out of enthusiasm nor kept open out of pity. You can't open because you have friends who want to invest. Romanticism is fine, but if it's open and not working, the tragedy is unnecessarily prolonged," says Zafra, who explains that the two closures that hurt him the most were of restaurants that were not his. Hacienda Benazuza closed when it was at its peak with two stars when El Bulli disappeared because they couldn't use the brand. The other was Heart, in Ibiza, by Albert Adrià. There were 300 workers to feed 150 people.

"But every cloud has a silver lining. Now I've closed Per Feina and opened two. In restaurants, you have to have just the right amount of sentiment and pity.” And he recalls that you can't open a restaurant without a business plan, something only between 35% and 40% do. And one last point, he emphasizes that when you close, you have to pay the suppliers. According to The Fork study, 51% of restaurants review their numbers weekly. 41%, monthly. Well above the Spanish average, which stands at 39%.

He who has a good team has a treasure

Carlota Claver, cook and owner of La Gormanda, has problems finding staff due to split shifts. “It complicates things. We work from Monday to Friday. We have the weekend off, which is a luxury. But, even so, it's difficult to find someone who wants to work split shifts," she explains. "Workers are looking to learn or earn a salary. If you give them both, it's the perfect job. Then there are people who need a change from time to time. We lack time to dedicate. The Jondal team repeats a lot," says Zafra. The ingredients? Daytime shifts only, good salaries, good tips, and meeting famous people. For Llempén, it's necessary to find “people who like to work", something that according to Jubany “is not in vogue".

It's not about them coming, it's about them returning

Only 29% of restaurants in Catalonia have a high rate of returning customers due to the wide variety available. This makes it clear that one of the most complex challenges for restaurants is not getting people to come once, but to return. Gary Llempén acknowledges that “the best influencer is a happy customer”. For Nandu Jubany, the problem arises when a customer leaves thinking they have already eaten, and will not return. The wide variety has made customers in Catalonia highly unfaithful. Finally, a curiosity: in Catalonia, 12% of restaurants still take reservations solely with a paper notebook.

The rich man's bikini

For Claver, everything has to be very tight. “You have to be quick to make changes. Then you have to be ingenious with the recipe, changing products. Always work with seasonality,” he explains. And he poses: “What is a dish worth? What the customer is willing to pay and leaves happy with it”.

Technology now helps them to have better price control and to better manage orders. And to have good forecasting. An example of this are the hundreds of 13-euro menus that Jubany prepares for Puig and Aigües de Barcelona, and it gives you “very good profitability”.

The price of ingredients has gone up a lot. 40% in two years, they say. It is a competitive and volatile sector. One out of every three restaurants lives in a fragile and vulnerable balance. They suffer more in family businesses and are more sensitive to market fluctuations. Rafa Zafra, who buys and sells two tons of caviar, can negotiate a bit. “But we buy prawns at 14 euros each. I would have to sell them at 52. Luxury is difficult, because there isn't always that much margin. I make a lot more money with fried potatoes, mussels, and anchovies,” he explains. At L'Estimar, 50% of the costs are raw materials.

“You shouldn't feed the chef's ego, but the diner's. I've made dishes that powerful clients like to eat and have ordered. Like the bikini. At Jondal we made a small toast, for about 25 euros, which had about 5 or 6 grams of caviar. Inspired by the buttered bread my mother used to give me for breakfast, without caviar, of course. And they asked me: ‘And they didn't give you anything for a snack?’ That's how the bikini was born. Instead of ham and cheese, I put salmon and caviar in it. We work for whom we work”.

What is the table with a view worth

Precisely because one works for whom one works, one wonders if dynamic prices should be set depending on the day of the week or if the best positioned tables should be made more expensive. “Be careful because the soul is easily sold and there are many rich people,” states Jubany. And he explains that some people have told him that they would “buy” a table from him to have it every day in one of his restaurants in Formentera. He refused. For Zafra it is true that tables are not sold, “but you know who you give them to”.

And Zafra leaves everyone speechless with an anecdote. At Jondal, his exclusive restaurant in Ibiza, a gentleman once complained about the table. They are all beautiful there, he states. And it was changed for him because it is not common to receive complaints of this type. The gentleman had lunch and was so happy at the end that he decided to pay the bill for the entire restaurant. More than 300 people and a very high average ticket. To this day, they still don't know who this gentleman was.