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The feasibility study is an examination of your proposed restaurant in relation to the existing marketplace. It focuses on defining your competition as well as your potential customers in your selected location. It is called a “feasibility study” because it involves researching the viability of your operation in terms of competition and demand.

The feasibility study is comprised of an evaluation of both the supply of and the demand for your specific operation. There are firms that specialize in doing the research, compiling the data, and analyzing the results for you, but contracting out your feasibility study can be expensive. Nonetheless, after considering your knowledge of the industry and your time available to do the fieldwork, you may consider it worthwhile to hire a consultant. One internationally respected consulting firm specializing in the hospitality industry is Horwath Consultants, which has more than 250 offices in 80 countries around the world. There are also smaller independent consultants who specialize in the restaurant and hospitality industry who can provide a valuable service to you in the initial stages of your restaurant’s development. Horwath’s chairman, John Burt, has said that only a fraction of his company’s business is restaurant related, as too few prospective restaurateurs do a feasibility study — that may be why so many restaurants fail! With a bankruptcy rate more than double that for the overall economy, it is vital that restaurateurs thoroughly research every aspect of their new venture.

These are the key components of the feasibility study:

• Target area analysis

• Population profile

• Economic profile

• Competition analysis

• Industry and tourism profile

• Cultural and recreation attractions

• Real estate marketplace