For our regular viewers, Don Lucho’s Restaurant and its owner, Carlo Calisea, are familiar names. Today, we’re following up with this popular restaurant to get more of his insights into how to start a restaurant business—and keep it thriving and growing through unexpected challenges.

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Carlo started Don Lucho’s as a food truck in 2013, the first Peruvian restaurant business in Seattle. In 2019, they added a brick-and-mortar restaurant and pisco bar. Opening a restaurant is difficult in the best of times and the start of the pandemic in 2020 only added to that, but Carlo and Don Lucho’s rose to the challenge, adding outdoor seating that let them keep growing their revenue.

In today’s episode, we’ll dig in deeper with Carlo’s advice on how to open a restaurant that’s built to withstand whatever life throws at it. We’ll learn what he included in his restaurant business plan, and how he’s revised that in the years since opening.

Of course, even the best-planned restaurant experiences setbacks. We’ll hear what Carlo is struggling with today and how he’s responding to those to keep his business growing. Rising costs and staffing problems have been consistent concerns across the food industry over the past 2 years, and Carlo will share his strategies for coping with those issues, along with his other tips for starting a restaurant that’s resilient enough to roll with the punches.

Anyone wondering how to start a restaurant (and keep it open long-term) will want to hear Carlo’s advice! You can find out more about Don Lucho’s online at https://www.donluchosinseattle.com/.

Looking for more advice on starting a business? You’ll find it on the UpFlip blog: https://www.upflip.com/blog.

Check out our podcast https://www.upflip.com/podcast, where you get to unravel how great businesses are built.

And make sure you check out our past interviews with Carlo:

From Food Truck to Restaurant Business (A Recipe for Success) ►
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MPTE67PYcY

A Day in the Life of an Entrepreneur (Behind the Scenes Look) ►
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2idW6fSfvIQ

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
0:31 Meeting the Owner
1:34 Tips on Revamping Your Business
2:53 Breaking Down Revenue
3:50 The Key To Balancing Quality
4:41 How To Avoid These Business Mistakes
5:47 Why You Need A Soft Opening
7:35 Social Media Tips and Tricks
9:35 The Importance of Branding
10:36 System and Processes for Online Ordering
11:46 How To Get FREE Advertising
13:10 How To Build A Reliable Team
14:30 Crucial System & Processes Before You Start
16:00 How To Quickly Resolve Issues
17:03 How To Keep Employees Happy
18:13 When To Grow Your Team
19:03 Blitz Time With Carlo!!
21:56 How To Keep Track of Inventory
22:50 When To Use Paid Advertising
24:09 How To Not Lose Money
25:15 Switching Up Your Menu
26:22 How To Deal With Inflation
27:11 Where To Focus Your Time
28:35 Creating The Best Content Possible

#restaurant #restaurantbusiness #howtoopenarestaurant