Answer
Local environmental factors will have the biggest impact on the restaurant. In rank order, the most expensive are likely to be: (a) availability of an affordable facility, taking into consideration the rent and taxes for a desirable location, zoning limitations and health department regulations; (b) availability of workers; (c) access to – and the cost of – affordable ingredients; (d) media costs required for marketing; and (e) the financial well-being of prospective customers. Any one of these variables may make the business unprofitable.
Work Step by Step
The restaurant business is notoriously faddish. When ‘authentic’ ingredients are required to attract a clientele, such as fresh seafood or ethnic ingredients, global environmental concerns may dwarf local concerns. For example, the availability of certain foods of a certain quality (Will climate changes raise prices? Will political unrest disrupt distribution networks?) may be the difference that the restaurant depends on to be successful. This underscores why the restaurant owner must keep both a macro and micro view of environmental factors.
