If your sales are rising, your customers are happy, and your current restaurant seems to be a success, expansion is often the natural next step. And while that might often be a brilliant decision, success can only be guaranteed with advanced preparation. Plenty of research and thoughtful planning goes into growing a business and making sure that your expansion triumphs. To that end, here are some essential steps you need to take in order to ensure your restaurant expansion is a success:

Write a great business plan

Even though you’ve likely already written a business plan for the first location, restaurant expansion requires an additional business plan as well. Much of the information in these two plans will be similar, such as technology, accounting, human resources, etc. These aspects will be crucial for maintaining quality control and consistency across restaurants.

However, some sections will need to be customized to the new location. These will likely include your target market, a market overview, and competitive analysis, all essential aspects of planning an efficient growth strategy. Don’t forget to go over your finances either, as a new restaurant might require new financial plans and projections, along with funding solutions, if necessary.

Find an attractive location

The right location is vital to the success of any restaurant, including an expanded branch. That is why you should devote some time to selecting an area with a high flow of traffic and good eating patterns, but preferably low competition. If you’re situated in a coastal American city like LA, for example, a downtown location combined with a seaside location is bound to bring success.

No matter which location you select, it’s always important to research your competition and how they are performing, see whether the area needs another restaurant, and check out if your concept will fit there and whether it’s unique enough to thrive. These aspects will determine your success rate.

Equip for consistency

When opening a new location, necessary gear such as kitchen equipment and display, reservation, and payment systems will likely be a priority. However, you should focus on maintaining the same design as well. Restaurant owners in Australia, for instance, are well aware of this fact, which is why they often invest in bentwood chairs from Sydney for their locations. Not only are these chairs simple, sturdy, and beautiful, but they perfectly complement more rustic and natural designs as well.

It’s important to remember that your customers expect consistency. Of course, this means receiving the same quality of service in each location, but a consistent interior design style is also crucial for branding, as well as brand recognition and awareness.

Hire the right staff

Unfortunately, you can’t be in several places at once. That means you will have to hire trustworthy management to handle everyday operations. You’ll need to ensure both locations are equipped with skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced staff you can trust to be in control. This is especially important for the first location, as chances are high you will be needed more in the second one during the early stages.

As great staff is likely what led you to success, among other things, look for the same qualities in your new hires to ensure you’re making the right choice. It might also be wise to ask new staff to go to the old location for training or even bring some old staff to the new location to ensure consistent service.

Market your restaurant

When expanding your restaurant business, marketing will be crucial to attracting new customers and informing old ones of your new location. For that reason, you might want to update your website and social media pages, or even consider an email marketing campaign, to tease the opening, build suspense, and engage a wider audience.

Keep in mind that more traditional forms of marketing are still quite effective as well. Reach out to media, send press kits, invite food critics and bloggers, and host a soft opening event, if possible. All of these tactics will allow you to spread the word of your expansion more easily and reach success more quickly.

Brilliant restaurants can never be created overnight. But by doing enough research, preparing in advance, and following the guide above, your business expansion is bound to be a successful one.