PARKVILLE, MO -- New restaurateurs now have a magazine to call their own. "Restaurant Startup & Growth" (www.restaurantowner.com) is written for a segment long ignored by the hospitality industry -- those thousands of Americans who dream of opening their own restaurants, whether it's a neighborhood pizzeria or an expensive steakhouse. In fact, more than 36,000 new restaurants opened last year in the United States - and nearly three-fourths of them were independent units, not chain restaurants.

"If Rocco DiSpirito had read Restaurant Startup & Growth, events may have worked out smoother for him," says Gary Worden, the magazine's co-publisher and a successful restaurateur in his own right.

While it's true that new restaurants fail at higher numbers than other small businesses, Worden debunks the myth about extremely high failure rates of new restaurants. Studies show that new restaurant failure rates are from 23% to 27% in the first year. Poor management and lack of expertise account for more than half of new restaurant failures.

That's where Restaurant Startup & Growth magazine comes in. Each issue is packed with basic, how-to information for new restaurateurs covering everything from signage to tip reporting, from creating a wine list to buying a dishwasher. Every aspect of running a successful restaurant is included whether it's food preparation, personnel management or financial recordkeeping.

Restaurant Startup & Growth offers a sample copy for aspiring restaurateurs. "No strings," says Worden. To sign up, go to www.restaurantowner.com and click on the magazine icon.

"New restaurateurs spend a disproportionate amount of money on the beginning phases of their operations. That makes them excellent sales targets, but it also means stocking a new restaurant with food, liquor, furniture and equipment can be a minefield for the unwary and the naïve," says Worden. "We've found that new restaurateurs are hungry for knowledge so they can make educated buying decisions."

The stakes are high for a new restaurateur. While it certainly depends on the size and scope of the establishment, most consultants peg restaurant startup costs in a range from $250,000 to $500,000. "If you do the numbers," says Worden, "you see new restaurateurs are a $13 billion plus market. For the most part, this is new money coming into the industry."

Organization Website: www.restaurantowner.com

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