How much capital would I need to start my own restaurant?

[Sherlöck]

It would be a small little place, maybe a 10 table restaurant.

we would not be serving alcohol so no need for a liquor license.

i live in south western ontario...

i imagine i'll be needing fda or those kinda people whatever approval but anything else? oh and ofcourse a legit business license, but any other licenses i will be needing?

[ClickStart]

Short answer: assume at least $15k, but ranges from $10k to $250k (or more)

Long answer: the amount of capital you need depends on a lot of things. Below are a few things to consider when determining how much capital you need. At the bottom are 2 links to pages that have checklists for people interested in starting a restaurant in Canada to walk you through all of the specifics.

*Misc. startup costs – deposits for electricity, garbage, phones, internet, etc.
*Insurance & licenses (to name a few – business number from Canada Revenue Agency, Employer Health Tax registration for full-time workers, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, etc.)
*Space – rent or buy or build? A quick check of rent on commercial spaces in Ontario looks like you’ll need between $1000 and $2500 per month to rent a space
*Equipment – commercial kitchen equipment, furniture, decorations, point-of sale system, etc. If you rent a space that has had a restaurant, you may be able to save a lot of money on not having to renovate and on huge costs like kitchen equipment.
*Employees – this depends on how many employees you’ll need and whether you would be serving one meal a day or whether you’d be open all day. Assume about $11/hour per worker.
*Marketing and advertising – manage costs using word of mouth and social media if you don’t have a large budget for marketing
*Beginning inventory – finding and securing a reputable food vendor will help you manage costs here
*Working capital – people in the restaurant industry commonly say you’re your costs will be 1/3 more than you think, and recommend that you have a year of working capital until your business (hopefully) takes off and becomes profitable. This includes rent, equipment, wages, food and supply costs, marketing, and other expenses for the entire year.

http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/page/2747/
http://www.cbo-eco.ca/en/index.cfm/guide...n-ontario/

One thing to consider if you don’t have the startup money you need and don’t want to go to a bank – crowdfunding sites (like Rocket Hub, Indiegogo, and others) lets people with a great idea get started without digging themselves into debt. Some of these sites are restricted to individuals, but ClickStartMe, a brand new crowdfunding site, allows businesses to raise money through crowdfunding also.

Best of luck!