Start A Sea Food Restaurant - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Sea Food Restaurant

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Seafood restaurants can be a fun way to become an entrepreneur and earn a living. Start by picking the type of seafood restaurant to open. This is especially important if the target area has other seafood establishments. Then, create a working budget and write a good business plan for a seafood establishment. Secure working capital and legitimize your business to avoid trouble with the local authorities.

Finally, contract reliable seafood suppliers, hire staff and market your business.

Starting a sea food restaurant requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell sea food restaurant services, or selling sea food restaurant services online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size
$50B
starting costs
$18.9K
gross margin
43%
time to build
270 days
growth
Organic social media
business model
Subscriptions
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$66

$1,200

Retail Business Expenses

$1,250

$11,650

Inventory Expenses

$350

$14,750

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$9,636

Software Expenses

$0

$425

Website Costs

$13

$215

Total Startup Costs

$1,754

$37,876

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Captain D's

captainds.com

291,808

The Boiling Crab

theboilingcrab.com

437,297

JUMBO Group – Famous seafood restaurant group in Singapore

jumbogroup.sg

438,764

Long John Silver's

ljsilvers.com

473,744

Red Lobster Seafood Restaurants

redlobster.ca

493,839

Ocean Basket

oceanbasket.com

510,146

RPM Restaurants

rpmrestaurants.com

562,773

San Diego Restaurant Week

sandiegorestaurantweek.com

813,111

The Oceanaire

theoceanaire.com

911,354

Red Crab Seafood

redcrabseafood.com

927,435

Ocean 44

ocean44.com

996,589

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Rewarding work

Starting a sea food restaurant can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a sea food restaurant. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

Daily physical activity

Sea Food Restaurant's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health.

Amazing perks and discounts

Working in the sea food restaurant comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts.

You are your own boss!

With starting a sea food restaurant, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

Local Community

One of the best parts of starting a sea food restaurant is that you can develop a local following by selling your products at craft shows, farmers' markets, or even local storefront businesses! This gives you access to additional revenue streams and loyal customers.

Cons Description

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your sea food restaurant, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Finding The Right Supplier

Most businesses in this space go the supplier/manufacturer route, which isn't a bad thing! However, finding the right supplier can take a lot of time, energy and trial/error. If done properly, this process can save you months (if not years) of time and energy. More on this below in the "finding a supplier" section.

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Low margins

The gross margins for your sea food restaurant are typically around 43%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

High employee turnover

In the sea food restaurant, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

Taxes

As a sea food restaurant, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.