Family startup: gastro-project "Kharyok"

Spouses from Kharkov are planning to turn their new center “Kharyok” into a unique gastronomic feature of the city. The success of an interesting startup in the successful combination of an entrepreneur’s childhood dream of “feeding everyone tasty” with marketing experience, support from her husband and careful financial planning.
Natalya Khlon always dreamed of turning her own culinary hobby into a real business. “I just enjoy cooking. This, perhaps, is genetically transmitted: for my grandmother, food is a separate fad. It is the same with me. Four years ago, I got the category of the third category cook, ”she says.
The business idea of opening a new gastro-project in Kharkov has been “born” over the past five years. During this time, it was transformed into a clear concept of the future establishment of food. But above all, it is a family business. The roles in the project are distributed as expected: the husband is engaged in the construction of the restaurant and purchases. He is a tighter leader. On the shoulders of his wife - marketing, restaurant promotion, personnel management, kitchen.

Choosing a format: how to find your chip

Since both are novices in business, they began with an analysis and study of the market and competitors. It turned out that in Kharkov, with all the variety of restaurants, there are no places where you can eat tasty and inexpensively every day. “In our city there is almost no middle segment of restaurants, where it’s really cool, you can eat yourself and feed the child. We decided to take advantage of this and offer to Kharkiv citizens and guests of the city such an establishment that they want to visit every day, ”explains Natalia Khlon.
The focus of the new institution is on delicious food. The founders will rely on local products, their quality without any compromises and will certainly take into account the modern gastronomic trends and preferences of Ukrainians. “We will also have a vegetarian menu, because we respect the choice of people who do not eat meat. There will be coffee on alternative milk, because, as is scientifically proven, many do not digest lactose. And a few more positions that are not related to coffee, the entrepreneur says. “These nutritional trends should be perceived as a natural phenomenon today, and we are ready to support our guests in this.”
It turns out that the idea of the institution was formed in many respects thanks to the daughter. Especially when it turned out that there are only a few places where you can feed your child during the break between the circles, being 100% sure of the quality of the products. Therefore, the owners are now busy developing a special children's menu.
The Haroque will work in a brasserie format. This is a cozy city cafe: a meeting place where people can eat, socialize, have a good and good time outside the home.
So, this young startup has all chances to become a real gastronomic feature of a multi-million city soon. Its owners have the necessary prerequisites: a good location in the very center of the city - in the hotel "Kharkiv" (with a separate entrance), a cool team and a clearly built concept.

By standards: professional team, coaching and promotion

Interestingly, the spouses had no previous experience in the field of catering: the husband is the owner of a small construction company, and the wife is a marketing specialist advertising. That is why already at the design and conceptualization stage at the family council they decided to enlist the support of professional consultants who are well versed in this matter.
For help they turned to the successful Kiev restaurateur Dima Borisov, whose institutions are considered among the best and most visited in the capital. He consults and gives advice to the spouses so that their gastronomic project in Kharkiv really “shoots” and eventually becomes a commercially successful business.
The room is designed by the famous Ukrainian designer Oleg Volosovsky, who recently opened Sam's Steak House Prime in the capital. Oleg's equally famous projects are The Last Barricade and Chicken Kyiv.
Consultations of Borisov, who actively advocates "gastronomic patriotism", are reflected in the restaurant menu. Here they plan to make a bet on local and farm products. “It will be a kitchen of our region, made according to new technologies and professionally prepared. We are trying to combine authentic recipes, local products and trend approaches in order to make a universal product that will be of interest to Ukrainians, tourists, and anyone, ”says Natalia.
The plans for thematic events - events, built around the food. These will be various wine tastings, evenings with the chef, days of cuisine. The key thing that unites them is the action: a clear demonstration of modern gastronomic technologies. Announced events will be in social networks.
Owners are keen to convey to visitors that a healthy lifestyle should also be delicious. “Until now, in Kharkov, there was no competently prepared local cuisine. However, we can change this: putting on high-quality local cuisine, we well understand what we want to get at the exit. “Kharyok” should become a must visit institution of our city, ”explains Natalia Khlon.
They really seek to transfer the culture of the restaurant business to another level. In particular, in the new institution everything will be standardized according to the norms of HACCP. Inspectors who certify HACCP in Ukraine have already arrived here on the eve of the discovery and provided their recommendations. When the institution earns "full", they will return here to draw final conclusions.
To support the establishment, it is planned to launch a series of commercials in city cinemas, on the radio and on local television channels. On the streets with the highest traffic will install advertising boards. “We are sure that they will learn about us quickly. The ferret is a funny and mimic animal. This image is quite brightly beaten in the name of our institution, ”says the interlocutor.

Financial discipline: it is possible to calculate everything

The question of financing is one of the main issues that start-up owners should ask themselves. After all, quite often businesses that were unfunded at the beginning without information and financial support break down at the start.
One of the strategies is a careful miscalculation and selection of the best at an affordable price. For example, from the very beginning they worked with contractors and suppliers exclusively through tenders. “My husband used to work in procurement for a long time and understands how to behave competently in order to get the best market conditions. In this case, we save our own money. This is just a rational approach of a business person,” - says Natalia.

Cooperation with Raiffeisen Bank Aval began with the opening of the company. A current account has already been opened in this bank, a salary project is planned for implementation. Be sure to help in business overdraft, closing cash gaps, very characteristic of the starting period.
Spouses are well prepared for a startup: developed a business plan, financial plan. Owners have an understanding (as a percentage) of the structure of expenses and income: for salaries of 15-18%, rent - 10%, etc. Considered that the profitability of the business should be 20%. And also a turnover plan for an institution has been defined: its monthly turnover should be about 1 million UAH. With these indicators, the owners expect to achieve a business payback within a few years.
“In order to qualify for success, an entrepreneur must believe in his idea and invest all his strength in its implementation, not retreating from difficulties. On the idea, you can do everything, the main thing is to believe in people and in your team, ”sums up the owner of the“ Kharyok ”gastro-project.