Opening a Restaurant is not a dream. It's a high-risk business.
And most people walk into it unprepared.
When Aaron Gersonde set out to open his first restaurant, he searched for a simple resource:
A real, practical guide written by someone who had actually built restaurants.
It didn't exist.
Instead, he found books about cooking, celebrity chefs, and romanticized stories of hospitality-but nothing that explained how restaurants actually operate as businesses.
This is that book.
Opening a Restaurant The Frontline Guide is a direct, experience-driven manual built from over a decade of developing, structuring, and opening restaurants across the United States and internationally.
It is not theory.
It is not academic.
It is not written from the outside looking in.
It is written from inside the process.
Inside, you'll learn:
- How to structure your restaurant investment and ownership correctly
- How to build realistic financial projections based on actual market behavior
- How to negotiate leases that don't trap your business before it opens
- How to design operational systems that prevent chaos
- How to build and lead teams in one of the highest turnover industries in the world
- How to avoid the costly mistakes that destroy most restaurants before they succeed
Restaurants are one of the most complex small businesses in the world.
When built incorrectly, they fail fast-and expensively.
But when built correctly, they can become powerful, profitable, and enduring businesses.
This book is designed for:
- First-time restaurant founders
- Experienced operators launching new concepts
- Investors evaluating restaurant opportunities
- Anyone serious about building a restaurant the right way
If you are planning to open a restaurant, this book will save you:
- Years of trial and error
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars in preventable mistakes
- And potentially the future of your business
This is not a story.
This is a frontline guide.
Aaron Gersonde is a restaurant founder and operator known for building high-level hospitality concepts from the ground up.Over the course of his career, he has launched and operated a wide range of restaurants, cocktail bars, and hospitality ventures-from Michelin-starred fine dining to internationally recognized cocktail lounges and large-scale restaurant concepts. His work has been recognized globally, with accolades including Michelin stars, top cocktail bar rankings, and national media features.Aaron's expertise lies in turning ideas into operationally sound, revenue-generating businesses. From site selection and buildout to menu development, staffing, and financial structure, he has been directly involved in every stage of restaurant creation-often under high-pressure, real-world conditions.Opening A Restaurant: The Frontline Guide is a direct reflection of that experience-a no-nonsense, behind-the-scenes look at what it actually takes to open and operate a restaurant successfully.He continues to partner with founders, investors, and hospitality groups to build and scale concepts across the country.
