A friendly dish to enjoy on the go? We named the fries! Homemade or frozen, this dish straight from our Belgian neighbors is eaten daily by thousands of French people. Are you a french fries lover, want to open your own chip shop? Let’s look at the different points together to study before starting the adventure!
What training to open a chip shop?
If you want to open a chip shop without completing a special education, good news: You don’t need a university degree to live your dream!
However, you must complete mandatory food hygiene training. This is HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point), provided by the National Training Center in Safety and the Environment to anyone interested.
There is also optional additional training, aimed at assisting you with the opening and day-to-day management of your chip shop. We advise you to inform yourself: Very valuable, they will give you the keys to accounting, financial administration, human resource management or even business management.
Stages of opening a chip shop
develop a concept
Classic Chip Shop or a more original offer: it depends on your taste! Keep in mind that a clear position will allow you to differentiate yourself and attract new customers. Ask yourself what type of environment you want to operate in and what type of products you want to offer your customers.
For example, do you decide to focus only on french fries, or will you offer other fast food products? There are already various concepts of the chip shop:
- Traditional Belgian Chip Shop : Chip shops offering Belgian specialty products such as fries, frikadel, waffles and other snacks.
- local situation : The Chip Shop offers recipes based on products from your area.
- High-end Chip Shop : chip shop farther away from the traditional spirit of chip stalls in the north, assuming a more “noble” position
The possibilities are endless, the important thing is to find a concept you love, and that will appeal to your market!
work on finance
Chips stalls are generally a profitable business. The low cost as well as the high sales volume make the chip shop quite an attractive project.
good to know
However, don’t neglect estimating your finances before you begin. Performing a market study will enable you to understand the needs and expectations of your future customers as well as to estimate the prices you will be able to charge.
At the same time, executing a business plan will help you forecast your various costs (raw materials, equipment, premises or vehicles, etc.) as well as your projected business (thanks to the prices offered and the projected demand). Will get This research will also allow you to obtain a bank loan supporting the viability of your project.
Choose from Fixed and Mobile Chip Shop
Fix chip shop in a room, or mobile running by day and hour: it’s up to you!
If you choose a mobile chip shop, you will need to obtain a card allowing the practice of a mobile commercial or craft activity. This is necessary if you plan to sell your products outside the municipality of your residence. Then you have to pay a fee of 15€ to get it.
find a strategic location
It doesn’t matter whether you decide to move into a certain building, or sell your fries in a vehicle, the location you choose should be strategic.
Your chip shop should be visible, and in a driveway. Favorite places near colleges, high schools, higher education establishments, offices, shopping streets, stations… any place where customers can enjoy your fries in a hurry!
Information
If your chip shop is traveling, you will need to obtain a “Temporary Occupancy Permit for Public Domain” from your town hall.
Choosing the Right Professional Insurance
To open your own chip shop, you must have liability insurance. This is essential and protects you in the event of damage or an accident at your chip shop. We can think for example:
- food poisoning;
- customer’s downfall;
- Material loss.
prevention is better than cure ! There are other insurances that can protect you (movable and real estate insurance, business interruption insurance, legal protection). Find out, they can be very useful in case of damage.
Equip yourself with the right tools
To open your own chip shop, you obviously need to have high-performance equipment, depending on the products you decide to sell:
- deep fryers;
- fridge ;
- freezer;
- tawa;
- hodge;
- french fries cutter;
- French fries hot.
Tools like accounting solutions, cash register software or payment terminals will also be essential for you. To move forward, you can equip yourself with a management tool to monitor your stock and anticipate your future orders.
In general, don’t skimp on the quality of your tools, they will be essential to the sustainability of your project.
What is the legal status of opening a chip shop?
Most professionals who start opening snack bars favor legal statutes such as SAS, SARL or their one-person versions. There are many possible options depending on the size you want your project to be.
We have prepared for you a comparative table of legal situations that will allow you to take a slightly more clear look at the advantages and disadvantages involved in each regime. You can then either go through the process yourself and set up your business online, or hire a legal professional.
What are the rules for opening a chip shop?
There are different rules that apply to both opening a fixed chip shop and a mobile chip shop:
- Price : Prices must be displayed and visible (both outside and inside).
- Cleanliness : You must follow HACCP training, respect the standards for preservation and freezing of products sold, and demonstrate the allergens present in your dishes.
- hours of operation : You must get closer to your province.
- sale of alcoholic beverages : Subject to obtaining the required license.
In addition, if your chip shop is open to the public, you must respect the various accessibility standards for people with disabilities. Your restaurant should also be up to date in terms of fire detection and prevention. In the event that music is broadcast in your establishment, you must pay authorization to SACEM (payment of copyright, mandatory for freely distributing music).
Finally, if you do offer a roof, be sure to get permission from the town hall.
general question
Can we open a chip shop without any contribution?
Although the initial investment is low compared to other types of restaurants, you should make a personal contribution, or turn to banks for a loan.
What are the rules for opening a chip shop?
If your chip shop is fixed: You must follow the rules applicable to catering establishments. If your chip shop is traveling: You will need to obtain a traveling salesman’s card, as well as a special authorization from the town hall.
What training to open a chip shop?
The only mandatory training related to food hygiene is HACCP training.