It's a Great Time to Own a Restaurant in St Louis
The restaurant business can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be a great risk. The city of St. Louis has become a hotspot for foodies, and there's a lot of room in the market for growth, opening up exciting opportunities for entrepreneurs. Success in the service industry is often about location, and the Gateway City stands as one of the best bets for restaurateurs today.
St. Louis Ranks Among the Best
St. Louis placed 17th in a listing of the most exciting food cities in the United States, right behind New York City and ahead of famed dining destinations like Miami and Nashville. Zagat's list rated locations based on recent trends and growth and serves as a strong indicator of where top food journalists think America's future lies in the restaurant industry.
Business is good across a wide variety of eateries, spanning fresh, new cuisines like Balkan and Middle Eastern, with new ideas popping up and being embraced on a regular basis. Classic Midwestern staples, especially barbecue, are still going strong as well.
The city is winning over consumers, and crowd-sourced review giant Yelp considers St. Louis the No. 2 food city in the country. They compiled their list based on data directly from customers, with consideration for the city's appetite for diversity, the number of reviews and ratings posted and how often diners shared photos of their meals. It shows that business is booming, and customers are engaged and hungry for more. Only San Francisco beat St. Louis in Yelp's ranking, making the Gateway to the West a real contender for the top spot.
It might be surprising to some that St. Louis has grown to be a premier destination for food, but things have been trending in this direction for quite some time. The most exciting part is that the city has achieved all of this in what appears to be the early stages of its food revolution.
How St. Louis Became a Food Mecca
In a city perhaps most famous for its toasted ravioli, it shouldn't be surprising that recent growth has been fueled by innovation. The people of St. Louis are open to new ideas, but they've shown themselves to be on an active search for new spots to try and recommend to their social circles. That makes the job of getting new customers to walk through your doors much easier.
Millennials are driving growth, and that trend should continue for the foreseeable future. The city is one of the most popular and affordable places for young adults to buy a home, and an increasingly young demographic is great news for restaurant owners.
It's not just locals who are eating up new offerings in the city's food scene. Tourists are starting to take notice, and this once under-appreciated destination is gaining a reputation for it's food, drinks and nightlife. St. Louis has become a genuine foodie town in a short period of time, and the future looks even brighter.
Growth in Missouri's restaurant industry is serious business. The state saw over $11.7 billion in sales in 2018 and employed more than 300,000 people, with an expected growth rate of nearly 10 percent over the next decade.
Buying a Restaurant in St. Louis
LINK St. Louis is your partner in finding the right fit for your business purchase. New listings become available all the time, and we work with companies of all sizes to ensure sales go smoothly. From the moment we create the listing to the transition of the business to your control as its new owner, our business brokers are by your side. Contact our office today at 314-487-0005 to schedule a meeting or email us at infostl@linkbusiness.com.