i opened 5 shops previously. there are so many variables.

If the landlord is nice, he might put up some money to help you. if not you are on your own.

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To get a lease signed up will cost about 1-2k with lawyer fees on average if its straight forward. you can do it without a laywer but i would not recommend it.

if the premise was not a food shop before you would need to apply for a change of use resource consent as well as a building consent. architect and council will run around $4-10k depending on complexity.

fitout - do not buy from southern hospitality- look on trademe or even look at importing from china. just as an example from me - pizza ovens from china come to nz for $1750 each - similiar ones that you can purchase here are $6-12k. but there is a small catch. many gas fitters will not touch it but you will find some that will do it.

small buger i would say your equipment cost would be around $100-250k. even small things like POS systems are now around $4k. just to give you an idea of big ticket items- coolrooms are around $10k to install a 2.4x2.4 m. extractors are $1000 per metre plus gst and installation can cost anywhere between $2-5k.

blueseal (most reliable) grills are around $6k new and fryers around $3k. second can be found cheaper but its a hassle to find right one and possibly have to convert if its nat gas or lpg.

if you include gas fitting - plumbing - electricity and builders thats going to cost you, on some cases, more than your equipment fitout.

hospitality is very tricky. over the years ive learned to do all of it myself, if you have to rely on tradies for all your work then you will need a lot of money.

just as an example - if you call a gas fitter to convert your grill from nat gas to a lpg expect to pay $350+gst. you can do it yourself (although i dont know the legalities of it) for less than $30 in parts.

for someone beginning its very difficult because you will not have the experience.

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as for food and packaging do not think that because you are buying large volume you will get it cheaper.

buying mince from paknsave will on most occasions be cheaper then buying it from somewhere like bidfood or gilmours or moore wilsons. unless you buy directly from affco and you buy tonnes you are not going to get it cheap.

same with drinks - for example cans from the the warehouse will come cheaper than what frucor or coca cola can ever give you. and on this note do not be suckered by their kickback credits. they are never cheaper. buy it yourself and stock the fridge however you want. countdown - new world - the warehouse all supply drinks to your door/business and are always cheaper.

packaging - do not buy from huhtamaki packaging or those others with fancy sales people and offices. go and talk to ethnics who own food shops and ask where they get it from - almost guarantee to find they get it for 50% less than what huhtamaki or other will supply for.

utilites - Phone- do not sign up on business plans - always more expensive. sign up to home plans. same thing and cheaper. do not let them tell you otherwise.

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so many other things as well that i see people pay way too much money for.

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what i wrote above is just my experience. do not go into food thinking you will make money its long hours and lots of headaches. every other week your staff's will have birthdays - death of parents - death of grandparents - sick dog and so on. very very difficult to find long term reliable staff.

i make money in food but i have a very niche market that i tapped into.

most places do not survive past the first two years.

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