Why Opening A Restaurant Costs 3-4x More Than You Think | Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson started bartending in 2008. Then she got laid off from her HR job in 2018 and realized, "I'm not clocking back in."Today she owns JusTini's, a New Orleans restaurant and cocktail bar in the Bywater.

It opened in May 2023 and turned into a full restaurant because the demand pushed her there.Nobody told her what that would cost. Startup costs ran three to four times what she expected, and that was before the silverware, glassware and plates.We talked about all of it.

The money, the staff, the customers, the reviews, and why she thinks Black-owned restaurants get judged harder. She's honest that she doesn't know why, and just as honest that "we're hard on our own people."If you've ever said "I should open a restaurant," or you're the customer who writes the review before talking to the manager, watch this one first.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ From bartending at Southern University to getting laid off from HR▸ The moment she knew she wasn't clocking back in▸ How JusTini's went from cocktail bar to full restaurant▸ Why startup costs run 3 to 4 times what you think▸ The hidden costs: silverware, glassware and plates▸ Being stuck between mom-and-pop and corporate expectations▸ Why Black-owned restaurants seem to get harsher reviews▸ Posting the complaint online vs. talking to the manager▸ Why tipping was never fair, and why she uses an automatic 18% gratuity▸ Why she won't give free food to everyone who asks▸ Turnover, especially in the back of the house▸ How motherhood changed what success means to her▸ Her rich lesson: your brand is your brand, down to the capital "T" and the red lip━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FOLLOW Jessica JohnsonJusTini's: Dauphine Street, New Orleans (Bywater)JusTini's CocktailsCrash Course Bartending AcademyI Am Mommy Boss━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: