One in Ten Hungarians Dreams of Owning a Restaurant

According to a joint survey conducted by the Piqniq Budapest and Mastercard gastronomy community, 10 out of 100 respondents would like to open their own restaurant in the future.

The survey, which was conducted among 400 restaurateurs and 1600 laymen, tried to find out how attractive the industry is by asking the question. From the results it turns out that it is very hard work: Almost two-thirds of respondents work at least 9 hours a day. Nevertheless, many find this work to be a good alternative: more than 10 percent of those who currently work elsewhere would like to open their own restaurant in the future.

Most of those who want to start their own business in this field are women (80 percent), live in the city (92 percent), are 26-35 years old, and have a diploma (74 percent).

However, Alexandra Rétfalvi-Kurucz, co-founder of Piqniq Budapest points out the potential risks of such a career change:

"Those unfamiliar with the profession often imagine the beginning of a gastro-enterprise romantically: Many believe that good taste is enough to open a restaurant and do not think about the costs of opening and operating."


According to Rétfalvi-Kurucz, another factor that is usually not taken into account when considering this decision is the change in one’s usual lifestyle.

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