Is 2025 The Year To Open A High-Street Hospitality Business?

Dreaming of launching your own café, bar, or restaurant on the high street this year? It’s a bold move and in 2025, bold pays off if you play it right. Yes, costs are up. Yes, the market is competitive. But the high street is alive again, footfall is growing, and diners are craving innovative experiences.

So, is now the time to take on the enormity of opening that restaurant concept you’ve been sitting on? We take a look at the opportunities, and the winning strategies for opening a bricks-and-mortar hospitality business this year.

The Costs Are Rising: High Street Businesses Feel It Most

Opening any public facing hospitality business in 2025, whether it’s a high-street restaurant, bar, or café, means grappling with rising costs. The high street brings visibility and footfall, but also higher overheads:

• Wage Increases: With the National Living Wage rising to £12.21 an hour, your staffing budget for chefs, servers, baristas, and bartenders is going up. For high-street restaurants with larger teams (kitchen and front-of-house), this hits particularly hard.
• Employer NICs: National Insurance Contributions are up to 15%, meaning even more added to your payroll costs, especially for bigger teams like those in restaurants.
• Business rates relief slashed, dropping from 75% to 40% for hospitality businesses. Whether you’re leasing a city restaurant or a high-street café, your property tax bill will rise.

These costs are specific to bricks-and-mortar businesses—you’re paying for your place on the high street. But that presence? It’s also your biggest asset.

The High Street Is Alive Again

Footfall is growing, tourists are back, and people want experiences they can’t get delivered. The high street is your stage but only if you offer something worth walking into.

• Tourism boom: Inbound tourism is projected to hit 99% of pre-pandemic levels this year. For city-centre restaurants, cocktail bars, and destination cafés, that’s a wave of potential customers looking for memorable dining and drinking spots.
• Locals want connection: Post-pandemic, consumers are seeking authentic, local experiences. They want the independent bistro with seasonal menus, the high-street wine bar with a story behind each bottle, the coffee shop that knows their name. Physical spaces matter again, because they offer connection.

This Is Why The High Street Still Wins

Yes, delivery apps and dark kitchens have their place but they can’t replace the magic of a great dining experience in a well-designed space.

A high-street restaurant that becomes the neighbourhood’s go-to for special occasions, a café where locals linger over flat whites and community events, a bar that transforms a Friday night with great music and atmosphere. These are things that only a physical venue can offer.

How To Make It Work In 2025

1. Run lean, look effortless

• For restaurants, focus your menu. Smaller, seasonal menus reduce waste, showcase quality, and streamline your kitchen.
• For high-street bars and cafés, consider multi-use staff: baristas who can manage front-of-house, bartenders trained in upselling food specials.
• Energy-efficient equipment and smart supplier deals help across the board.

2. Be a destination, not just another stop

• Restaurants: Go beyond food—make it an experience. Think chef’s tables, kitchen takeovers, wine pairing nights.
• Bars: Lean into themed nights, mixology masterclasses, or partnerships with local distilleries.
• Cafés: Offer more than coffee. Host book clubs, live music, local markets.

Sustainability is also key across all types. Whether it’s zero-waste kitchens, locally sourced ingredients, or eco-friendly interiors, these elements attract modern consumers who care where (and how) they spend.

3. Own your niche

Don’t be another ‘nice place.’ Be the Italian bistro with a wood-fired oven and an open grill. The bar that champions local spirits and creates infusions. The new high-street café that roasts its own beans on-site and tells the story of why those beans.

In a crowded market, story sells.

Is 2025 Your Year?

If you’re opening a high-street restaurant, bar, or café this year, the challenges are real, but so are the rewards. The footfall is there, the demand is rising, and consumers are ready for fresh, exciting, local hospitality experiences.

But the businesses that will thrive are the ones that are smart, lean, and distinct.

At The Engine Room, we help hospitality entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into thriving high-street realities. Whether you’re opening your first restaurant or refining an existing high-street café or bar concept, we’ll help you navigate rising costs, find your niche and experts, and create a venue that stands out.

Book your free consultation with The Engine Room today – let’s make your high-street hospitality dream a reality in 2025.