A playful, soup-to-nuts guide to creating a restaurant, and a love letter to those who make the struggle palatable, the resilience possible, and the journey more fun—restaurant people.

There is no secret ingredient to opening a successful restaurant—in this business everything matters.

It’s one thing to work in an established restaurant and a whole other beautiful challenge to turn an empty room with exposed plumbing and unpainted drywall into a stage for the complicated performance of prepping, cooking, and serving that transforms four simple walls into a living, breathing, welcoming place.

For the dreamers and admirers of the restaurant world who long to open their own place or simply crave a peek behind the line, For the Love of Restaurants is a multi-course romp through the processes of leasing, funding, designing, building, menu development, hiring, and opening a restaurant’s doors to the first guests.

Adam Weisblatt, cofounder of Last Word Hospitality and partner in its growing list of celebrated restaurants, traces the full journey from concept to opening of the company’s first spot, Found Oyster. Along the way, he shares everything he knows about imagining what future guests will love and what will make them want to return again and again.

With hard work and a clear understanding of your values, it’s possible to build something real and lasting that brings value to your community and to yourself.

For the Love of Restaurants is a curriculum-in-your-pocket for making your dream a reality and an invitation to more deeply appreciate the places you love—and the people who make them possible—each time you hear your table is ready.