What advice would you have for someone looking to start a restaurant business?

The restaurant trade is extremely competitive and very difficult at the moment, unless you've got a superb location and can offer inexpensive but interesting dishes.

Our own Italian Family Restaurant closed after 60 years in business due to escalating costs, and a decline in clientele.

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors.

I have had a couple friends of friends that run restaurants. The thing they have said is they would have built a following with a food truck first, build up some capital, then open a storefront.

Don't take shortcuts & don't exceed your means. If your operating capital says burger & fries, don't set up spending like you're a lobster house. I started my own LLC in 2012 wanting to set up some type of food & beverage establishment. I finally shut down my LLC this year without seeing that happen where I currently live. I spent the first 2 years just doing research since the banks see a restaurant as a high risk endeavor & I did not want to leave myself in a position to fail once I committed to a plan of action. I watched one restaurant in my old hometown change hands 4-5 times within 2-3 years, with the longest restaurant being there for exactly 1 year before they closed their doors.
Customer service is key- unhappy customers directly affect your Profit & Loss statistics. If service or food is subpar, your profits will diminish rapidly. Quality employees are key to being profitable too. If you can hire people with good work ethics, report to work when scheduled & on time, don't take 50 smoke breaks during a 4-6 hour shift, you've beat half the battle.