Is it possible to open a home business and run a restaurant at home?

I really like running restaurants but I hate businesses on community lots...
I assume I'll have to use the 'changelotzoning' cheat but my question is, does the game generate the restaurant NPCs in residential lots? Can 'home business' restaurants corrupt the neighborhood because of these NPCs that probably not work properly?

I've heard though that it's hard to make profit from restaurants

It is - My level 10 restaurant is about -$182,515 in debt :P

Instructions on making community lot items available on residential lots can be found here.

I did it once, never again as I hated it. You will need of course a community lot or a residential lot that you have changed to community with no sims living on it. Place the needed objects and change back or into a residential lot. Move your sims in and see if the podium and chef stove spawn the needed NPC's. Some people find they don't spawn. Mine certainly did. Those NPC's are then there working 24 hours a day forever. I found it fun for about a day then wished they would all leave. Having the stupid host talking on the phone non stop drove me mad. I immediately moved everyone out, got rid of the restaurant and moved the family back in. Peace! For those that enjoy that, more power to you I guess.

I was going to try that restaurant-homebusiness myself but not anymore after reading this

So, that open/closed sign did nothing? The NPC host and chef remained there even if you closed your business? And were you able to hire people and select who will be the host? Like if owned restaurant in communitylot.

I personally have to make all restaurants in my hood to be owned businesses (usually owned by CAS made sims with I never play after getting businesses up and running smoothly), that way I can choose the menu myself, like fastfood-venue only have burgers, salads and fries on the menu and seafood restaurant has only the fishdishes, and so on..

They stood there doing their thing day and night open or shut. I never tried to hire anyone since those NPC's were there. It's possible some people have things happen differently as I do know some people found the NPC's didn't spawn. For me they spawned as soon as I moved my family back in and I know the family could not use the stove as it was 'already in use'. The open and shut sign stopped customers not the NPC's.

Might be better to enable the objects for residential lots by editing the OBJD, and then start a home business before you place them. Maybe the game won't spawn npcs then, since businesses generally means they don't spawn.

Someone was a bit cranky and clicked disagree on every single post here

Maybe they had a terrible experience with running restaurants at home :D

@joandsarah77 Thanks. I will try that.

But do the NPCs show up again when you delete them using 'move_objects on'?

A lot of Sims skipping out on their bill...

I'm running a home restaurant at the moment in my game. I had to turn the lot into a community lot in order to place the stove that's needed. I turned it back into a residential lot and moved my family back in. The game had spawned chef, host and waiting npcs, but once I opened a home business on the lot they left and I could set my own staff to work in the restaurant. Works just as well as any other home business, not as profitable as a store though and I have to rely on the money business perks to keep them out of debt. Also there's the downside of not being able to visit the restaurant when playing any other families, but as I'm using the lot as a (fake) hotel, it doesn't bother me too much.

Mine never left and given this was a few years ago I didn't use move objects on them to test it as I was scared I could be 'deleting sims'. I know that isn't so, but wasn't sure at the time. If indeed they can be gotten rid of and the place used like a community lot owned restaurant it could work well.

It seems like you could also have a Sim who owns a community lot buy the necessary community lot-specific items on their owned lot, and then give them to the prospective restaurateur just like you'd give any other item as a gift...