Has anyone here opened up a restaurant?

[thinkfloyd14]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

I have experience (indirectly)

ALL is true as said above..................Sage advice my young friend. I'd say first and foremost is: To be really successful you have to have a passion for food and the preparation. IE - Live it, breathe it, eat it. If it is soley for the money.....you'll never make it.
This business is one of the few -MO- that is more difficult and challenging than the car busniess......with even less net profit per dollar turned.
The hours are very long......... your "on time" is when your 9-5 customers are off. Two words: evenings, late nights and weekends

I truly appreciate this...as for passion... I know we have it, but more importantly the passion we have will more importantly be directed towards the statement we are trying to make.

I think I would get more help here if I just explained a bit more so here it goes, I am kinda in a rush here, have to get to class so I will be quick...more details to come.

Our idea is simple: one type of food made really really good eg: tacos, tortas, burgers, panini or what have you ,and beer. nothing else on the menu. All the ingredients would be SUSTAINABLY GROWN, either from local providers or ideally but more challengingly a small farm on site or on the roof...YES it's been done. Rooftop gardens are the thing of the future for conscious foodies. LA is the prefect place to market a trendy super hip approach on street food. Over complicating the menu, I feel would hurt our idea. We keep the food simple, we don't pay freight charges on ingredients, we serve beer on tap...good beer where we can charge a premium.

There's a new hip place that opened up about a year ago in little tokyo (dtla) called Wurstkuche... they serve german sausages in a roll with onion and peppers, and Beer and thats it. It's the biggest thing in LA now, super hip, super young crowd, super hipster, hippie or whatever you call it and the guy is cleaning up. I actually talked to the guy, from germany, and he said his secret was how simple he kept his operation.

We want to take it to the next level, cut even more costs on food ingredients and it will be super hip and stay open till 2am like the sausage place, people go their at night just to have a mas or two.

I haven't proofread what I just wrote cus I'm in a rush, but I hope that gives a bit more insight until I check out this thread later tonight.

Thanks again to all. Keep the suggestions and honest criticism coming.

[peppy]

Originally Posted by thinkfloyd14

All the ingredients would be SUSTAINABLY GROWN, either from local providers or ideally but more challengingly a small farm on site or on the roof...YES it's been done. Rooftop gardens are the thing of the future for conscious foodies. LA is the prefect place to market a trendy super hip approach on street food. Over complicating the menu, I feel would hurt our idea. We keep the food simple, we don't pay freight charges on ingredients, we serve beer on tap...good beer where we can charge a premium.

You know Curious George is just a cartoon.

[Christien]

What kind of prices are you talking about? That sounds like a place I'd be interested in as a patron, especially if the food is literally grown on-site. Well, maybe - how bad is LA smog, really? I started to ask that in jest, but then realized that it may compromise your image. A farm 50 miles outside town might actually be better.

Three things would be questionable:
1. price: a burger or panini and a beer shouldn't cost more than $20, even at an upscale place.
2. ease of access - can I park nearby easy enough? Or somewhere walking distance from there and my evening's entertainment, whatever that might be? (I'm thinking clubs, live music venue, symphony)
3. adequate seating - we often avoid places we know we'll never get a table at, or will have to wait 30 minutes for a table, UNLESS there's a bar where we know we can usually get a stool and have a drink before eating.

One other thing comes to mind, maybe consider offering more than just beer. I know you want to stay simple, but maybe also offer, say, just one house wine, and make it a damn good one - minimum $20 bottle (liquor store price, not after restaurant markup), and maybe something as well non-alcoholic, even if it's just water. (might have to by law?)

I'm assuming you're ok with long hours. I'm a small business owner - I'm taking a break right now typing this, while working on credit report submissions. It's almost 10pm, I've got another hour left, and have to be up at 6:30am to drive an hour and a half. That's not a bad night by my standards.

[Dueller]

It has been done...in fact two guys did just the thing you are talking about (starting a restaurant right out of college...not necessarily your exact concept). They both had bartended together thru college and deamed of opening their own place. Admittedly they started on a shoestring budget with family and friends investing relatively modest amounts in a college town catering to college tastes. Opened in 2004 it now has 4 locations in separate towns. Pretty simple menu when they started but they have branched out a bit. Its currently a pretty hot place for this area.

Here's their website: Mugshots Grill & Bar

Click on history and you'll get a snippet of what they did. LA is gonna be much pricier than a colege town like Hattiesburg, MS.

[Rick Lee]

I could never handle those hours for such a risk and small chance of reward. I've worked in a lot of restaurants, opening and closing shifts. I had a gf once who really wanted to open a place, had lots of $$ and thought my experience would make me the ideal guy to run the place. Uh, no. I told her to expect to be at work every day by 7am if she planned to open for lunch and stay well past midnight if she planned to be open for dinner. No weekends or holidays off and no vacations ever. She eventually dropped the idea.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Dueller

It has been done...in fact two guys did just the thing you are talking about (starting a restaurant right out of college...not necessarily your exact concept). They both had bartended together thru college and deamed of opening their own place. Admittedly they started on a shoestring budget with family and friends investing relatively modest amounts in a college town catering to college tastes. Opened in 2004 it now has 4 locations in separate towns. Pretty simple menu when they started but they have branched out a bit. Its currently a pretty hot place for this area.

I also have a college buddy who did this. He worked himself to the bone, but he made it and it's a hotspot in Pittsburgh now with multiple locations.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by Christien

... That sounds like a place I'd be interested in as a patron, especially if the food is literally grown on-site. Well, maybe - how bad is LA smog, really? I started to ask that in jest, but then realized that it may compromise your image. A farm 50 miles outside town might actually be better.

Haha... The smog does not affect the veggies.

There is a high end restaurant near me that bought a plot of land near the restaurant and has its own garden. I'm not sure if it has helped bring business, but I'm sure it is cutting costs a little....

[slodave]

Originally Posted by thinkfloyd14

All the ingredients would be SUSTAINABLY GROWN, either from local providers or ideally but more challengingly a small farm on site or on the roof...YES it's been done. Rooftop gardens are the thing of the future for conscious foodies.

Who's going to maintain the garden? And if you really want to do it right, you need to grow organic, which makes things a little harder. Crops need to be rotated annually, soil amended, you have to watch out for bugs, fungus, mold, mildew... Even though we have a pretty mild climate here, certain crops are still seasonal here.

[Tishabet]

I like the idea of keeping it simple... one criticism I have of many restaurants is offering too larger of a variety versus keeping the menu short and simple. Be really good at five dishes instead of pretty good at 10.

I think people will like the locally grown angle, but rethink the rooftop garden unless it's merely for looks... you're not going to get a significant amount of food from such a small place. Trust me; I have an 1100 s.f. rooftop roof deck with about 400 s.f. of veggie garden, and my wife and I eat ALL of it.

Finally, thought it might screw up the beer angle, I would urge you to consider Shaun's suggestion about the truck. This has become the cool thing in a lot of cities, including LA, and it is much cheaper to get off the ground.

[Dueller]

Final observation with input from my wife who is in the restaurant/bar business...have you ever worked in a restaurant bar? Do you know every job in front of the house as well as back? Because on any given night you will likely have to cover for someone who called in (or didn't), OD'd, got arrested, went on a bender, had a sick child, or for whatever reason didn't show up for their shift.

Many people love cooking/entertaining/bartending and think it would be so great to turn an avocation into a vocation. Trust me...it ain't as sexy as it looks. It is a grind with a relatively low profit margins especially on start up.

+ 1 on keeping the menu limited on the front end.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

[badcar]

Worked in the business starting at 14 until I was 25 (thats when I got sober). The concept is also being used here in Denver with a rooftop veg and herb garden used to supliment locally/organic grown beef, duck, etc.

I would spend at least a year working tables, understanding back of the house, and then decide if the dream is worth the risk. A business plan never reflects the tough labor aspect of the service industry. Concepts tackle a niche market. Great food, great service tackles all markets.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

if you decide to go with the mobile venue and raise your own animals, you could also be a traveling petting zoo (gut an old school bus and make it a trailer) visiting schools during off-lunch time hours and make some side $ doing that. Just be sure you have a good reason why Herby the chicken isn't with you if any kids remember him when stopping by a second time. You could say he's visiting family in the Adirondacks or something like that.

just a thought.

[Tishabet]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Just be sure you have a good reason why Herby the chicken isn't with you if any kids remember him when stopping by a second time. You could say he's visiting family in the Adirondacks or something like that.

[scottmandue]

Well, In and Out has done a great business with the "keep it simple" menu... but they have been around for decades.

Just want to reemphasize what someone else said.

Be prepared to not turn a profit for two to three years

That is typical for a startup small business.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

... my experience would make me the ideal guy to run FROM the place. ...

- fixed it Chris - you were smart!

[sailchef]

20 years ago a freind owned a restaurant here at the beach. He had a garden next to it all on a 1/2 acre. He grew red & yellow tomatos, red, green and banana peppers, basil, rosemary, asparagus, green beans, and several types of squash and melons. He would prepare a 5 gallon bucket of Pesto with 25lbs of basil he had just picked. He gave the waitstaff milk crates to gather tomatos before service. He made his sauce, a la minute, (more of a fresh tomato saute') It was one of the finest retaurants in the area.

He started out very small. He was ferocious in the kitchen 24/7 for the first 10 years. Today he is retired and living at the Country Club.

[VINMAN]

Never opened a restaurant, but I've closed many a bar....

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

one of my patients is agonizing over one of these deals.

he ran a franchise profitably, then bought two more franchise and leased 2 locations.

hired and trained help at first facility, hired architects and paid them for 2 new locations, paid leases. Bank dropped financing, he is very sad. cannot get other financing as he paid bills with the last couple house and car payment monies. poor planning, expanding too fast.

if you own a restaurant, why would you want another!!

yes, he made some very bad mistakes. will cost him a house and car.

[JavaBrewer]

Worked food service industry for many years as did my wife. Now 15+ years after the fact she still get's stress dreams about it. It's not until you work in the service industry that you understand how obnoxious/rude the general public can be.

I like the small menu idea but you better be sure that your staple items are #1 better than any alternative within a 5 mile radius and #2 something that folks can/want to eat anytime of the day. Just like a home the business location will be key. I worked in downtown La Jolla (Prospect Street) which is pretty much ground zero for ideal location. However, just a block over it was a dead zone - no traffic - no business - nada. I saw many attempted restaurants on that street and not one made it. Hell even the fancy Persian rug place died there...

[RWebb]

the key to profitability is to serve potatoes...


and high fructose corn syrup