Should I Open A Restaurant??

[Coach]

<p>Since I have got out to Montana...I have cooked for a few&nbsp;people.</p><p>Mostly in retaliation for crappy translations of&nbsp;Eastern US food I have had since I got here....</p><p>(a Philly Cheese Steak... with Swiss and slices of flank steak???)</p><p>I was approached by a parent to have me start my own Restaurant...</p><p>I am more than willing...</p><p>Everyone who has had my food has said it was awesome!</p><p>But I dunno...</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by Coach on 10-15-06 @ 6:28 AM</span>

[DarkHippie]

<p>Yes.&nbsp; </p>

[dotsncoms]

&nbsp;Great article about Smac restaurant&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/10022006/atwork/rise_of_the_mac_daddies_atwork_jonathan_bender.htm">http://www.nypost.com/seven/10022006/atwork/rise_of_the_mac_daddies_atwork_jonathan_bender.htm</a>

[Sheeplovr]

<p><span class="postbody">Mostly in retaliation for crappy translations of&nbsp;Eastern US food</span></p><p>how hard is it to make Puke in a paper plate?&nbsp;</p>

[Gvac]

<p>If you want to give up any semblance of a normal life and enter a business where the failure rate is over 70% I say go right ahead.&nbsp; </p><p>I have a few friends who own restaurants and fortunately they've beaten the odds and become successful. &nbsp; This means that on Friday nights, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, when the rest of the world is relaxing, they're working 10 times harder than they do the rest of the week.&nbsp;</p><p>If cooking and restaurant ownership is your life's ambition and your ultimate dream you owe it to yourself to give it a try.&nbsp; If it's something you think you're going into to make money, don't bother. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

[ShelleBink]

<p>Yes, and for your grand opening you should have a board party.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Oh wait, in Montana??? Jeez.&nbsp;</p>

[Recyclerz]

<p>What GVAC said.</p><p>Also read a couple of Anthony Bourdain's books before you start tapping the life savings.</p>

[suggums]

<strong>Recyclerz</strong> wrote:<br /><p>What GVAC said.</p><p><strong>Also read a couple of Anthony Bourdain's books before you start tapping the life savings</strong>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[Fez4PrezN2008]

<p>Nooooooooooooooooooooooo</p><p>Its way too hard of a way to scratch out a living... You will have no life at all and even a well run restaurant can [probably will] fail at some point. You will never have the bankroll to compete with Applebees or Mc Donalds. You can still do something in the food industry though. Say if you know how to make a special salad dressing or a good sauce of some kind you could launch a part time biz and sell to specialty grocery stores if your stuff is any good, or something like growing fresh herbs and packaging etc. Whatever you do, it is a must that you go through the process of putting together a formal business plan which makes you think through all the things like who is your target market, food safety issues, realistic costs, how and when you are going to make a profit etc. Even if mom + dad bank roll you at first, [which I do not recommend - too many strings attached!], you will need to expand one day and if you don't have a business plan, no bank or investor is going to even talk to you. There are pretty good software programs out there that help you go through the process step by step. </p><p>Good luck which ever way you decide to go. Just watch that relatives + money thing. In my experience that is always a bad combination. </p>

[Tenbatsuzen]

<p>It's always been a dream of mine to open a restaurant featuring the &quot;Fat&quot; sandwiches from Rutgers' grease trucks in other college towns.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Although the overhead to start a restaurant in Montana might be a lot lower than it would be in the the NYC metro, I think you should realize how unforgiving the business is, and it's NOT a get-rich quick scheme.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[Don Stugots]

this must be a common thing, Gvac and I had a similar conversation a few nights ago.&nbsp; My idea is a NYC Bagel store in charlotte.&nbsp; the more i think about it, the more i like it.&nbsp; i say go for it.&nbsp; working 10x harder than others while doing it for yourself is better than working 2x harder for the man.&nbsp; <br />

[Bulldogcakes]

<p>Its tricky. People may like the stuff you make for them at your house, but you're not charging them for it. And your notion of &quot;quality&quot; and your customers ideas about what is/isn't good may be two totally different things. PLus maybe the locals dont give a shit about quality, maybe they're hard working, simple people who want to fill their belly cheap and get back to work. <br /></p><p>GVAC is 100% right, but it doesn't always have to be that way. If you can find good people to run things the way you want them run and care as much as you do, you can have a life outside of work. But most people who get into a business do it because they have a passion for that thing, whatever it is. So their business is their life and their life is their business. That passion will help you to stick with it when things get tough, and they likely will. And sooner rather than later. <br /> </p><p>If you've never run a business before, I'd say no. Too many pitfalls and expensive lessons to be learned. Take that from someone who's been self employed and running a businesssince since I was 19.</p><p>If you really do want to do it, start small. Maybe a little take out spot or sublet space from someone who has extra. If it takes off, you look for something bigger. If not, you didn't spend a fortune on something that only lasted a few months. &nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by Bulldogcakes on 10-15-06 @ 8:17 PM</span>

[Bossanova]

<p>My brother opened a restaurant and it has worked out. I am the chef ther and I eventually want to open mine.&nbsp; Honestly, its a huge risk.&nbsp; The hours suck, and you have no personal life.&nbsp;&nbsp;I will say this though, if you have a girl who is understanding or noone. Do it.&nbsp; Its the most gratifying thing there is.&nbsp; I love it so much.&nbsp; The first chance I get I am gonna try to open my own.&nbsp; If you love to cook, its worth the risk.</p>

[NickyL0885]

<p>&nbsp;</p><strong>RonIsHankAaron</strong> wrote:<br /><p>My brother opened a restaurant and it has worked out. I am the chef ther and I eventually want to open mine. Honestly, its a huge risk. The hours suck, and you have no personal life. I will say this though, if you have a girl who is understanding or noone. Do it. Its the most gratifying thing there is. I love it so much. The first chance I get I am gonna try to open my own. If you love to cook, its worth the risk.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>DO IT!!!!! You gotta take a risk sometimes in life. I wanna open one my self. I'm goin to school now to learn. My chef is now my mentor. So, i have help. I can ask him anything and whom else is better to get advice from? So, def start small. Remember, LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!! Also, Wherever u put it, go to the restaurante around the area to find out what they serve and how there prices are so u can get a feel for the competition.&nbsp;</p>

[Ogre]

<strong>Bulldogcakes</strong> wrote: GVAC is 100% right, but it doesn't always have to be that way. If you can find good people to run things the way you want them run and care as much as you do, you can have a life outside of work. But most people who get into a business do it because they have a passion for that thing, whatever it is. So their business is their life and their life is their business. That passion will help you to stick with it when things get tough, and they likely will. And sooner rather than later. <br /><p>The toughest part that I have found is the staffing.&nbsp; I have had alot of weeding out to do, in the short time that I have been open.&nbsp; I work no less than 70 hours a week, no lie.&nbsp; and that's when I sneak away for some football on Sundays for a few hours.&nbsp; Many times when I was gone and put my trust in others, I found that was trust that was misplaced.&nbsp; When the owner isnt there, the concerns of the staff change to what is best and easiest for them.&nbsp; Not what is in the best interest of the business.&nbsp; Friends hanging out bullshitting...text messaging instead of waiting on customers.&nbsp; Product quality is not the same BC they just do not have the same interests and concerns as you do as an owner trying to build a brand.</p><p>The second part is watching your core costs like a hawk.&nbsp; Some are givens Rent Utilities, Taxes, lease payments etc.&nbsp; Then there are the Food Costs and&nbsp;Labor Costs.&nbsp; these vary depending on the model that you set up for you shop.&nbsp; keep it as simplistic as possible if you are doing lower cost menu items.&nbsp; after everything is said and done say your take is 17%.&nbsp; well thats ok if you are doing more than 450k netsales in a year.&nbsp; But a lower volume shop it gets harder to make those margins work.&nbsp; Think of how many whatevers you have to sell in a day week month to make your number.&nbsp; Places like a Ruth Chris can survive higher overhead costs because thier revenues go into the millions per year, so they can tolerate an anemic say 13% for example.</p><p>I work much harder than I have for quite along time in my life, am I happy?&nbsp; I dunno. I am too fuckin tired to know any better, thing is.. this is what I do.&nbsp; </p><p>First word of advice do not sign any leasing or construction contracts until you do a budget analysis of the operation.&nbsp; start low with your sales forcasts, develop a marketing plan on increasing them by you goal % each year and see if making X is worth it after all your hard work.</p><p>As a closer all I got to say is that be VERY careful of who you hire.&nbsp; Take the time to research them with past employers and have them sign for you to do a backround check..if they balk there is you first sign.&nbsp; Many bad apples have the sleeper mole mentality...you kinda let them in a little then WHAM...</p>

[dotsncoms]

Budday when the manager wasn't there we stole everything, I was a punk back then but everyone took food home!

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by dotsncoms on 10-15-06 @ 10:10 PM</span>

[Bossanova]

<p>Also, it depends on what will be your food of choice.&nbsp; Italian is nothing but profit.&nbsp; Everything is cheap, and you can sell every dish for 11.50-25.00 bucks a clip.</p>

[Ogre]

exactly,&nbsp; that's why alot of pizza shops can survive on 250-300k a year sales and still give the owner some sort of payoff...Barbeque is so labor intensive it drives the costs up and margins down.&nbsp; Chinese food is chaep as hell too.Think of what a bi plate of fried rice costs to make, but it sells for 9.99...

[Fez4PrezN2008]

How about mexican? At Taco Bell everything is made from different combinations of the same 7 ingredients...

[Bossanova]

seriosly though, screen the wait staff.&nbsp; I know its the in thing to hire hot chicks, but people don't give a shit about looks.&nbsp; Speed, thouroughness and the correct order is everything.&nbsp; Hire single moms, people needing second jobs, and middle aged men.&nbsp; I have had nothing but success with them.

[dotsncoms]

Only if you serve breakfast!

[Coach]

<strong>Tenbatsuzen</strong> wrote:<br /><p>It's always been a dream of mine to open a restaurant featuring the &quot;Fat&quot; sandwiches from Rutgers' grease trucks in other college towns.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Although the overhead to start a restaurant in Montana might be a lot lower than it would be in the the NYC metro, I think you should realize how unforgiving the business is, and it's NOT a get-rich quick scheme.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I so want a place that is simple&nbsp; and contained and I can serve Fat Cats, Fat Dykes, and Fat Bitches... And&nbsp; Egg sandwiches..... so a lunch truck&nbsp; Just one thing...Bagels, I need Bagels and they are a bitch to make</p><p>College near by a plus.</p><p>Go figure that Porkroll has never been heard of out here....but I can get Elkroll so I should be fine!</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by Coach on 10-16-06 @ 12:20 AM</span>

[Coach]

<strong>Fez4PrezN2008</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Nooooooooooooooooooooooo</p><p>Its way too hard of a way to scratch out a living... You will have no life at all and even a well run restaurant can [probably will] fail at some point. You will never have the bankroll to compete with Applebees or Mc Donalds. You can still do something in the food industry though. Say if you know how to make a special salad dressing or a good sauce of some kind you could launch a part time biz and sell to specialty grocery stores if your stuff is any good, or something like growing fresh herbs and packaging etc. Whatever you do, it is a must that you go through the process of putting together a formal business plan which makes you think through all the things like who is your target market, food safety issues, realistic costs, how and when you are going to make a profit etc. Even if mom + dad bank roll you at first, [which I do not recommend - too many strings attached!], you will need to expand one day and if you don't have a business plan, no bank or investor is going to even talk to you. There are pretty good software programs out there that help you go through the process step by step. </p><p>Good luck which ever way you decide to go. Just watch that relatives + money thing. In my experience that is always a bad combination. </p><p>Well I would have nothing to do but cook, get supplies, and yell at people....What I already do now..</p><p>No life...haha I am an outcast already..</p>

[Fez4PrezN2008]

<p>OK but please I beg you, don't forget</p><p><img height="133" src="http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/7944/7944442.jpg" width="105" border="0" /></p>