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There's a chain that has a store in the city I live in, and I really like it (it's a Poutine place). Seems like a really simple product to sell that could sell really well. I asked them about franchising, but they told me that there is an exclusive agreement with one of their franchiees for all of California. Oh well. I wasn't really interested in their brand, I just thought the type of business/restaurant was a great idea, and prime for explosion in the US. So -- why not make my own? Coming up with a brand and menu would be easy enough. Kitchen doesn't need to be huge, only one real product is being made (fries and toppings, cheese curds are bought). I imagine I'd need to do some research in a market I want to open, make sure selling Poutine is a viable model and that people would be receptive. I'd need to allocate money for advertising. I imagine I'd need at least 6 months of runway for lease payments, I'd need employees, a manager, a food supplier. Does anyone have any experience with these sorts of take-away restaurants, and do you have any thoughts?
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Aug 23, 2015 07:13
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| # ? May 5, 2024 17:02 |
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Though they come with their own headaches and a different set of permits, food trucks / food trailers have really exploded here in Austin as a low-overhead way to start a business selling food in low volumes. Every time I think the market is oversaturated, the foodie crowd starts fawning over some brand new truck (I'm pretty out of the loop overall).
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Aug 24, 2015 04:32
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If you're only selling one product (or a few variations on one product), then I second the food truck route. You'll really value the mobility and the low overhead is key.
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Aug 24, 2015 05:43
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Is it pronounced poo-teen?
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Aug 26, 2015 20:19
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BossRighteous posted:Is it pronounced poo-teen?
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Aug 26, 2015 23:23
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Food truck sounds like a smart idea. Less risk, and it's better for selling the drunk food to the drunks around the bar areas (don't run over the drunks).
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Aug 27, 2015 03:33
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ooh, you're in the Bay Area? Come down to Santa Cruz with your poutine truck when you get it up and running!
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Aug 27, 2015 05:22
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SpelledBackwards posted:Though they come with their own headaches and a different set of permits, food trucks / food trailers have really exploded here in AusMPtin as a low-overhead way to start a business selling food in low volumes. Every time I think the market is oversaturated, the foodie crowd starts fawning over some brand new truck (I'm pretty out of the loop overall). Jumping off of this as a resident of Austin, usually these things have loads of hoops you have to go through and unexpected expenses which could thwart any potential income/progress. You would think that the market was crazy saturated here but people look for the 'next best thing' everyday.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:14
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Sparta posted:
Yeah that's great if you want to half rear end it. Look at Smoke's menu for the list of options for poutine:  The stuff they're selling involves like half a dozen different types of meat, a few different sauces beyond gravy, and a bunch of other stuff. Think of the mise en place involved in getting all that poo poo set up. You can do that out of a small kitchen, but you better have a bunch of fridge space to keep all the stuff. Unless you're looking to sell one kind of poutine, in which case, you won't need a tonne of space. But I don't know how much repeat business you'll get by having a menu with one option on it (although, Porchetta and Co in Toronto is doing well and they sell one thing only).
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Aug 29, 2015 20:38
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There's a poutine food cart here in Portland that does really well with a simple menu. I believe all they sell are regular frees, regular poutine (with meat gravy), and vegetarian poutine (with mushroom gravy). Drunk people go there in droves. Location is everything, and more likely than not you'll want to be open late.
il serpente cosmico fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Aug 31, 2015 |
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Aug 29, 2015 20:40
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If there was a poutine truck near me I'd be all over it. Regular + vegetarian poutine plus a small number of add-ons (for a buck each or whatever) might work. Bacon, pepperoni (like the sticks cut up, not pizza), jalapenos, avocado would be pretty simple and tasty.
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Aug 31, 2015 08:31
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How much food service experience do you have?
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Sep 4, 2015 23:48
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moana posted:ooh, you're in the Bay Area? Come down to Santa Cruz with your poutine truck when you get it up and running!
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Sep 5, 2015 00:41
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n8r posted:How much food service experience do you have? Poutine is awesome, but if you don't have experience managing a kitchen then stay the gently caress away. Food service is an industry that loves to seduce you before chewing you up and spitting you out while fracturing your relationships and decimating your wealth.
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Sep 5, 2015 05:11
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Cicero posted:BFC meetup! We'll talk about all the things with our investments that we're not doing, and all the fancy resorts and restaurants that we don't go to! I didn't realize y'all were so close!
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Sep 9, 2015 05:53
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I'm not kidding about being down for a BFC meetup. Prefer some kind of park because it's cheap and I got a kid who likes running around but I'm open to suggestions.
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Sep 9, 2015 06:47
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Are you guys in santa cruz or up in San Francisco or...? I'll be doing Saturday Write Fever up there this week with a couple friends: http://www.theexit.org/write/
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Sep 9, 2015 21:55
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Ah crap, this got lost in my bookmarks. I live in Oakland but work in SF. That event sounds neat!
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Sep 12, 2015 20:14
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Cicero posted:BFC meetup! We'll talk about all the things with our investments that we're not doing, and all the fancy resorts and restaurants that we don't go to! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDIGzzeQjaE http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/dethklok/thedethalbum.html#15 posted:if I could write off your murder
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Sep 15, 2015 00:57
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What are you going to be able to offer customers over the existing poutine restaurant that you're modeling yourself after? What are you going to have to distinguish yourself, to get them to come to you instead of going to your already-successful competitor?
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Sep 20, 2015 19:18
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To answer your titular question, what it takes to open a restaurant is a shitload of work, a pile of money roughly the size of a house to burn and an understanding that odds are you'll be out of business and have lost all of said money within two years. You will likely run a loss for at least the first year, even if you succeed. All of the above assumes you're a food industry lifer who knows how to operate such a business and has contacts to make sure he isn't getting screwed. Do not open a restaurant. It is a poo poo load of work you have to absolutely love to put up with, because you sure as hell aren't going to be making the big bucks.
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Sep 21, 2015 09:40
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Yeah I was gonna ask how much food industry experience you have. It's kind of a poo poo job on every level unless you just loving love it. If you are just interested in it as a business model then idk... Go for a food truck or stand rather than a brick and mortar location.
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Sep 23, 2015 02:19
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