anyone ever own or run a restaurant?

SilverSage

Resident Crone
I am very seriously considering purchasing an existing cafe/sandwich shop. I would like to ask a million questions of someone who has actually run a food service business.

Has anyone here done this on any scale, large or small??
 

Fisher's Mom

Mother Superior
Super Site Supporter
OMG - no, I have never had anything to do with a restaurant other than eating there but SS - you go girl!! I would kill to go to an eatery you owned. The pics of your food and your descriptions - they sing to me! You make the simplest foods look like a banquet fit for the gods! And your complex dishes - I don't have the words.

I know there is way more to a restaurant than preparing food, but even the best run restaurant won't prosper without serving beautiful, delicious food. You are all set in that department, IMHO.
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I've never done much more than replace stainless steel work benches and built exhaust hoods for them, besides eating in a few thousand of them around the world. Now my wife has worked in quite a few through the years from breakfast service to fine dinning. So if you have specific questions feel free to ask and I'll get her ideas for you.
 

Fisher's Mom

Mother Superior
Super Site Supporter
Oh yes - Vera would have some great input! Also, AllenOK is a chef. I'm sure that by tomorrow you will have lots of info from the other members, SS.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
Thanks, Terry - I'll send you a menu!

Really, though, this is a small place - just a sandwich shop. Currently she's only open from 11-3 for lunch. If I do this, I'll probably open earlier for breakfast, and try to increase the catering end of the business, but I don't think the location is good for a dinner service.

The only sweets or desserts she does now are brownies, so I can expand that as well.

But I know there's a lot more to it than just cooking good food and taking pretty pictures. I'd really like to ask a bunch of operational and financial question from someone truly unbiased. I hope to hear from Vera when she's back online, and if anyone else has background, I'd sure like the input.

(I actually have a dual degree in finance and economics, and have spent most of my life working in those fields. I used to manage acquisitions and divestitures for a large international corporation, but all I know about restaurants is eating in them. I never got close to the business end of one.)
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
OK here goes based on what my wife told me. Now keep in mind she ran a couple of sandwich shops as well as a couple of luncheonettes at golf courses through the years.

Keep the menu simple. Keep 3 types of bread on hand, white, whole wheat and rye. Buy your meats like ham, corn beef etc in deli amounts so they can be cut fresh for each sandwich as needed. Serve a single soup as a daily special only, offer a second soup as the house special. Keep cole slaw, potato salad, chili, egg salad and macaroni salad on hand fresh daily. Serve chicken, tuna, shrimp salads with fresh lettuce and tomatoes when possible. Have beverages that your clientèle wants be it sodas, ice tea, coffee or beer (if possible). Prepare only what you must, doing as much as possible on a per order basis.

Now that the menu is done her other advise it to know the daily volume coming through the door and plan accordingly. She told me the real secret between those that make it and those that don't is the food and judging the daily volume on a given day being correct. The latter is if you prepare more food than needed you lose money in waste, so figure it out early and stick with it. Running out isn't as serious in the long run as having too much.
 

chowhound

New member
That sounds like sound advice, Joe.

One of my old friends owned a sandwich and soup shop. Just maybe a dozen tables and mostly carryout business. He had a lot of variety in his breads though. All the sandwiches were on big deli(?) style pieces of bread, like they were cut from Italian style loaves, and the textures were fantastic. Even the way they built the sandwich was different, with some of the meats rolled and the lettuce and tomatoes were the greenest and reddest. Good stuff. Lasted about ten years, but he blamed it on the very high price of the rent he was paying and only having a lunch crowd because of the location. It was in a smallish, quaint kind of mall store thing. One where the stores are separate and you walk outside to each one. Lots of dinors in my area don't stay open for supper because there's no attraction to their business after a certain time of day.

Is the place open now, SS? I'd observe it to see if they may have fudged the books on the business they are showing you they do.
 

chowhound

New member
Just to add... this wasn't a brand new experience for him. His father owns a very succesful pizza & sub shop in a hole in the wall plaza store. The only place around you can get a 3 foot long sub. I'm sure his father had a heavy hand in my friend's shop. My friend has since taken over the family pizza shop. Location, location, location.
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
Good morning SS. While I know little about your exact venture, I have been self employed for close ro 20 years. In addition, I ride the train with two executive chefs in the morning.

I believe that your finance experience will be the most valuable. My chef frineds talk more with each other about the cost per serving and delivery schedules than they do about what they cook. I asked one of them about that one day. He told me that it is really a numbers game anymore for him. I find that as well in my business (Computer repair).

What has been said before about keeping a close watch on what you buy and what your customers want is the key. In my years, I have been driven into all manner and sort of new things that I had no idea that I would ever go into due to customer wants and wishes. It is what has fed me over the years.

Find out what they want, give it to them and don't buy things that do not sell. If you have any questions about small business in general feel free to ask.
 

High Cheese

Saucier
All I can add is: I hate shredded lettuce on everything. I always have to specify "leaf lettuce" on my sammies.

Do you have any ideas for a menu? I think different spreads and topping would be cool. Something besides just O/V and mayo.
 

rickismom

Low Carb Home Cook
Site Supporter
Go for it! That's been my lifelong dream to open up my own little place but I know nothing about how to do it or have the funds to do so. I'm so excited for you!! :biggrin:
 
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