Restaurant business?

Open a pizza shop in a college town. Cheap (and probably sexy) labor, stay open til 5 am and charge $1 per slice. BANK.

Canyon pizza at penn state does this and has a line out the door every night of the week.
 


Makavelimob said:
Open a pizza shop in a college town. Cheap (and probably sexy) labor, stay open til 5 am and charge $1 per slice. BANK.

Canyon pizza at penn state does this and has a line out the door every night of the week.
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Their pizza is actually terrible too. Granted I haven't eaten it in two years and I only ate it sober once.
 
@emp, if the winners in a restaurant are coffee and tea, why wouldn't you open a place that only sells those?
@RedFire, I imagine that one of the things that matter for a coffee shop is that country's coffee culture.
Back home, we have a pretty strong coffee culture, a lot of the social interaction happens over a coffee (meetings, dates, catching up, etc) but then again, I've seen a lot almost empty during the day. The ones who were successful were the ones who created a lunch menu and added some unconventional desserts, they're opening their 3rd location now.

I had a friend who opened a pub near a college camp in Bucharest, during the day it was completely empty, he only had customers, full capacity, in the evenings when he organized parties but at the end of each month he injected money in it to keep it alive. After less than a year he close it down.

I'm in London right now and I have this amazing coffee shop near my uni, small one, owned by an italian family, they have 4-5 tables inside and they have a lot of take-away's but I think it's only enough to keep them going and bring in a small profit.

Then again, you have coffee shops like Nero, that italian coffee shop in the UK, that now has over 500 locations. Take a look at their expansion Caffè Nero
 
One possible lower risk alternative is ice cream. Everyone likes ice cream so your market is big. Hire at the wage floor, no serious culinary skills required from employees, less expensive equipment, way higher margins, and if your location and service are good you can bank hard. And if you're in a seasonal part of the world you can shut down for a few months and travel or make more internet monies.
 
@nomak .. there are places that do this (Starbucks, anyone?) Problem is that you need other factors (free wifi, nice hangout place, food) to draw in people.

In all seriousness, the restaurant business is horrible. It takes a lot of experience in the field and a good buisness head on your shoulders to make it profitable.

::emp::
 
Leaving the restaurant business aside for a bit, haven't you guys considered starting an offline business at some point ? It might create an interesting synergy. You could invest the money from IM into your offline business, buy more property, etc. Then, when the online business is not doing so good, you have the offline business to back it up. They could be very complementary to each other.
 
nomak said:
Leaving the restaurant business aside for a bit, haven't you guys considered starting an offline business at some point ? It might create an interesting synergy. You could invest the money from IM into your offline business, buy more property, etc. Then, when the online business is not doing so good, you have the offline business to back it up. They could be very complementary to each other.
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My uncle has told me to always invest in what I understand, I like to think that I understand internet marketing a lot more than any other offline business so I reinvest my money into that and then put the rest of my money in investments that I understand to some degree (long term positions in stocks mostly with a little short term trading).

There are heaps of threads on WF about offline businesses, personally I hate them. No matter what you do it's a lot of work and you're not going to get a decent return on your time unless you have multiple locations.

In regards to restaurants, or any business really go to one you think is making BANK and ask them about it (you can pretend to be interested in the business but most people will give you a vague idea of how they are doing). You'd be surprised by how many of them are struggling/making only a fraction of what you expect.
 
nomak said:
Leaving the restaurant business aside for a bit, haven't you guys considered starting an offline business at some point ? It might create an interesting synergy. You could invest the money from IM into your offline business, buy more property, etc. Then, when the online business is not doing so good, you have the offline business to back it up. They could be very complementary to each other.
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I always look to expand my offline business. I've never been comfortable with Google and I'm working on stuff to get me away from relying on search engines.


Right now I'm planning real estate moves. Trying to decide whether to go residential solo or commercial with some associates and family. Outside of my online consulting company I am a partial owner of a pool cleaning company and a consumer electronics product due to hit shelves in 2013

tldr - I don't trust the internet
 
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The hot new thing in cuisine is gourmet food trucks. No rent to pay, and it's far easier to reinvent your concept if your Siberian tacos or whatever aren't selling by changing your truck and menu.
 
BlueYonder said:
The hot new thing in cuisine is gourmet food trucks. No rent to pay, and it's far easier to reinvent your concept if your Siberian tacos or whatever aren't selling by changing your truck and menu.
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Its not all peaches and cream. Dont kid yourself about not having rent. Someone is getting paid. Even the guys selling fruit on the city streets in NY are paying $100 a day for their little corner. And the health codes are just as stringent (if not more)

The real money in mobile food vending is at large festivals. You typically pay 20 to 30% rent but at the right place you could pull $30k+ a week at the best shows. The big problem is getting a prime space. Many of these food vendors have been doing it for years and never give up their spots. You have to wait for someone to die to get in and even then its no guarantee.

With that said. If I were ever to go back into the restaurant game I would go with a Mobile business. Its just as hard work but you will have much more freedom and opportunity.
 
Wow opening a resturant......

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