If you could open any style of restaurant and someone just gave you the money, what style would you pick?
Any cuisine - what would you pick?
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Some kind of fusion that blends 2/3 cuisines. Won't write exact specific here
Damn it and here I was trying to steal the idea and franchise it....now you've foiled my plans...
Only takeaway + available on all food delivery apps in a very banker/rich neighborhood. Italians food with high quality locally sourced products. Main products would be pizza and Florence style sandwiches + all kind of Italian finger foods.
So, I worked in fine dining in college. I liked high end dining because people are usually much more involved and passionate. If I opened a place, I'd model it after a "neighborhood joint" I worked at in a wealthy neighborhood. It was fun having the facilities of a fine dining place and having access to the same quality of ingredients, but without some of the negatives like really picky, one-off clients and chasing food trends from Instagram.
If you're in Brooklyn, check out Frankies 457. That's the vibe.
you my boy blue!
Fast casual burger place. Strictly burgers, fries and shakes and try to make them as amazing as possible
Johnny Rockets?
Sounds good
Easy: old-school Chinese food, just like at the Kowloon. Years ago, Boston had an amazing selection of places to get your fix; Golden Star, the Kowloon, South Pacific, etc. were some of the coolest places to spend time, between the big portions and the hearty rum-filled drinks menu. Nearly all these places have closed, or in the case of the Kowloon, are on the verge of closing. It's a damn shame to people like my family and I who grew up with places like this, so that's why I'd choose to go with that. I'd pay any price to get the taste of the flaming ambrosia at South Pacific, washed down with a big ol' Scorpion Bowl.
Latest it sounds like is Kowloon is selling off a big piece of its property to build apartments and shrinking from 1,200 seats to 300. Will definitely be a shell of itself at that point but at least they're sticking around (hopefully).
I think I heard something about that recently. You're certainly right about it being a shell of its former self, and it's gonna drive people around here mad. Hopefully the family can find a way to keep it open for as long as they can; it really would be a damn shame to lose it.
Honestly, I wouldn't open up a restaurant even if I was fully funded due to the inherent risks involved. You have to ensure food quality/safety standards are met, everything is cleaned routinely and in such a way to avoid infection, the cooking equipment is used properly so the restaurant doesn't burn down, be on top of capacity planning to ensure customers are happy, find high quality waiters/waitresses (that aren't paid great due to margins), and then finally the customers have to like the food.
That's a LOT more stressful than just plugging numbers in Excel and aligning logos/charts in PPT.
Yeah, but I think the owner position has many advantages. You can make sweeping changes and do the hiring/firing. You execute your vision and everyone else does the dirty work. Get fresh honest local food and your customers and profits will be happy.
Of course, but making "sweeping changes" and deciding the correct employees carries a high level of responsibility and risk.
It's fun until your expo quits mid-shift and you go from sitting with your Tinder date at the bar "of the place you own" to working in the kitchen in your Gucci slides until midnight.
That exact situation happened while I was working at a top-100 restaurant.
Jesus Christ, even in a hypothetical fantasy you're insufferable. You must be fun at parties.
Eh not that hypothetical tbh. If you've worked long enough in finance you could definitely find people to fund you.
Taco joint - everyone loves a good taco.
Agreed.
Mexican. And it totally depends what MSA. But who doesn't love Mararitas, tacos, guacamole and chips, 7 types of salsa(Empellion), and rice and beans, and yuca fries
Pho. Always busy on rainy days.
Pho is pretty good - I never had it until last year when my Asian ex girlfriend used to cook it. Then we went to Vegas and I had some Pho there too - very satisfying. The Banh Mi sandwich is good too.
it's perfect for a hangover too
a kebab restaurant where you have to weigh the items that get put on the kebab
Food truck with munchie type food
A place that only serves high quality and healthy food. To start a business, I would need to have a vested interest in the idea, in additional to making money.
I think a 24hr buffet of healthy food would be awesome.
a mid to high end butcher where you can also have the meat cooked onsite if you'd like. There's a spot in Prague that would serve as my template:
https://www.nasemaso.cz/en/
https://www.yelp.com/biz/na%C5%A1e-maso-praha
Love this idea. My butcher does this. Small, one man joint that does high quality meats, dry ages his own shit, premarinades select stuff, all by hand and has a little grill on the side. Not very high volume but has a VERY loyal base.
hell yeah, that's badass. I'm sure it's amazing.
Sushi or Steak - I love cooking both of these and I think knowing that other people would be coming to my restaurant just to eat my food would give me huge motivation to really nail down some of the styles/techniques - albeit I would say sushi is probably very very difficult to master haha. Either of these would give me the biggest sense of personal pride if I did have people who enjoyed the dishes.
It could be a sushi / steakhouse hibachi place.
good taste
If given the opportunity, I would open a Chic-fil-a. Hard to get into, no multi-unit ownership, owner/operator principle, etc.
A single Chic-fil-a QSR makes more than 5M $US p.a., which is very high in this industry segment.
lol “Chic” fil-A - I like it. Have everyone dress up real cool. It’s like a spin off of Chick-fil-A.
It is a restaurant where chicken products are served by fashionable, chic people.
I invented it, there you go!
An indian restaurant similar to chipotle. I have had this idea in the back of my mind since elementary/middle school. In the last few years, a few people have attempted such a thing, but I feel like it focuses too much on appetizer/casual food. I want better and more buttery curries, richer sauces (the ones the current shops are using are more appetizer-type sauces) and more emphasis on true indian cuisine. Everyone knows about samosas, but stuffing it in a wrapped-up naan and putting some overused tamarind chutney on top isn't fresh. Id start in LA or NY of course, and expand from there.
The Subway / Chipotle fast casual assembly line model within a category where it doesn't really exist yet. Maybe sushi? I.e., work from left to right to build a roll from start to finish. Idk
BnB in Belize. Use it to launder money and chill.
I would start a Build Your Own Bags of chips in giant ziplock bags with salad bars full of different crackers and chips so you can scoop them into the ziplock bag to make your own trail mix of chips and crackers like Gardettos or Munchies.
Sounds good, but I think hanging clear dispensers might be the better play. Salad bars are messy and you’d likely have to use tongs or spoons and the chips may break.
I would never open a restaurant. The only people I know making money in restaurants are people that live & breathe it 24/7 so they don't get to enjoy the money. They're up at 4AM in the markets, doing the books at 8AM, hiring at 10AM, working in the kitchen by Noon, prepping dinner service at 4, etc, etc. Fuck that, you have to really love the business to make that the rest of your life.
I’ve met successful owners who don’t work anywhere near close to those hours. Maybe opening demands more hours, but you don’t have to work much maintaining if you have a good manager and executive chef.
that's the goal, but I would say those are the lucky few. It really is a back breaking business and takes a lot to succeed, not to say success came easy to them, but there are a lot of hard workers in the restaurant industry who never make it happen.
So basically if someone gives you two options:
- Open a restaurant with $3 million
- Burn $3 million in a dumpster
You would just rather burn the cash than be an owner? Seems kinda sick.
A proper bakery. Full grain, milled on site, various blends, all sourdoughs, no yeasts added, just flour, water and salt for the bread. Other pastries and bakery products, too, but mostly just good fucking bread. There is a place in DC that does it, and it's the best goddamn thing I've ever had. There is so much flavor in a fresh wheat berry, but we strip it all out so it can be shelf-stable. Anytime I'm in DC I grab a loaf. The other half of the place would be a solid tea/cafe. Variety of loose teas, and whatever shit is nice for coffee (I don't drink it so I don't know. Espresso machines? Cold brew? What's the impressive stuff for coffee?).
Ideally, I would just be able to sit down, have a nice cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey with some toast and butter and read the morning paper.
Are you talking about Seylou Bakery by any chance
Hell yeah, that's exactly it.
you bring up a very good point: relative to other countries (especially Europe), the US in general does not have quality bread for an affordable price. Most stuff at the grocery store is either flavorless, has little nutritious value, or is fairly expensive. High end bakeries are amazing, but are still pretty rare and so can command high prices. It would be amazing to have more bakeries with higher quality products.
Pizza place, or a grilled cheese food-truck
Sounds good
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