So, we're thinking about opening a restaurant....

[battery chucka' one]

In our town, we can't get a decent cheesesteak. As a result, we're thinking of opening up a place that serves cheesesteaks and chili and such. There's a pretty good sized market around here and it should do well. That's not what I'm worried about. The thing is, I've worked before making cheesesteaks and never really took note of what kind of grill we used. Would a simple griddle such as this, http://www.acitydiscount.com/American-R ... 25.1.1.htm suffice? The last thing we want is to buy a grill and the thing won't cook anything more than eggs and pancakes. Any advice you guys could give me on something such as this would be great. Thanks in advance.

[Mikey]

The page wouldn't display, BTW, and I don't know shit about commercial griddles.

But I do know a place in Chino where you can prolly pick up a ton or 71,000 of surplus beef on the cheap.

[Dinsdale]

But I do know a place in Chino

I've got a wife in Chino, baby
And one in Cherokee
First one says she's got my child
But it don't look like me

[Mikey]

nice...


I set out running but I take my time
A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I might get some sleep tonight

[smackaholic]

No restraunt guru here by any stretch of the imagination, but, I do know that the restraunt bidness is a very tough one.

If you are gonna get in it, you better know what the fukk you're doing or have alot of throwaway money to keep it afloat as you learn the bidness. And if you come in here looking for equipment ideas, I am gonna go out on a limb and guess you might not have that level of knowledge.

Good luck with it, either way.

Where you at, btw?

[smackaholic]

Interweb deadheads are teh sukk.

[smackaholic]

16 hundy will buy ya an assload of george foreman grills.

[Screw_Michigan]

In our town, we can't get a decent cheesesteak. As a result, we're thinking of opening up a place that serves cheesesteaks and chili and such. There's a pretty good sized market around here and it should do well. That's not what I'm worried about. The thing is, I've worked before making cheesesteaks and never really took note of what kind of grill we used. Would a simple griddle such as this, http://www.acitydiscount.com/American-R ... 25.1.1.htm suffice? The last thing we want is to buy a grill and the thing won't cook anything more than eggs and pancakes. Any advice you guys could give me on something such as this would be great. Thanks in advance.

Will you play Stryper over the PA while your customers eat?

[Sol]

Chucka, approach the decision with caution. There is much to know about the restaurant business, 'specially if you plan to actually make money doing it. Identifying a market "need" is a good start, but rarely enough. You have to do a ton of research as you approach this decision, and you better have deep pockets of cash. Friends of mine that live out in the sticks (with rapid growing population) saw the need for a sports bar in their growing town. There were only 2 restaurants in town, 1 was always packed, the other wasn't because their food sucked. So it seemed clear the market need was there. Anyway, long story short, they limped along for about a year, continued to invest huge amounts of savings & retirement in the thing, as they were unable to meet their overhead, and it didn't end well. The "locals" didn't embrace the concept; the landlord kept raising lease fees (in spite of financial struggle of owners); they did lots of fun events like specialty nights; rock bands; etc. These were a pair of MBA's with much business success between them, but who unfortunately, knew little about running a restaurant. Long story short, for the time they were in business they operated well in the red, never turned a profit, and eventually closed the doors to avoid total financial ruin. In the end they managed to sell off some equipment, logged enormous financial loss, and learned a big lesson. Not to say that you shouldn't do it. Just do your homework first. Know the market. And know the in's & out's of the restaurant business. Good luck!

[Dinsdale]

And know the in's & out's of the restaurant business. Good luck!

So, you're saying that jumping into a very competitive business requires that someone might have to have at least a vague clue as to WTF they're doing?

Crazy.I thought all of those restaurant management courses they offered at most major universities were a joke.


How about plastics extrusion? Should a person know a little about that before opening an extrusions shop, or should they just pray really really hard and hope it works?

[Sol]

Biting the ankle of the noob? Nice moves, Big Man. Why are you like, present in EVERY forum? Sheesh....

[Dinsdale]

So, as a "noob," you thought it was in your betterinterest to start dropping "ankle biter" smack, to someone who has never adressed you before?


Well, aren't we just clever?


Uhm... that was poking fun at BCO, you fucking idiot.


See, up until say... right about now, I had little doubt that a dumber motherfucker didn't exist on this board than BCO.

All of a sudden, I'm beginning to doubt my earlier assesment.


Fucking idiot.

[Sol]

Which side of your mouth are you actually talking out of, Dins? Seriously.

To someone that has never addressed me before? Dude, wake up. YOU came after ME. I was minding my own business, trying to be helpful, when you attacked.

Aren't we just clever? No. Apparently you aren't. Read your own post. You were poking fun at me, not BCO, and we both know it. Nice try and nice spin, though. Valiant effort!

And if you truly are looking for a "dumber motherfucker" then it's your lucky day. You need only look to the mirror for that.

Now be a nice boy and ease up with those naughty double negatives for a moment and try to focus. This isn't Cul de Smack ... it's the Cooking Forum.

[Dinsdale]

To someone that has never addressed me before? Dude, wake up. YOU came after ME.

Uhm... no. As clear as the nose on your face, I went after BCO... because he's a fucking idiot.

I was minding my own business, trying to be helpful, when you attacked.

I guess that's one way to look at it... that I "attacked" BCO.

You were poking fun at me, not BCO, and we both know it.

No, really -- I was making fun of the idiot known as BCO... and trust me, I know it.

But see, NOW I'm making fun of you.

Nice try and nice spin, though. Valiant effort!

So, you're having trouble understanding some basic sarcasm, have defended your inability to recognize it multiple times now, and I'm"spinning"?

Awesome.

And if you truly are looking for a "dumber motherfucker" then it's your lucky day. You need only look to the mirror for that.

Neat. A noob from Kansas City -- just what we needed.


You really, honestly fucking suck at this.

[Mikey]

There'll be no smacking in this forum.

Unless it's "good" smack.

Which this, so far, is not.

Consider yourselves warned.

[Sol]

And a BOOB from the U&L. Back atcha, sweetheart.

Did you really stop by the Cooking Forum looking for a fight? Poor you!

Now shut the fuck up, Spins.

[Sol]

My apologies, Mikey.

[Dinsdale]

There'll be no smacking in this forum.

Unless it's "good" smack.

I ran no smack, and merely pointed out that BCO has proven himself, once again, to be an idiot.

Then some KC tard starts swinging his purse unprovoked, attempting to pick a fight in the Cooking Forum.


"I may be a noob, but you're a BOOB!!" BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!


"I know you are, but what am I?" BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!



WTF, Chuck?


Three freaking posts in the forum, and dude needs a timeout... ponderous.

[Goober McTuber]

The last thing we want is to buy a grill and the thing won't cook anything more than eggs and pancakes.

Maybe you should consider opening a pancake house.

Just trying to get this thread back on track.

[Mikey]

I'm thinking he might want to start with a lemonade stand and learn the business from the bottom up.

Russ is still young. He's got plenty of time to learn the ropes. Start small and work your way into it. If the lemonade takes off in a year or so you can invest in a sno-cone machine.

[Goober McTuber]

BCO is Russ???

[Mikey]

Unless my spreadsheet has been corrupted.

And that's always a possibility.

[Goober McTuber]

BCO is an idiot. I can’t believe he could possibly run a message board, let alone a restaurant. Though he certainly seems capable of being cuckolded by a tard like Indy Clown.

I sure hope this is “good” smack, BTW.

[Dinsdale]

Though he certainly seems capable of being cuckolded by a tard like Indy Clown.

That's nothing -- Ken is capable of being cuckolded by his ex.

[battery chucka' one]

Sorry Sol. I see our resident in the closet homosexual (dins) is coming at you. Just be careful as he was one of the few to actually escape from the 'to catch a predator' sting. Perhaps the only. Just remember that bull queers like himself take by force.

Thanks for your advice. The thing is that we have a built in market around here. There's a local defense contractor that employs about 12,000 peeps. They have a lot of money. They like to spend money at lunch on food. My wife works there. She's an engineer. For the record, we're in Cedar Rapids. We want to take our time before we throw away the savings. In college, I worked at a place where we made a ton of cheesesteaks (in Lincoln. Anybody gets a cookie if you guess what restaurant that was.) I actually know how to make a good one. I also know that a lot of local businesses sell them and that I've tried them all. All but one stink. That one is merely passable. I actually have a pretty good recipe for them. As of now, I can only make them with cut up sandwich steaks. You have to go to a distributor to get actual steak meat.

The thing that blows my mind is still how many restaurants exist and have horrible product. I mean, do they just figure out the business design and then try to figure out a recipe? It's insane. Phillies, if done right, are great and addictive. We're still in the early stages. We would offer other things. No tenderloins, however. There's enough places around here selling those crappy things.

Peace.

[Mister Bushice]

A friend of mine had a similar experience with a pizza restaurant. He lived in Texas at the time, and he was working for an established pizza chain based down there.

He'd been managing one of their more successful outlets and they called on him to manage a new location they were opening. They did the research, they had the experience, and yet it failed. They never really understood why because all the research said otherwise - great location, no other pizza place around for miles, local high school and junior college nearby, yet it never took off and they lost a ton, but they were an established chain with a bunch of other successful outlets so it didn't kill them.

My friend told me if he was going to go into the restaurant business himself he estimated that he'd have to have at least $60k in the bank to cover expected first year expenses / losses, not counting equipment purchases. My company did a valuation on a commercial building last year, and one of the new tenants was remodeling a leased space for a new upscale restaurant - to the tune of 200k for the TI work and equipment/ furnishings.

Mikey was on the right track with the lemonade stand concept. If you're new to this business, start small. Open up one of those walk up places first, like they have in New York, east LA,and parts of San Francisco. Just a hole in the wall, low rent, not a lot of need for bunch of employees, minimal equipment, over the counter or out the window sales, and see how it goes from there.

If it fails you won't be out everything. If it succeeds you can expand. Not everyone who has started a successful restaurant went to college to learn how to do it, but it is certainly a big gamble.

I travel quite a bit, and when I'm looking for a place to eat, I don't usually go for the huge sit down restaurant, I like to look for the smaller family run places, but I'll drive right past a place that's open at prime dinner time with no cars in the lot or very few people in the joint. I figure if the locals aren't supporting it, then it's probably not very good.

I don't think anyone has a magic formula. Just a lot of hard work, a good location, smart advertising, and a little luck.

[PSUFAN]

We're still in the early stages.

Ya think?

Oh well. At least you've moved on from the writing game.

Actually, I'm sensing a pattern here. You read Ibsen and find him wanting...now, you're turning your nose up at your local cheesesteak offerings?

You really think it's tough to grill up some steak-ums and ladle velveeta onto some bread? No one in IA has quite got the touch - until you rolled into town, eh?

Stick to wiggling your ass into leopardskin spandex and hitting kids in the head with doctored up bibles. That's one thing you're good at - or at least, no one cares to contest your mastery of the trade, that is...

[PSUFAN]

...shall my advice fall on deaf ears?

[battery chucka' one]

...shall my advice fall on deaf ears?

Oh hey there. I'm sorry, but I usually don't read posts from newbies. Peace.

[SunCoastSooner]

Okay, I worked as a corporate trainer for a large restaurant chain while in college and during the summers would travel to open stores across the country. I'd be willing to bet that many of you enjoy one of my recipes on a regular basis and don't even know it :D . Be aware when opening a restaurant of the risks! First, over 90% of restaurants operate in the red for the first 12 months, and most the first 18 months. It's an industry where you have to tread water to start. 2nd unless it is exclusivly a family owned and operated endevour employee turnover is horrendous and work ethgics in the industry are questionable at best, especially for the non-upper class grub houses. Third Taxes are a bitch in the industry!!!

As far as grills go though I promise you that you want a nickel plated grill and not just a stainless steel grill; they are more expensive but well worth it in the long term. Nickel plated grills accumulate less grease over time, corrode much more slowly, and if the restaurant happens to fail they are much easier to resale and have a much higher value (sort of like the blue book on a car). You also have no need for Carbon blocks to properly cleanse your grill; carbonated water will suffice, is quicker, and produces a much cleaner grill without corression. Nickel plated grills are also more efficient and cost less to opperate.

[SunCoastSooner]

Chucka, approach the decision with caution. There is much to know about the restaurant business, 'specially if you plan to actually make money doing it. Identifying a market "need" is a good start, but rarely enough. You have to do a ton of research as you approach this decision, and you better have deep pockets of cash. Friends of mine that live out in the sticks (with rapid growing population) saw the need for a sports bar in their growing town. There were only 2 restaurants in town, 1 was always packed, the other wasn't because their food sucked. So it seemed clear the market need was there. Anyway, long story short, they limped along for about a year, continued to invest huge amounts of savings & retirement in the thing, as they were unable to meet their overhead, and it didn't end well. The "locals" didn't embrace the concept; the landlord kept raising lease fees (in spite of financial struggle of owners); they did lots of fun events like specialty nights; rock bands; etc. These were a pair of MBA's with much business success between them, but who unfortunately, knew little about running a restaurant. Long story short, for the time they were in business they operated well in the red, never turned a profit, and eventually closed the doors to avoid total financial ruin. In the end they managed to sell off some equipment, logged enormous financial loss, and learned a big lesson. Not to say that you shouldn't do it. Just do your homework first. Know the market. And know the in's & out's of the restaurant business. Good luck!

You just described the first 12 to 18 months of almost every restaurant in America...

[SunCoastSooner]

Very good advice Bush... let me emphasis certain things and elaborate further though if you don't mind... and even a few questions.

A friend of mine had a similar experience with a pizza restaurant. He lived in Texas at the time, and he was working for an established pizza chain based down there.

He'd been managing one of their more successful outlets and they called on him to manage a new location they were opening. They did the research, they had the experience, and yet it failed. They never really understood why because all the research said otherwise - great location, no other pizza place around for miles, local high school and junior college nearby, yet it never took off and they lost a ton, but they were an established chain with a bunch of other successful outlets so it didn't kill them.

This wouldn't happen to be Pizza Huts in the San Antonio/Converse area would it?

My friend told me if he was going to go into the restaurant business himself he estimated that he'd have to have at least $60k in the bank to cover expected first year expenses / losses, not counting equipment purchases. My company did a valuation on a commercial building last year, and one of the new tenants was remodeling a leased space for a new upscale restaurant - to the tune of 200k for the TI work and equipment/ furnishings.

Let me preface by stating I have worked higher up in the food service industry and my specialties in my current occupation are Divided Partial Interest and Entertainment/Service (Restaurants, Bowling Alleys, Strip Clubs, Night Clubs, etc.). I would even think that 60k would be too small an amount to start up with in the hole.

Mikey was on the right track with the lemonade stand concept. If you're new to this business, start small. Open up one of those walk up places first, like they have in New York, east LA,and parts of San Francisco. Just a hole in the wall, low rent, not a lot of need for bunch of employees, minimal equipment, over the counter or out the window sales, and see how it goes from there.

If it fails you won't be out everything. If it succeeds you can expand. Not everyone who has started a successful restaurant went to college to learn how to do it, but it is certainly a big gamble.

I completly agree. You can always exp[and or move to a new location should the business take off at some point. Also with the concept you seem to have I would think that a greasy spoon enviroment might be a posative rather than a negative.

I travel quite a bit, and when I'm looking for a place to eat, I don't usually go for the huge sit down restaurant, I like to look for the smaller family run places, but I'll drive right past a place that's open at prime dinner time with no cars in the lot or very few people in the joint. I figure if the locals aren't supporting it, then it's probably not very good.

I don't think anyone has a magic formula. Just a lot of hard work, a good location, smart advertising, and a little luck.

A Lot of Luck!!!

[Adelpiero]

BCO is Russ???

bco is a tard who lives/lived in mommy and daddys basement till he was in his thirties.

[OCmike]

You really think it's tough to grill up some steak-ums and ladle velveeta onto some bread?

I was thinking the same thing. A cheesesteak, while good as fuck, ARE good as fuck because it's beef, onions and peppers hot off the grill smothered in cheese and slapped on a decent roll. They're good eats because unless you let stuff sit around for a half hour after cooking, they're impossible to screw up. It's hardly something you "have a special recipe for". BWAHAHAHAHA...wait, lemme guess...the secret is "celery salt", right? BWAHAHAHA!!!!