Q. What kind of experience do I need?
A. You have to be a
hard worker, and be able to motivate people, and treat your customers
like family (if you like your family). We will take care of teaching
you the rest of the business.
Q. How important is the location?
A.
Many times my clients have told me that they have the perfect location,
and it’s only a couple of miles from home. 9 times out of 10 the
location is worthless. Over my 33 years in the restaurant business, one
of the things I have learned is you can put a good operator in a good
location, and they will make it. Put a good operator in a bad location,
and they probably won’t make it. I have seen sub par operators go into
good locations, have trouble making it, that operator is replaced with
a good operator, and low and behold it’s a successful location!
Q. How much money do I need?
A.
This is a difficult question to answer without knowing what your idea
of the concept you like is. Typically you can finance with a bank loan
with 20-35% of the total project cost in cash. Furniture, fixtures and
equipment can cost anywhere from about $25,000 for a kiosk up to
$110,000 depending on the level of service you want to provide, and
what size restaurant you want to run.
We have experience with
kiosks that take up less than 50 square feet, to full service
restaurants occupying as much as 8000 square feet. Projects can be
$150,000 to $1,000,000 or more depending on the concept and the square
footage of the location.
Q.I have a concept in mind, but I don’t have any food experience can you help me?
A.
We have Chefs with Culinary School degrees to assist you and the
necessary in house experience to design the restaurant around your
concept. We already have concepts we have done that can be altered to
fit your needs and your market.
Q. What about fees?
A.
This depends on how many and how much of our services you need. We
usually do a turn key job. In other words, we perform all of the
functions you need from start to finish (getting you open). We are
happy to discuss your ideas, just call us, that costs nothing.
Q. How long does it take to get into business?
A.
If you have an existing location that has been a restaurant, you can be
in business in 2-3 months. If you have a vacant space, plan on 6
months. If we need to look for a location, negotiate a lease, and do a
build out, plan on about 9 months or more.
Q. Do you come to our location to train?
A.
Definitely, this is the only way to help ensure your success. This can
take 7-14 days depending on the complexity of the job. This does not
include all of the training you will be doing by long distance. We
generally train you and your employees at your location prior to
opening. We have simplified our operations to the point that we can
have you expert in operating your store in about two weeks of intense
training. We also assist in hiring your key people if you like. All
training is tied to a detailed operations manual, which means
procedures will be easy to follow after we leave.
Q. How much space do we need?
A.
Anywhere from 400 to 2500 square feet is typical. Smaller stores with
limited service are generally found in dense urban, downtown locations,
where walk up traffic is the main source of sales. In the suburbs we
usually find spaces that are from 1500 to 2500 square feet.
Q. How much does the construction (tenant finish) cost?
A.
Generally, it costs $60 to $100 a square foot. A little less for large
locations, but if you are located in high rent districts, or unionized
areas, construction could be much higher. This varies greatly with what
we can negotiate with the landlord. If we find a space that was used
for a restaurant before you, it could be significantly less. Old
buildings generally require more fix up and cost more. “In line” spaces
in suburban centers anticipate tenants such as us, therefore many of
the services we need are already available.
Q. What about other costs?
A.
There are costs such as advertising, licenses, utility deposits,
uniforms, food and small wares inventory, local architectural (design),
and working capital. These costs should be $10,000 to $30,000.
Q. How do we obtain the equipment?
A.
We are equipment dealers; therefore we save you a great deal of money
by buying at cost and having all equipment drop shipped directly from
the factory to your location. We specify each item, arrange the
logistics of shipping, and order all needed equipment. We will
coordinate with the local contractor for the installation, and hooking
up of the equipment.
| |
|
|
We look forward to personally talking with you.
|
|
