Opening your own joint...


 
E

Erik Snyder

TVWBB Fan
Sorry, Not sure where to post this one. Yes, I am interested in opening my own barbeque place. I have posted this on other forum and basically have been told to forget about it, it's too hard, blah, blah, blah. What I'm looking for is some advice. I would somehow like to serve some sort of apprenticeship to learn the craft. What are the chances of me volunteering my time at a well run Q operation? I do have restaurant experience, just not recent. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
Eric,go for it! You might try going to some comps to see if you can get some advice. Of course,they aren't going to give away any secrets,but they might give you an insiders view. A comp is similar to a restaurant,you are just giving the food away instead of to a paying customer!
 
Find out now what your local health department requires for BBQ cookers. My local area has no really good BBQ joints so someone is always thinking they're going to open a joint and revolutionize the industry. Then they find out the health department requires you to use electric or pellet smokers, for precise temp control, and they give up on their BBQ dream.

If your local rules agree with what you want to cook, perhaps you can buy a good smoker and start doing some catering on the weekends. This will let you establish your name and hone your craft without the stress of trying to pay rent on a restaurant, and you should be able to keep you full time job and income.
 
Erik, if you have access to podcasts you should search "bbq central podcast" and look for a 4/27 BBQ Central podcast about getting into the catering business. I haven't listened to it myself but I noticed it while downloading some other stuff.
 
I too say go for it. Good comments about local laws and things to check on too. I would think to look for some resturant forums. I mean, they have to be out there somewhere.

I thought it would be a neat idea to do some "Road Side BBQ". You know like brat frys, but with ribs and pulled pork.
 
Why not?! The restaurant biz is tough (believe the stat is something like 70% fail in the first year.

Good idea about trying to get on at a good bbq joint. Also couldn't hurt to hang out at some comps. Another thought might be to start working with a bbq catering place, or, start your own catering biz first. Get known, get some experience, get some reactions, then think about plunging into a brick and morter.

Good luck!
 
One thing I notice a lot of people do wrong is... They try to do everything in their restaurant. Big chain restaurants can afford to have huge menus. Great private joints have very small menus with amazing quality and consistancy. I would do anything possible to limit waste, build buzz, and guarantee quality.

I would make a limited quantity, and advertise to come early because you will sell out. Post a board, and write down what is sold out as it happens, in front of the customers. Make a big deal out of it. People will love what they get, and plan ahead for the next day or weekend to get there early for sold out items.

Don't make everything under the sun. Do a really good job at one or two things. Some of the most popular places are those with very limited menus. It seems crazy, but if you served nothing but pulled pork, slaw, sweet potato fries, and pecan pie... People would go completely nuts over it. Everything needs to be perfect, every time. The last thing you need is to get a bad review because somebody didn't like your crappy take on bbq spaghetti.

I love the idea of getting into a couple of profitable bbq joints to learn from their successes and failures. The competition thing sounds good to learn technique, but you need to make good food for cheap. Many competitors are going to spend a lot of money to make their food compared to the way you need to do it to MAKE money.

Great food, great service, great atmosphere. If you do that, you can charge anything you want.

Also, play Al Green... People need to feel the love while they eat your 'cue.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ernie D:
One thing I notice a lot of people do wrong is... They try to do everything in their restaurant. Big chain restaurants can afford to have huge menus. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That's what surprised me about the linked story above - his most popular item was Catfish and Hush Puppies! In a M&P BBQ joint?!

.
 
There's a great rib place in Toronto, primarily takeout. While they always have chicken and pastrami, they only have ribs three days a week, and once they're sold, that's it!

Also, have you tried raising questions at BBQ Brethren? There's a lot of pros there.
 
Totally agree with you Ernie on number of menu items. I get so annoyed when I go to place and their menu reads like a stinking novel. Do a couple things well and people should be happy.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ernest Buckley:
This is an interesting thread because so many family members and friends have told me to do the same but I don`t want smoking food to be a job. However, I have given it some thought so I`ll just share some ideas with you...

1. Consider starting a catering biz first. At least you`re working out of your yard/or truck depending on the job. You can also keep your day job...
icon_biggrin.gif
if things work out, great! If not, at least you still have a steady paycheck.

2. Ernie D mentioned keeping the menu small, I completely agree. If I opened a place I would sell ribs and pulled pork with 3 sides (collard greens, beans and fries). I would also only open from 11a till we run out of food Monday - Friday. I would make sure we run out of food by 2p. The point of this is to make the food limited and an exclusive. THE CUSTOMER HAS TO SHOW UP AT A SPECIFIC TIME. This way I`m not married to the biz.

Also, another little feature... the customer better have the cash ready because if you`re getting your food still looking for $$$, you lose your place... NEXT! Soup Nazi style... Just make sure to keep those prices at nice even numbers to keep the line moving. Half rack of ribs/Pulled Pork and 3 sides: $10.00

This approach would work here in Brooklyn because its service with an attitude which people like here. It depends on your location, this may not work south of Jersey! LOL

So thats it: Start Small and Keep it Simple. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
Erik,

Start with your county health dept. Even if you're thinking about catering or serving out of a trailer, there are basic health regulations you must comply with. That includes the prep work performed before serving. Most counties require a commercial kitchen or equivalent for that work. Also, check out your area for competition. How many Q restaurants are there? You need to find out if there is a demand for another. If there's no immediate demand for another, how will you create that demand? You're job will be to pull customers from established restaurants to yours. How will you be different?

Paul
 
must be something in the name, cause ernie and ernest both hit it. keep it simple, make it the best, and make them feel special for getting in on today's batch. they'll definitely bring friends for tomorrow's..
and catering or competitions build experience,
reputation, and legitimacy.
 
If you want to open a joint open a joint. Skip the catering aspect until after you open and are running well. If you want to cater then form a catering start-up; skip the joint till the catering thing is well established. Though joint and catering start-ups have similarities there are significant differences in approach.

Because of liability issues I never accepted unpaid apprentices in any of my kitchens, though I was asked pretty often. However, if the individual was persistent, seemed to have great desire to learn, seemed to have themselves together, I'd bring them on and pay them, training them in every area possible (a good roundsman is always a plus to any restaurateur).

Restaurant success is not just about the food. It's equally about efficient use of space, maximization of labor and food items, price point targeting relative to same, etc. 'Keep it simple' is not a helpful directive to follow - it can hurt you. Not that the menu needs to be complex or lengthy, but its development needs to evolve from a correct understanding of the business venture and the matrix it evokes, not restricted by non-business platitudes.

Being told to 'forget about it' likely comes from the clueless many - you will run into numerous naysayers - who have never done anything even remotely related.

The oft-repeated "7 of 10 restaurants fail in the first year" (or 9 of 10, or the majority - the phrase seems to change periodically) is wholly unsupported - another 'urban myth'.

If you're serious, Erik, try getting a job in any well-run restaurant. The fundamentals are all the same irrespective of menu. The barbecue part of your dream is an easier part (typical Q-joint menus being pretty easy to develop and cook), and you can get much of that part of the info elsewhere.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Nate C:
Konrad Haskins has owned a BBQ Restaurant and could give you some great insight. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My advice is don't do it. At the very least start catering LONG before you go full time. I'm out of the restaurant business, I do offer consulting help.

There is only one BBQ concept that's hitting it out of the park in cold hard cash numbers. NO I won't say what it is for free. If you don't know, you have not done enough homework.

Kevin the failure rate is not an urban myth. There is a lot more to the story. Read fast food nation for the full story.

You must know how to produce a good product when everything goes wrong and how to make money. Those are two different skill sets. Read the E myth, the restaurant doctor and be the best not the cheapest.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Kevin the failure rate is not an urban myth. There is a lot more to the story. Read fast food nation for the full story. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I don't need to. The restaurant failure rate is 1 in 4 in the first year, 3 in 5 in the first five years (either failure or changing hands), a 60% rate, very similar to the rate of other, non-food businesses. In other words, the restaurant biz has no larger, more dramatic failure rate than other businesses so that alone shouldn't dissuade anyone.

Of course, there are other reasons why the restaurant business (or any other self-employment possibility) might not be the right path. One lives and breathes one's own biz - so you gotta love it (or at least like it a lot) or failure looms - and what's the point? Homework - and a personal, self-reflective inventory of one's strengths and weaknesses - is vital. And if fear of failure, whether based on real or imagined failure rate figures, is enough to dissuade you, then probably any self-employment possibility will be a bust. Motivation should come from the prospect of failure, not fear. If that's not the case, well, don't give up the day job.
 
Speaking as only a BBQ consumer with NO experience in the restaurant biz since I was a 17-y-o dishwasher, I offer the following FWIW:

Living in the greater Memphis area, it's easy to see the joints that do good business and those that do not. Those that do have one or more of the following: 1. History, 2. Incredible product, 3. Press, 4. Amazing customer service, 5. A good location.

I say this because in a town where there are so many local joints where you'd expect an outside chain to fail miserably, there's one BBQ joint that came into town and succeeds - Jim-N-Nicks. If you haven't been to one, check them out. They have really good food and BBQ (though definitely not the best), but AMAZING customer service, a wonderfully inviting atmosphere, and a great location.

Just some things I'd keep in mind if I were to open my own business.
 
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