Openning my own place and need advice
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am working on the menu for my 1st restaurant...
I am working on the official propoposal that will be given to investors (I have 2 different resaurant themes..1 is Italian deli/sit down restaurant and the other is a BBQ place)....

I have the Italian deli menu all worked out and I have BBQ menu done as well but I thought that I would ask what it is that you would like to have or have had at your favorite BBQ place.....So...


What it is that you would like to have or have had at your favorite BBQ place???

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Wow, That is really a big step...One that, regardless of the outcome, you will never forget working on.

Food and Beverage is a hard industry to be successfull in, and it's rarely the food itself that will make or break you.

It's all the other stuff that makes the visit enjoyable. An easy atmosphere, friendly wait staff, quick service and amenities, that a customer looks for, and more importantly, what your investors look for.

The menu will generally take care of itself, some things will sell, and some things won't. It's making the customer happy that will bring them back.

In my humble opinion, the things that make an eatery enjoyable is a ready supply of beer, a happy waitress, and good food...In that order.

I hope you a lot of luck in this edeavor.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

ilove huge steakes, just because i love steak in general and if im going to pay money for them they better be big. but i like ribs as well

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Different types of barbeque .. sweet, smokey, etc. Offer something exotic, bbq buffalo, etc. Fudruckers, a burger chain, offers emu burgers... something with a hook, to catch people's attention, but unique and tastey too.

Good luck!

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

ya, having worked in quite a few places over the years I have seen a lot of stuff and honestly my biggest consideration is this....
LOCATION, LOCATION and LOCATION...
i am on the main hwy to the southern entrance of Yosemite so the tourist traffic is a big, BIG thing but i will need to be close enough to the locals to survive the slow down that comes with winter...BBQ is what i want to do (and if i include a delivery service it will really be a big time bonus for both the customers and my business)....

i am saving every post here to my own computer to a special area devoted for this endevor....when it happens (and it will happen) i will let you all know and there will be a special for my huntingnet pals.....hmmmm not sure what but it should be good....maybe a bottemless mug of beer or something...i am not sure......;)

please let me know what was missing from or the best thing that you ever had at a BBQ place...all advice is more than welcome.....

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

All right, this might not qualify, but have plenty of those moist towelettes handy!

:D:D:D:D:D

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

You are going to go out of business if you do that!:)

For me, the thing that will make me return (which is the most important as far as I'm concerned) is great service, and awesome bbq sauce. Lots of bbq places are the same, and the side items are usually compairable, but if you have yourself a great bbq sauce, I will return to your place. mmmmmmmmmmmm, bbq. Of course even the best bbq sauce in the world won't cover up for a crappy piece of meat, but you get the picture.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

The best ribs I ever ate were from a local Bar/Restaurant. It was all in the sauce, The owner was a good frind of mine and would never let anyone know how he made it. I tried watching but would always get chased. He started with.1/2-1 gal. Open Pit BBQ sauce then added about 6 ozs of Jack Daniels, Mug of Beer The rest was kept confidential . So work on your BBQ sauce. Good Luck PS He baked the ribs in the oven the day before for about 4-6 hrs then put them in the walk in fridge and just throw on the grill the next day to heat and brown. The meat fell off the bone.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

I think the delivery part will go over great. I wish I could get bbq delivered around here. I wish I could get descent bbq around here. Will you deliver to colorado?

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

I've always been partial to places that bring beer to the table iced down in a galvanized bucket six at a time, and have a big hole in the middle of the table with a trash can underneath. You just toss your bones and bottles down the hole as you finish them.:D

A roll of paper towels on the table is a good touch, along with a few wet wash cloths.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Thanks for ideas and opinions!!!!!

Keep 'em coming!!!!

I really like the idea about the tables with the holes for bones and stuff as well as the one about bringing the beer in a bucket of ice.....I have never seen or heard of anything like those before.....Definately going to be part of my place!!!!:D

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

I used to always order the buckets, keeps the beer cold plus you only pay for five and get the sixth free.:), Its always taste better when there on the house.(Thats why there's always a ladder on my van):D;)

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

oh and by the way...every post here HAS added to my plans...whether it is about moistened towelettes or buckets of beer...it is ALL helping me BIG TIME and being noted!

Thanks Again!

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Michael,

In the end, your wait staff is gonna be your strongest or weakest link. Regardless of your intentions and enthusiasm, If you don't have dedicated and reliable help, it's over before you sell your first rib.

About three years ago, I was intent on building a resteraunt adjacent to my current bussiness. I checked all the applicable codes, lined up the finances, had bids for the work, and everything was looking rosey.

It was my intention to build something along the lines of an "appleby's" or "TGIFridays".

After further research, the lack of willing help was my ultimate decision maker as to NOT build a resteraunt.

You've got to have perky, cheery staff, ALL the time to be successful.

If you have that particular situation taken care of, then there is item number two.

If you are gonna be catering to tourists, then you gotta know what tourists want.

This might sound a little expensive, and sure enough, it is, but the return will more than pay for the initial outlay.

Go on a three or four month trip around the country eating at every BBQ place you can find. Take notes on the things you like, and take notes of the things that turn you off.

When your done, you will either be so sick of BBQ that you never want to be around it again, or you will be excited to put all of the things you just learned into practice.

Again, the kitchen work is the light duty part of running an eatery...It's all the things that the public see's, that is your final grade.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Now, with that negative sounding post out of the way, I would like to mention a few things that I have enjoyed while eating at various BBQ places around the country.

- Lots of parking...

- Outdoor music, when I have parked, I like to hear music...It kind of gets me in the mood, and builds the anticipation for going inside. (A few out-door speakers does the trick)

-No waiting around when I walk in...Even if there IS a wait, someone should make it a point to address me personally and tell me about how long it will bebefore I can be seated...It's common courtesy, and it goes a long way.

-Your wait staff...I know...I've mentioned this before, but here is a favorite trick of successfull resteraunts: When the waitress comes up to a table, he/she should take the time to look around, pull up an available chair, and hold a thirty or forty second conversation, take your order, ask if you want it "NOW", or drink a few beers first, and THEN put in the order. Your wait staff should never appear like they are in a hurry...The guy sitting at the table should at least APPEAR to be his/her only customer.

-Smell is the holy grail of BBQ places. Keep the wood burning from the time you open untill the time you close, if you have to,,,dedicate a fire to do nothing but smell good.

-I always have liked the idea of seeing the chickens and pig parts on the grill when I walk in, an open air BBQ litterally makes some folks go weak in the knees. Put it out there for folks to see.

Music, beer and BBQ...You can never go wrong with that concept, I hope you the best of endeavors.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Whatever you offer, just ,make it the best in the area, offer them plenty to eat , good service, friendly attitude, let them know you enjoy their presence adn they will come, time and time agaian. Good luck... Ron

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

It should already be on the menu, but in case it isn't- Pulled pork, lots of it.

Others have made good points, good sauces and a variety of sauces will keep me coming back. Another thing I look for is good cornbread- it's not all that hard to get right, but you'd be amazed at the number of bbq places i've been to with subpar cornbread.

Also, a good variety of quality beers is a big draw. It may not be feasible to have a bunch on tap, but if you can pick up a few good local or regional brews and supplement that with a couple of good national 'micro' brews and a couple of good imports you'll be well on your way. I enjoy a bud or a coors when I'm having a few, but if I'm sitting down to a nice flavorful dinner I want something with a little body, not a watered down "pilsner".

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

when i worked in a bbq joint the owner told me that in the south it is common for a bbq'd pork sandwhich to have a pile of cole slaw on it as well as the regular stuff that we (out west put on them) like grilled onions and lots of sauce.......can you guys tell about whether this is true or not?

i imagine that it is true but in all my years i have, to the best of my recollection, never had a customer ask to have a pork sammy southern style.......wait, maybe there was one guy but i can't really remember for sure....

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

I don't know about common, but I've had them come that way. I always took it off though. Coleslaw is real hit and miss with me. I like mommies coleslaw which is alot like kfc, the vinegar stuff makes me gage.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

My favorite Bar-B-Que place was called Shorty's. The place was always packed out, they had good cold draught beer in frosted mugs, but what I loved about the place is there speciality was corn on the cob served in a corn cob tray and loaded with butter. Hmm... I can still remember how tender the corn was and butter running down my chin. The tables there were picknic type tables and they would use rolled paper to cover the table after each setting. Good luck on your endeavor and keep us posted on how its going. ;) Bobby

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

well last night i think that i got the bbq sauce and rub just right....oh man were the ribs perfect!!!!:D

these last 2 bring my total sauces to 3 and rubs to 2.

sauces = citrus glaze, jamaican jerk and a kansas city style bbq sauce

rubs = an unbelivabl steak rub and a very unique all-purpose bbq type rub

All are homemde and really, really delicious!!!




any suggestions on sauces or rubs?

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

I make a few bbq sauces, my favorite is kind of a sweet/hot one goes like this..

16 oz ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1 t salt
1 t garlic salt
1 t black pepper
1 t whorecherstir (I can't say it or spell it) sauce
1 t liquid smoke

Just heat it up on stove to dissolve everything

This bbq sauce has always gotten great comments from friends and people who have eatten it

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

are those Tablespoons or Teaspoons?

it sounds pretty good and i will give it a try.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

little t is teaspoon, sorry

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

that is what i figured but thought that i would ask anyway......

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Some good ideas out there. I'm hungry now!!!

Like others have said, I think the single most important thing in business is Customer Service!!!!! Set a standard from day 1 and chose your staff wisely or like someone said, it's over before you sell your first rib. There are places around where I live that I will NEVER eat at again even though their food may be better and price even cheaper. Whether conciously or not, people want good customer service. Constantly monitor you staff and get feedback from your customers.
Next, I've always been partial to unique atmosphere in the food business. I like places like let's say a Ruby Tuesdays (can't think of any others at the moment). I also love Sports affiliated places but that's just me. I guess my point is I like places that have a "theme" to them. Top it off with a great curtious staff and it feels like you're at home.
I may be different on my next view here. But, I don't think food really matters. I know that sounds really bizzare to everyone. I mean you have to have a decent menu, but lets' face it. You're simply not going to seperate yourself from the other zillion Italian Delis out there. Have a good menu and price point, but I'm not sure anything on the menu will have a substantial effect on your business in comparison to other things. People can get food anyplace. Nowadays they are out for the overall experience and I think the other intricacies are outweighing the food portion of it. JMO.
It's tough for JOEs beef to compete with a franchise driven industry nowadays. You need to find your niche in the industry. If it were me I'd focus on what's going to seperate my place from others. I'd start with the overall concept of your place first and then fill in the menu and food. You can always upgrade and make adjustments on the food. Once your place opens you want word to be traveling about everywhere of what a great place it is to eat at.

oh yeah. location helps!!:D

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

My favorite food is General Tsoa's chicken. I know it's Chinese, but there is something about that sweet but spicey-hot sauce that gets me. A bbq sauce that incorporates thse kinds of flavors would be really good, I think.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Congrats Michael!!!
I like it sweet and smokey.......
I like it slow cooked and fall off the bone tender.......
I was once in Dodge City Kansas and there was a bbq resturaunt there where the
cook was cooking all of his bbq out side on a big probably 6' homemade grill.
It wasn't fancy.....But.......boy was it good!!
He had his own sauce... He could've bottled it and sold it....maybe something to think about in the future.....bottle your own secret sauce.
Doesn't have to be a fancy place....just a comfortable homey place with great food..
maybe a house band to come in on Friday and Saturday nights.
God bless your efforts........:)

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

I would like to add one last thing to this topic. I absolutely love to BBQ stuff. From chicken thighs to whole pigs (I named the last one Hillary)

But you must remember, cooking pigs for your friends a few times a year ain't like doing it seven days a week forever.

Make sure that you are willing to take the step into the realm of the self-employed. It will consume ALL of your time. It will be a rare occasion indeed that you can go see family and friends. Go to weddings, funerals, birthday parties or even the occasional back yard BBQ.:D

It's a full time, dedicated, gotta love it, kind of thing.

Remember...If it was easy...Then everyone would be doing it.:D

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

DING we found the answer!!!!!!!!!!!!! You need to get Will Hung to sing at your place at least 3 times a week!!!!!! you'll make millions.


SHE BANGS!!!!

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Congrats and good luck. I live in the BBQ capitol of the world.
Lexington, High Point, etc is right down the road. These people live for BBQ. You need your pork BBQ, beef BBQ, and BBQ chicken quarters on the menu. Add some frys and dessert. Mainly peach cobbler and banana pudding down south.
Now, get a house band on the weekends and add beer.

Here is the kicker in a main BBQ place down here. The "HOT" competition. They have hot, hotter, damn hot, blister, and legal hot sauces. One Saturday a month they serve wings and whoever can eat the most/hottest wings wins a free meal (BTW, their legal hot, you have to sign an affidavit to eat it.)

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

I bartended for 18 years so I`ll look at it from that end. Do you want a beer and wine bar, a full cocktail bar, with or without a dance floor, a shooter bar, standup, singles, live or taped music? The list goes on. I would imagine this all depends on the laws in your state/province as to which would be allowed. Is there anything else like your bar near by, you don`t want too much competition.
What is the "fad" these days in your area, country, rock, dance, retro for eg? In my area, country was very strong for about 10 years, now it is getting back to classic rock or dance. There is always new bars popping up in my city but they never last very long, some last less than a year, some lasting two or three years. We have one bar that is the exception and it has been around for almost 20 years and still going strong.
You have to look at the long term here and see if there is a future for a restaurant in your area. Remember also, you will not see any profit for at least five years nor will you be able to pay yourself much of a salary. Are you starting from a new building or redecorating an older one? I may live in a different country but I am pretty sure the same "gameplan" applies here.

I wish you all the best in your endevours and I hope I was of some help to you. I have won all sorts of awards for my bartending and was quite well known in my time, so it can be a hoot if everything has fallen into place.
Please remember these three key words too......LOCATION, LOCATION, and LOCATION!

Good luck,

Ron:D

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Good luck with your restaurant. I hope you beat the odds and are succesful.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Thanks for all the advice!!!


Ya.,,,, I kow what I am in for (been working in the restaurant business off and on for years) and can't wait to actually get started!!!!!!!!

I TRULY LOVE to COOK!!! It is the only thing that I have ever enjoyed (as far as work goes)!

Keep the posts coming!!!!! (I think that I am going to actually pull off the bottemless mug of beer thing for those that give advice.......of course that will change if there is a huge number of posts....);)

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Michael,

I have two BBQ joints that I love to patronize.
one is a hole in the wall bar that has the best ribs on earth. they fall off the bone and have a wonderful sauce. those are my two ingredients for good ribs.

then second is the wildhorse saloon in Nashville. It is more famous for having CMT line dancing at it, , but has teh best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had.

a couple of things that I have read that I really think would appeal to more people is having a variety of sauces. I like the sweet BBQ. Others like the vinegar based. if you have those options, you would appeal to a larger audience. You can also cater to families by offering BBQ by the pound. Offer a whole smoked chicken. things like that. If I'm ever out that way, I will definetly stop by to try it out!!!

beej

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Best of luck to you Mike, as a certified Chef I can"t say much more than what anyone in the previous post haven't already mentioned, I had a place in North Alabama for a few years and had to sell it as I was in the middle of a divorce and could never have worked it with my wife as she was hard enough to get along with at home so I sold it and split the money with her, I moved to East Texas and opened a place there and 4 months into the biz some idiot ran a red light and broadsided my girlfriends Jeep and I got hurt bad and had to close my place as I didn't know anyone well enough to trust them to run things the way I intended things to be run, so I'm back to square one again. I am getting better and will soon be able to work again (I hope), anyways I want to make something perfectly clear, location can play a big part in your endeavor but don't bank on that alone, I have been to places that were located in the sticks 10 - 15 miles away from civilization and jst the food and word of mouth were enough to bring folks running back for more, the thing is you have to be original and not copycat others, I know it's a tough business to get into but folks are more apt to seek out the original places if they have been there before and will pass on the copycat diner in a heart beat unless you are the only place around for miles, I say this because I have seen it, I have created 15 Dry Rubs 6 Marinades and 9 different types of sauce and I sell them to sports bars and such and always get raves, their's nothing like having a signiture sauce that noone else has or can duplicate, everything I make I make alone with no prying eyes allowed not even my girlfriend knows what I put in my sauces, rubs and marinades thats how a secret stays a secret. bar-b-q is bar-b-q but if you haven't got your own special sauce or something noone else has you may as well stop before you get started. Dont get me wrong I admire tenasity and spunk but if you are serving Chili's Babyback Ribs I'm going to Chilis for the real thing, The Carolina's are well known for their Pulled pork as well as Texas is known for its bar-b-qed Brisket and Kansas for its style of Ribs I have eaten and can duplicat all of them but wouldn't serve them in my Restaurant for anything in the world even though I have had people request them I still stuck to my guns and made my own nitch and the people loved it. I make Carolina B-B-Q every Sunday cause I love it, pulled pork is a winner with me but when I opened my place in Texas I created my own version of B-B-Q brisket and a sauce to go with it, as well as pulled pork I make my own rubs and then I create a signiture sauce from the drippings, although I record everything I put in the sauces and file them away somewhere safe, when I make pulled pork the sauce is a daily creation and I only replicate it when it is requested by a customer (ie. regulars) that like things the same everytime they eat it. Like my Hotwing Sauce is not even close to the original Sauce made by the Anchor Bar and Grill in Buffalo N.Y where I have eaten many times it is just a blend of (Durkees) now known as Frank's Hotsauce and Butter thats it nothing special about it in my opinion, my Hotwing Sauce consists of about 20 ingredients and is much more flavorful as well and I make it in mild, medium and what I call Hell-Fire and the last is gaurenteed to water your eyes and send you serchin for a cool creek to splash on your bottom the next day, LOL pardon the pun. what everyone has said about your wait staff is true as is everything else that has been mentioned but if your food ain't good and/or original you are dead in the water as sure as the rain falls. Again I wish you the best of luck and hope you do well.

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Michael, There is a place in Madison, Wisconsin that I went to many years ago for my nieces wedding dinner rehearsal that had outdoor dining under a tent on picnic tables and such for parties, very casual and interesting. The thing that struck me about this place was of course the sauce on the ribs....it was the best sauce that I have ever tasted and when we inquired one of the waitresses what was in it, she said Pepsi !!!!! and they let it sit for a day before they use it. Dang, that stuff was good. I always tell my wife the next time we are in town we are going back there !!!
Good Luck on your endeavor !!!

RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

PLEASE! don't think for a minute that the pepsi had anything to do with the flavor of that sauce my friends, as Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper have all been used in cooking for many years now, the flavor in all these colas all but disapears when they are heated to the boiling point and all you have left is sugar and Phosphoric Acid which is the reason for using them it is just a cheaper way of sweetening the sauce and the acid helps to tenderize when you mop it on the meat while it cooks. Dr Pepper does leave a slight hint of flavor in what you mix it in though but all these products are just a liquid or water base to start with and it would take gallons of this stuff reduced to a syrup by cooking it to allow the water to evaporate and naturally thicken and sweeten from the corn syrup and other sugars already present in the cola and the caramel color is just that a coloring agent and nothing more. so believe them if you want But I believe you were hog tied by the waitress and spanked, not that that aint a good thing, I love being hog tied and spanked by waitresses LOL. J/K

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RE: Openning my own place and need advice
 

Ok.

I have cooked up a batch of 'Memphis Style' sauce but I am confused about something....the recipe says to 'serve it warm'.....

So, I am wondering if in Memphis it is preferred that the sauce is served on the side rather than as a basting sauce during the last 5 or 10 minutes of BBQing? Anyone Know?