Anyone opened their own restaurant or been a part of a new one opening?

[Joemonkey]

I live in Danville, KY and within the past couple of years they recently were allowed to serve alcoholic beverages in a restaurant so long as 70% of your proceeds came from food. Boyle county, where Danville is located, had previously been a dry county.

So, the Pizza Hut that is there got a liquor license, as did a Reno's that already existed. An Applebee's sprung up and it is entirely non-smoking.

What I notice about these 3 restaurants that have liquor licenses is that they constantly stay packed. If you go to Applebee's on say a Wednesay at 5:00PM you will be waiting at least an hour to get a table. Reno's isn't as bad, but it's dirty in there, and Pizza Hut is only really bad about seating on the weekends.

I talked it over with a buddy of mine and we're pretty sure we're going to open another restaurant, but we don't know the first thing about it. We thought about a Hooter's but realized that may be a bit overboard, so we decided on something like a Ruby Tuesday or TGIFriday's or Rafferty's.

Now, we have this great idea on how to make the money, and we know someone who would back us by giving the capital to start it. However, should we go with a chain, or start up something new?

Also, we don't know the slightest thing about zoning or taxes or building permits or anything like that. I was hoping someone here may have gone through this before and had some insight. Thanks!!!

 

[Schadenfreude]

Go with a Franchise - and what's wrong with Hooters?

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: Jehovah
Go with a Franchise - and what's wrong with Hooters?

well, the town is mostly old retired people, so during the summer and around christmas, Centre College students wouldn't be around to work there or be patrons there.

man i need to do some research on this... franchise, corporate owned, blah blah blah

i'd like to have some control over menu choices, but finding a distributor and all that kinda stuff seems better left to restaurants that already exist

 

[TheGameIs21]

JoeMonkey... you have pm.

 

[JEDI]

90% of non-franchise restauants go bankrupt within 2 years

 

[AlienCraft]

Depending on the company, the franchise may require a certain level of experience in the owner / operator.
Regardless, you can find out about zoning by contacting your local planning commission / building dept. They can advise you as to the meaning of various "Zone" designations.
As far as resturanting is concerned, there is a lot going on, not the least of which is the food and beverages you serve. The service staff is your "foundation" and if you have great people, you can get by with less than stellar food (Hooters). The benfits of Franchising are the national exposure their media buys give you, as well as the "safety factor" ie "I have one of those in my town, let's go there, it'll be as good as the one at home..." mindset.
< Ran his own "cafe" within a nightclub. Made serious cash money, did not go bankrupt.....

 

[BigSmooth]

If it was me, I'd go with a franchise. There is more money to be made if you come up with something independent, but you would need a lot of experience to do that successfully.

The additional costs of being a franchise would easily be made up by the fact that they would have name recognition, established training procedures, nationwide marketing, and everything from table tents to bar manuals would be pre-designed and printed for your use.
There is obviously not a lot of freedom with the menu but you are also getting the benefit of their national market research and menu development team and they might let you tweak the menu slightly for your market.

If Applebee's is doing so well there, I would think you could be very successful with something similar.

 

[rufruf44]

The franchise licenses usually comes with several commitments, make sure you cover it all. It usually as not as easy as buying a franchise for 1 restaurant. You might have put up severals within a given time period or such.

 

[Daniel]

I was part owner of a restaurant for 5 years. No matter what path you go with get ready for what could very well be the most work you have ever done in your entire life. You need to research this thing from top to bottom, and no I don't mean asking opinions on ATOT I mean hit libraries, small biz associations, chamber of commerce, people with related experience, etc... Remember most restaurants fail, we were lucky enough to sell ours off right before an economic downturn but I swear it took many years off the lives of the people involved.

 

[TrentSteel]

Originally posted by: rufruf44
The franchise licenses usually comes with several commitments, make sure you cover it all. It usually as not as easy as buying a franchise for 1 restaurant. You might have put up severals within a given time period or such.

That's true. There are of course pros and cons when going with a franchise, and it will vary depending on which one you choose. So you can't really say definitively that being backed by a big name will be better at the end of the day (during which you and your partner worked 16 hours because you're having trouble making payroll). Franchisees do get some help, but don't forget what you have to pay in return, which is not always in the form of simple cash.

I only have experience opening a new location for a coffee roasting franchise, but the fees were rather high and one of the requirements was an extended contract for the purchase of green coffee from one particular vendor. The prices remained fair and competitive but it was a huge risk, since this one company was guaranteed business from a number of locations and was completely free to set prices. That is, there was no guarantee of affordability. And of course you can't buy elsewhere as that would be a breach of contract.

 

[TheGameIs21]

From Ruby Tuesday

As Ruby Tuesday continues to grow, we are seeking qualified, dedicated franchisees to develop our brand both Internationally and in the U.S. The qualifications required to become a Ruby Tuesday franchisee are:

A minimum of three years restaurant management/operational experience, preferably multi-unit casual dining experience.
Financial liquidity of at least $1 million per unit to be developed.
A net worth of at least $5 million.
If you meet these qualifications and would like to receive more information about Ruby Tuesday's franchise program, please complete and submit the attached questionnaire. (Questionnaire requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.) We will then be in contact with you to proceed into more detailed discussions.

From TGIF

T.G.I. Friday?s® Franchisee Requirements

Multi-Unit Experience in the Food Hospitality Industry -- Development Experience a Plus
Total Net Worth: Minimum $3 Million
Cash Available for Investment: Minimum $1 Million
Franchise Fees: $75,000 First Restaurant
- $65,000 Second Restaurant
- $50,000 Remaining Restaurants
Royalty Fee: 4% of Sales
Marketing Fee: 4% Maximum Requirement

Rafferty's didn't post any franchise information.

 

[Joemonkey]

ok so looks like independent is the way to go. since the franchise requirements are so freaking high

bleah this is turning out to be less of a good idea than i thought