Information Gathering on a NEW restaurant

[dragun]

Well, i have started to put together a few idea's for my building and i figured where better to get some feedback than from these forums.

I am known for being able to make really good comfort style foods but with a kick. I have been doing it as local specials and have even been written about in a couple of the local papers.

I am now looking into planing and executing plans for my own building. But i know the economy and market are a little tough right now. so i need somewhat of a hook.

After doing a lot of research into the area and market trends, i know there is way to many Italian, Arab and Japanese eateries around, so i think i am good there. The list of questions i pose to these forums

Would you be interested and willing to goto a restaurant in which comfort food with a kick is the main idea?

Would you be more or less likely to goto a restaurant that had a full service flare bar in house? in which later at night turned more into a bar / club?

What are the most important things you look for when you go out to eat? besides the obvious, good service, good food aspect?

It might be coming a little sooner than i had really hoped for based on an opportunity that has arisen, which leads me to my final question.

I have a chance at landing a spot on the outsides of a premier mall that is opening up with some higher end stores and a major movie theater. Is it more convienent for you to be able to enjoy good food before a show or how likely to be to enjoy the sites of a flare bar after you get out of a movie?

I know these are some really random questions. i am just trying to get a base feel of some input before i work on my more specific demigraphic questions for the actual business plan. Any input and advise you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Last bit of specific information about me. I am a culinary managment graduate, been in the food biz for about 14 years and the highest i have positioned is a sous. Not sure if that information helps or hinders, but i figured i would put it in.

Thanks again!

Andy

[phatch]

I like comfort food, especially with a kick.

I don't want a bar or club attached to the restaurant. I don't want the added noise, the parking complications nor impaired drivers anywhere near me.

I also generally don't like the party crowd clubs attract.

I think you're mixing your clientele.

Comfort food is homey and family oriented. I think you're mixing up your market in ways that aren't compatible.

[phatch]

I should add an example. My favorite Chinese place, David's Kitchen, is attached to a bar and directly across the street from a major multiplex theatre with tons of parking. David uses the bar to supply drinks (hard and soft) to the restaurant so you get two bills at the table.

I've eaten at David's Kitchen and watched movies across the street with my wife on nights out. For an anniversary evening for Peking Duck (very good, but short of excellent--duck is my wife's favorite) and a Jackie Chan flick, which she's a fan of.

However, the parking at David's Kitchen is posted with signs warning of no parking for the movie theaters. And with the bar there plus the people who park there for the movie anyway, it's a pain to park in. Yes, your mall would have plenty of parking, but not necessarily convenient when you mix those establishments as you speak of.

The bar noise penetrates. The clientèle clashes. And we don't eat there as often as we would if David had a dedicated place and parking with improved ambiance.

Phil

[KYHeirloomer]

I agree fully with Phil on this. You are mixing clientelles, and the result will be that neither will patronize the place.

Personally, I wouldn't go to a comfort-food establishment that had a flare bar attached.

Something else to consider: You might be able to cross-market the restaurant with the theaters. But I doubt that is true with the flare bar. People who patronize them think of them as a distination joint, as a place to hang-out; not as a place to go pre- or post-something else.

All in all, you've got a hardball choice to make: The comfort restaurant; the flare bar; or a new concept for the restaurant.

[shel]

What's a "flare" bar.

I wouldn't consider a restaurant that had a club or a full bar. The ONLY bar that's acceptable, and only sometimes, is a bar at which the diners may wait for their reservations, so people aren't hanging around and doing a lot of drinking and often making more noise than I'd find acceptable. I go to a restaurant for food and to spend time with good dining companions, enjoying conversation. Anything that takes away from the conversational aspect of dinner is sure to result in my nmot returning to the restaurant.

Shel

[cwshields]

I live near a major mall and I can tell you from what I've seen restaurants do very well, from high end to McD's . The mall has been operational for ~7 years and I have not seen a single restaurant close and ther must be 20 on the mall's proroperty (not counting the food court inside) and 20 more accross and down the street from the mall. I think they're all still there due the fact that the area here has been going thru a growth spurt, 2 major freeways intersect very close to the mall which makes access easy, and many large companies are in the area. You might want to check with the security firm for the mall about the bar as the one's here close up at 10pm on weekdays and 12am on weekends, these times are in sync with the operation hours for the movie theater. If all or most of these conditions exist in the area you're looking at I think you should seriously consider about going forward with your plans. I'm not a business person at all so take what I've said with a grain of salt. If you do go forward with this I wish you the best of luck and I'll be rooting for your success! Oh yeah, I almost forgot check out the parking close to the area you're looking at as this is the one of the biggest complaints I hear when frequenting these restaurants.

[Jayme]

Are you looking at a site that is in an attached building with the mall? or free standing in the mall lot? could make a big difference,,,,, in my local- there is a popular mall with both.... attached has restaurants like California Kitchen (trendy) and Johnny Rockets (50's style burger and malt shop) and free standing- "Cheesecake Factory"- priceier, more formal. Usually the more casual and novelty places do well in attached buildings- like your family style comfort food idea- so families can visit on their way into movies and mall. Depending on your hours and dessert menu, you can often catch folks on their way out of movies also (esp. new dates). But be sure you calculate closely all your fixed costs- rent, CAM, and any other fees or percentages the mall may have......