OT - Anyone here own a restaurant?

So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and
a 2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the
Tower", and it'll have a great view of the runways!

Trouble of it is, we don't know *anything* about running a restaurant.
Now, this never stopped us before -- we didn't know anything about
hotels, either -- but, hey, this sounds WAY more complicated, from my
uneducated standpoint.

Anyone here own/operate/manage a restaurant? Got any words of advice?
Any advice on finding someone who DOES know something about
restaurants?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
Anyone here own/operate/manage a restaurant? Got any words of advice?

You know how you make a small fortune in the restaurant business? Start
with a large one.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
I have a longstanding agreement with tequila:
I won't drink it, and it won't make me sick.
-- Brian Kantor

Jay,
Fly down to Houston Co. airport in TN (M93). Just off the west end of
the runway is the Southerair motel. Not much of a motel, but they
know the restaurant business like no one else. Best food at
reasonable prices that a pilot - or anyone - could want. Talk to
Leroy (the cook) or Sandy (one of the waitresses) and find out why it
works so well. We go at lest twice a month just for breakfast, and
there's always other pilots there as well, and hunters, and locals...

I think the secret is good food, fair portions, fast service and at
least one table that will seat 4 plane's worth of pilots. But - just
the fly-in crowd won't be enough.

jb


On 10 Jan 2006 14:59:44 -0800, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and
a 2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the
Tower", and it'll have a great view of the runways!

Trouble of it is, we don't know *anything* about running a restaurant.
Now, this never stopped us before -- we didn't know anything about
hotels, either -- but, hey, this sounds WAY more complicated, from my
uneducated standpoint.

Anyone here own/operate/manage a restaurant? Got any words of advice?
Any advice on finding someone who DOES know something about
restaurants?

Never had experience running nor managing one, but I did; wash dishes,
waited tables, kitchen prepped, cooked, tended bars, delivered
foods...etc from high school to college years. I managed construction
busineses as forman, supintendent, project manager, general manager and
was even a VP of a company once, but not in the food business.
Anyways, I digress.

I ate at a lot of restaurants and have friends who own them. You're
managing the "breakfast" part of restauranteuring already "breakfast in
bed". I would imagine that the one of the forseeable problem would be
properly managing the food supply. Too much ~ spoilage, too little ~
unsatisfied guess. A good manager will have the right amount of each
ingredient on hand and be able to anticipate when/what to order. Got a
particular question?

The Monk

Jay:

The restaurant business is challenging to say the least. Make sure you know
what you're getting into. The following sites will give you proformas for
the restaurant industry.

http://www.bizstats.com/
http://sbdcnet.utsa.edu/default.htm
http://www.activemedia-guide.com/

By the way, we have a classy FBO for sale in West Tennessee if anybody is
looking for one in that area. Contact me off group for details if
interested.

William Bruce
Accredited Business Intermediary
Sunbelt Business Brokers




"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and
a 2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the
Tower", and it'll have a great view of the runways!

Trouble of it is, we don't know *anything* about running a restaurant.
Now, this never stopped us before -- we didn't know anything about
hotels, either -- but, hey, this sounds WAY more complicated, from my
uneducated standpoint.

Anyone here own/operate/manage a restaurant? Got any words of advice?
Any advice on finding someone who DOES know something about
restaurants?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and
a 2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the
Tower", and it'll have a great view of the runways!

Trouble of it is, we don't know *anything* about running a restaurant.
Now, this never stopped us before -- we didn't know anything about
hotels, either -- but, hey, this sounds WAY more complicated, from my
uneducated standpoint.

Anyone here own/operate/manage a restaurant? Got any words of advice?
Any advice on finding someone who DOES know something about
restaurants?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


Go to some food shows, you'll be amazed of the excellent food you can get
that is precooked or mass prepared. Sysco foods is a good start. They can
help you with menus, food deliveries, cooking equipment (that is a huge
expense).

We have a small restaurant as a supplement to one of our businesses and on
weekends it is very busy but for the amount of work the register receipts
are lousy (when compared to our other business). You have to sell a lot of
$4.00 hamburgers, $2.00 hotdogs etc. to make a decent amount of money.

--------------------------------------------------
DW

Kidnap all those "babes" from LNR and move them down to IOW?
Sorry buddy,
Couldn't resist but can't help ya other than saying fresh is best, frozen
will kill ya.
Jim

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and
a 2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the
Tower", and it'll have a great view of the runways!

Trouble of it is, we don't know *anything* about running a restaurant.
Now, this never stopped us before -- we didn't know anything about
hotels, either -- but, hey, this sounds WAY more complicated, from my
uneducated standpoint.

Anyone here own/operate/manage a restaurant? Got any words of advice?
Any advice on finding someone who DOES know something about
restaurants?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and a
2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the Tower",
and it'll have a great view of the runways!


Hmm.... that name needs work :-)

Q. What do the numbers say?
A. "ARE YOU INSANE?" g

How about real estate instead? Buy those remaining airport lots (20 acres?)
and build 40 airpark homes on the site. I know, I know - zoning.

Since this will be your last newsgroup post before you enter 'the restaurant
business' I want to wish you - Good Luck!


Montblack

Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces (1970)

[Bobby wants plain toast, which isn't on the menu.]
Bobby: I'd like an omelet, plain, and a chicken salad sandwich on wheat
toast, no mayonnaise, no butter, no lettuce. And a cup of coffee.

Waitress: A #2, chicken salad sand. Hold the butter, the lettuce, the
mayonnaise, and a cup of coffee. Anything else?

Bobby: Yeah, now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the
toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't
broken any rules...

I've represented banks in loan workouts with restaurants. Restaurants exist
primarily on the good will of the public. There is no collateral of value.
The accounts receivable and inventory are fleeting. The forks, knives and
tables are worthless. Much of the business is done in cash, which often
ends up in the pocket of the owner (or worse, stolen by employees) without
having been income taxed or paid to the bank on the loan. About 95% of new
restaurants fail in the first year, except big operation franchises because
the big operations are very particular about the locations of their
franchises. Location is critical. You will not get the whim of the public
to partake of your enterprise if it is not well located. Only the
cognoscenti will go to your establishment if quality is your main draw over
location.



You ought to go to some restaurants that are located on or near airports
similar to yours and talk the owners about their operations. Your operation
is unique because not many aviation themed hotels exist in the world and
even fewer are located next to airports. I frequently fly to Eau Claire
Wisconsin, because the airport restaurant is only about an hour from the
Twin Cities, and the locals go there. It is a full service restaurant, but
I've never had a beer there. The best beer they serve is Leinenkugels. Many
restaurant operations make more on their beverage service than on food.



A coffee only cafe is located at the Brainerd Minnesota airport. It has good
food and good service at reasonable prices. I also fly to Princeton
Minnesota for the restaurants there, one two blocks and the other six blocks
from the airport. One serves alcohol and the other is a family place with
great pancakes. Service is often slow at these small town restaurants, so
you should place your order as soon as you sit down, and give your credit
card when the food is served.



I often feel compelled to have a hamburger when I go flying because that is
often the safest thing on the menu. I've also learned to tolerate small-town
ditch-water coffee from flying. When I grew up in a small town with bad
water in North Dakota, I thought Mrs. Olsen's coffee was great. Now, thanks
to Starbucks and Caribou, Mrs. Olsen's coffee is less enticing. I wonder if
she knows how to make lefse.



It would be really nice to have some good Walleye at an airport restaurant.
Kevin Dunlevy









"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and
a 2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the
Tower", and it'll have a great view of the runways!

Trouble of it is, we don't know *anything* about running a restaurant.
Now, this never stopped us before -- we didn't know anything about
hotels, either -- but, hey, this sounds WAY more complicated, from my
uneducated standpoint.

Anyone here own/operate/manage a restaurant? Got any words of advice?
Any advice on finding someone who DOES know something about
restaurants?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
So the land adjacent to the inn is for sale, and we want to put an
aviation themed restaurant on the site. It'll be the perfect fly-in
restaurant, with breakfast all day, decent prices, ugly waitresses, and
a 2nd-floor patio over-looking the airport. We want to call it "the
Tower", and it'll have a great view of the runways!

Will it be adjacent to the airport property and as such will pilots be able
to taxi up there to the restaurant, tie their plane down, and eat? Being
able to tie your plane down overnight while staying at your hotel would be
an added benefit... One thing that you might want to consider is
differentiating your restaurant from other local restaurants by way of
menu... My experience up there in Iowa while on contract for Rockwell
Collins was that there are NO good BBQ restaurants in the entire state. OK,
I'm from Texas, so my standards are probably pretty high, but those people
up there think a chunk of pork roasted in an electric oven with BBQ sauce
poured on it afterwards classifies as "BBQ"... Of course, everyone knows
that the only *real* BBQ is made from BEEF BRISKET...