Opening a restaurant shortly

Slimbo

Hi all,

Myself and partners are just a couple of weeks away from opening a 120 seater restaurant in Dublin and I would appreciate any info or advice anyone out there can give me......apart from we are crazy in this current climate!!!

The plan is to open at 7am for coffee/teas/sanwiches/snacks etc,then through to lunch and finally to evening dinner service.

I would like to know if there is anyone has done this and what the pitfals, pros/cons etc are.
I would like tokow what to expect from the start and if there are any upcoming shocks in store that i may have overlooked.

Any input would be great, thanks,

Slimbo

leiwand

do very realistic business plan with heavy emphasis on financials

have kitchen working on an agreed gross profit margin from the off

keep a keen eye on wages to turnover ratio

think before you spend money.will x equipment/interior fitting make me more money than a cheaper alternative

service is crucial.do a procedure manual and invest time in training

push the alcohol sales .it#s where the profit is

make sure you enjoy it.it's the best business in the world

best of luck

b.

blue4ever

bruno72 wrote: »

do very realistic business plan with heavy emphasis on financials

have kitchen working on an agreed gross profit margin from the off

keep a keen eye on wages to turnover ratio

think before you spend money.will x equipment/interior fitting make me more money than a cheaper alternative

service is crucial.do a procedure manual and invest time in training

push the alcohol sales .it#s where the profit is

make sure you enjoy it.it's the best business in the world

best of luck

b.

That has to be the best bit of ' free consultancy' you will ever get, and i am not in the business - bar being cartered for. Well done Bruno

blue4ever

have kitchen working on an agreed gross profit margin from the off



may I be so bold and ask what that means - the kitchen seem like a separate entity in that quote

information

blue4ever wrote: »

That has to be the best bit of ' free consultancy' you will ever get, and i am not in the business - bar being cartered for. Well done Bruno

Yes and like all consultants its tells you what to do, not how to do it.

Even if you did everything stated above to absolute perfection, it does not mention anything about getting customers in the door.

Slimbo wrote:

I would like tokow what to expect from the start and if there are any upcoming shocks in store that i may have overlooked.

I know someone who opened a coffee shop and no one ever came in, apart from a few of their friends, shocked ?

Did you do footfall figures ?

Competitors close by ? What do they offer ? How much do they charge ? When are they busy ? What are customers buying ?

What is your marketing plan ? Special Offers. Pricing. Quality of food. Promotion.

What is your sales strategy ? Who is your ideal customer ?

What will you make the most money on ? breakfast, lunch, dinner, take outs

What are your break even figures ? How many people do you need in each day and how much do they have to spend ?

What are your backup plans ?

If you can answer all of the above you will be fine.
Good Luck

antoinolachtnai

I would say it is critical to be very clear on positioning from the beginning, i.e., what sort of restaurant is this supposed to be, and how does it fit in relation to other places in the area.

There is a lot more money in coffee and tea than food or alcohol.

Hire the best staff you can. The number of people in Dublin who can get a restaurant that big to rock is really fairly small.

7-11 service is very complex in practice. Your maintenance bills will be high and you will be up a lot of nights, because everything will have to be done overnight. Staffing for it is pretty tough too. You are essentially opening three different restaurants - breakfast, lunch and dinner and you need to staff to match. Because everything has to work all the time you really need a great fit out and equipment if you can afford it at all.

Still, if the site is good enough to carry it (which usually means the rent is high) then it's a good idea.

Generally speaking, special offers are not a good idea, but a marketing strategy is.

The main shock is probably going to be how much money it takes.

luketitz

I can't really offer much more advice than the lads above, all i can say is that great service is ESSENTIAL in today's competitive marketplace. I'm just here to wish you the best of luck with it really! I intend to enter a similar field once i'm qualified. PM me your restaurant details and I'll pop in for a meal and possibly become a regular if the menu pleases! Positive word of mouth is the best way to get a good name for yourselves!

blue4ever

information wrote: »

Yes and like all consultants its tells you what to do, not how to do it.

Even if you did everything stated above to absolute perfection, it does not mention anything about getting customers in the door.


I know someone who opened a coffee shop and no one ever came in, apart from a few of their friends, shocked ?

Did you do footfall figures ?

Competitors close by ? What do they offer ? How much do they charge ? When are they busy ? What are customers buying ?

What is your marketing plan ? Special Offers. Pricing. Quality of food. Promotion.

What is your sales strategy ? Who is your ideal customer ?

What will you make the most money on ? breakfast, lunch, dinner, take outs

What are your break even figures ? How many people do you need in each day and how much do they have to spend ?

What are your backup plans ?

If you can answer all of the above you will be fine.
Good Luck

Fair comment – I was taken by two things
a) the precise nature of the advice – (perfect world, not taxes, the Theory of Brownian Movement and so forth) – sue me
b) The fact that if I were about to open a diner/stall/shoe box – I would not be looking for advice here –no disrespect here, but the questions posted should have been answered some time ago

Bandara

Slimbo wrote: »

Hi all,

Myself and partners are just a couple of weeks away from opening a 120 seater restaurant in Dublin and I would appreciate any info or advice anyone out there can give me......apart from we are crazy in this current climate!!!

The plan is to open at 7am for coffee/teas/sanwiches/snacks etc,then through to lunch and finally to evening dinner service.

I would like to know if there is anyone has done this and what the pitfals, pros/cons etc are.
I would like tokow what to expect from the start and if there are any upcoming shocks in store that i may have overlooked.

Any input would be great, thanks,

Slimbo

With respect OP you have your head up your backside before you even start

Your either a resturant or a coffee shop. You cannot be both.

Your either doing tea coffee and sandwiches in the morning and for lunch or else your a proper resturant and doing some lunches and a busy evening service.

People are NEVER going to take your seriously as a resturant if you are doing a toasted ham and cheese sandwich in the morning/lunchtime and then later that evening your attempting to bang out confit duck. It doesn't work that way.

Be one or be the other, if your looking at the sandwich route then I'd suggest visiting Andersens in Glasnevin, Dunne and Crescenzi in the Kildare Outlet and Enotoca Novello in Ratoath.

If you choose the resturant route (which is an obvious fit with the 120 seats you have) then there are very few places good enough to carry that size off. I'm not a fan of them but a Cafe Bar Deli franchise might be worth looking at ?

As an aside, I presume you have years of experience in this area?

Its a horribly tough business to survive in.

Culchie

Slimbo wrote: »

Hi all,

Myself and partners are just a couple of weeks away from opening a 120 seater restaurant in Dublin and I would appreciate any info or advice anyone out there can give me......apart from we are crazy in this current climate!!!

The plan is to open at 7am for coffee/teas/sanwiches/snacks etc,then through to lunch and finally to evening dinner service.

I would like to know if there is anyone has done this and what the pitfals, pros/cons etc are.
I would like tokow what to expect from the start and if there are any upcoming shocks in store that i may have overlooked.

Any input would be great, thanks,

Slimbo

Jebus H ...... it's like a game of monopoly or something.

Have you any idea what's ahead of you?

Culchie

Culchie wrote: »

Jebus H ...... it's like a game of monopoly or something.

Have you any idea what's ahead of you?

I didn't want to ask that in case it may come across as arrogant since I'm just out of college but I really was desperate to ask this question too!

Trojan

Just a general point regard restaurants as a busines - I know they're expensive and horrible to run from anecdotal evidence. I also recently read an interview with a successful restaurant owner - she mentioned that she was very happy with her 3% profit margin, which is apparently very good for the trade. Unless she's pulling a huge salary to keep that profit down, I would be pretty uncomfortable with a business running on 3% profit with such a huge turnover. Risky with not enough reward.

antoinolachtnai

Three percent of turnover might be fine, if it is stable, if the turnover is big enough, and everything has been paid for (i.e., if it includes tax, interest, depreciation and all the rest of it). The number that really matters is the return on the capital invested by the entrepreneur. The margin as a percentage of turnover doesn't really tell you that much.

Trojan

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

The margin as a percentage of turnover doesn't really tell you that much.

Actually it does - it tells me that there's a very tight margin to work within, i.e. high risk, low reward.

Culchie

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

Three percent of turnover might be fine, if it is stable, if the turnover is big enough, and everything has been paid for (i.e., if it includes tax, interest, depreciation and all the rest of it). The number that really matters is the return on the capital invested by the entrepreneur. The margin as a percentage of turnover doesn't really tell you that much.

Why would anyone work their balls off 20 hours a day, having to deal with suppliers, customers, staff, overheads, stress, no social life for 3%

Why not stick money in bank on deposit, sit back and relax at 6%?

Darragh29

Culchie wrote: »

Why would anyone work their balls off 20 hours a day, having to deal with suppliers, customers, staff, overheads, stress, no social life for 3%

Why not stick money in bank on deposit, sit back and relax at 6%?

Couldn't agree more in this case. OP, one point here that hasn't been brought up here by anyone is that you will be dealing with the public on a large scale.

I wouldn't underestimate how stressful this will be for you. One thing I learnt recently is that you need to have a lot of patience when dealing with the public. The expectations that people have these days would alarm you to be honest. I've come to the conclusion that no matter what you do for a lot of people these days, you will not get respect or thanks for it and when you are working for yourself, this can get you down and erode your confidence and ultimately rob you of your ability to grow your business sucessfully.

Have you signed a lease yet?

My experience has been that if you do not set out FROM DAY ONE, to make a XXXX Euro profit a week or a month or whatever, you are going to ultimately fail. If you take a casual approach to the numbers and have not prepared your business for profit from the absolute outset, you will not see your second year in business, not unless you have been lucky to come up with some high margin business with extremely low overheads, like something you run from your house by yourself or something like that, which is certainly not the case here with a large floor space and staff needed to run the business, expensive rates, insurance, raw materials, etc...

Great post Darragh. I hope the OP takes it on board.

antoinolachtnai

Culchie wrote: »

Why would anyone work their balls off 20 hours a day, having to deal with suppliers, customers, staff, overheads, stress, no social life for 3%

Why not stick money in bank on deposit, sit back and relax at 6%?

You are potentially comparing earnings of 3 percent of turnover with an interest rate of 6 percent. (The 'successful' restauranteur wasn't very clear about exactly what was meant by profit).

That makes no sense. You could be turning over 100m a year, and be making a 3 million euro profit which would give you a 3 percent result for that calculation.

However, if it only cost you 10m to open and develop the business, then that would be a thirty percent return which would be a very healthy return indeed.

Plenty of industries operate on profit margins of 3 percent or less.

That said, a small restaurant or cafe would generally want to do a bit better than that. The issue is whether the profits is stable , but the person who mentioned this didn't say anything about whether the particular restauranteur's business was volatile or not.

Musha

Hi OP,
First of all good luck !

Train Staff Well, Good staff will make good tips and stay
Up sell extras, side dishes, desserts extra drinks etc
Watch every penny (sole cashier per shift accountable for the money)
Money and Alcohol will go missing, keep a tight control
Portion Control for kitchen staff
Wastage Book in the kitchen
Feed your staff (limited menu) and account for it,(it will prevent them stealing food)
Weekly Stock take( it will highlight wastage issues more quickly)
Good front of house management experience/presence
People like to know the Owner

encourage family dining, Have earlybird family nights mid-week with set menus

Do simple food and do it well
Signature Dish (bit Gordon Ramsey but it works)

I spend 12 years managing a resturant in the busiest airport in the world and had to work on a 75% margin before labour and costs.
People want good food and great service when they are spending money in a restaurant.

It is hard work but very rewarding, it is not a 9-5 job it will be your life for the foreseeable future but good eaterys are hard to come by if you do it right the bums will hit the seats.

Ohh and Have Fun !!!!:D
PM me if you want anymore hints

Scotty #

I'm in the commercial kitchen trade. Every single day we get enquiries for new kitchens from people who've never even worked in a restaurant before let alone owned one. It's baffling but having said that I wish the OP the best of luck.

In any new restaurant I would expect to lose money for the firsst few months.*
Go cheap with the equipment. If the place is a success you can replace it but 2 out of 3 new ones go bust or change hands in the first 2 years so no point in buying top notch gear.
As someone said above, watch every penny. Every penny!
Be prepared to work 14-18 hours a day and have no holidays.
Go above and beyond with the cleanliness and hygiene - not just what will pass health officer. (Can't stress that one enough!)
Be good to your staff and they'll be good to you (and your customers).
Listen to your customers!
Get it right from the start. First impressions last.




*Buddy of mine just took over a large new hotel in north county Dublin. They are losing €250,000 a month but have budgeted that in for first 18 months. ESB bill for July was €38,000. Yikes!



PS: Elo Culchie! Long time no see.

Darragh29

Scotty # wrote: »

*Buddy of mine just took over a large new hotel in north county Dublin. They are losing €250,000 a month but have budgeted that in for first 18 months. ESB bill for July was €38,000. Yikes!

That's 45 million so he can see April 2010 and hopefully be breaking even by then??? How is he losing that much money a month, is the business operating or is it just a shell of a building he took over

Scotty #

€4.5million you mean.

The business is operating but it's a huge hotel, part of a large international chain, and will rely heavily on weddings. It can cater for 4 at a time. Nobody books a wedding in a hotel that hasn't opened yet so it takes a long time to build up your bookings. The €250,000 loss will decline each month to eventually turn to profit so it shouldn't cost the full €4.5M, although the current downturn was not a factor at the time it was built. My bud is the general manager not the owner.

A loss budget like this is quiet normal for a new hotel this size.

Slimbo

Hi All,

Original poster here.

thanks very much for your replies,theres lost of great advice/info there.....also some criticism which wasn't called, but taken on board all the same.

Just a few further points:
The chef is a partner in the business and has ben highly successful all over the world and will bring someting new to Dublin in a culinary sense. I'm sure that will bring the customers in the door initially as everyone wants to at least "try" something new don't they.His CV reads excellently and would make Gordon Ramsy look like an amatuer in what he has achieved.
The second partner is excellent with budgets/figures etc, so we are strong there also.
We also have a very strong manager coming on board, and she misses nothing to be honest and is apure people person.

In relation to my own experience, I have been working in an operational and general managers role in the logistics side of food and drink for the last 15 years(I'm 40 years young). So dealing with the public has been part of my life. I have also got strong organisational skills and can source the best products/materials at the best rates from Ireland and around the globe. I have several contacts to use in that sense.
I am no stranger to working hard and long days and know that this is what it will take initially.
I have always been squeezed to make savings in my previous employment, so will know what to look for and how to measure this.

Lastly,I know we are taking a high risk, but would'nt the world be still green fields if we didn't do something with our dreams. And I have dreamt about this for a long time.
I believe that we have the right mix of partners so why not go for it.

We open in 2 weeks by the way.

Thanks again for the advice, very much appreciated.

Scotty #

Something new to Dublin? Any clues?

I'm not criticising you. I wish you the best of luck and hope it all works out for you. But being connected to the business for 12 years, I still find it strange how many people come into the business with a bundle of money but no experience. The dining trade seems to be unique in this regard but you sound like you have a good team with you so again... the best of luck!

The reality is that most restaurants are barely breaking even. Quiet a few of my customers would own several restaurants and with most of them their profitable ones are subsidising their loss making ones. Gordan 'know it all' Ramsey has had to close several of his restaurants over the years. Goes to show how hard it can be to get right... even for the pro's.

... on the subject of Ramsey. Ramsey owns and operates several Michelin starred Restaurants and runs one of only three 3 star restaurants in the British Isles. It would take a hell of a chef to make him look like an amature:rolleyes:!

Having said all that though, there are those few places that go from strength to strength and turn into highly profitable businesses. I hope yours turns into one of these.

I understand if you don't want to disclose but I'd be curious to know the setup cost/first 6 months running budget of a 120 seat restaurant in Dublin?

Or start a blog!!! that would be even better!

Bandara

Slimbo wrote: »

The chef is a partner in the business and has ben highly successful all over the world and will bring someting new to Dublin in a culinary sense. I'm sure that will bring the customers in the door initially as everyone wants to at least "try" something new don't they.His CV reads excellently and would make Gordon Ramsy look like an amatuer in what he has achieved.

Joël Robuchon, Alain Ducasse or Ferran Adrià ?

:rolleyes:

with respect OP, your statement is a bit silly, if your chef was superior to a multiple three star Michelin chef then his coming to Ireland would have been known long before now.

Just one point I still don't get, why are you looking at selling teas and coffee and sandwiches in the morning time and then kicking culinary ass at nighttime? Surely its a waste of your time in the overall scheme of things?

Aside from that you sound like you have a good backround and have a great team around you, I wish you all the best and look forweard to visiting your new venture soon.

Good luck with it.

antoinolachtnai

Yup, I'd say lunchtime operations will be vastly simpler if you don't have breakfast to deal with, and it will also allow for an earlier finish for dinner.

But it depends on whether you are planning a high end thing. That's not clear from your description (not saying you should necessarily tell us)!

Slimbo

Thanks again for replies, I really have taken all your advice to heart.

The Ramsey quote was in jest, I was just trying to get across that we have a geat chef in the business which is extremely important to the overall scheme of things for word of mouth etc. His personal awards are outstanding and hes a real people person which I like very much about him.

As for being the only one in Dublin of its kind, after long and extensive research right across Europe, we are the only one of its kind in Ireland. There are 14 of them in the UK alone.
I have no issue saying what it is, just didn't think I was allowed to on here. The food theme is south american and its an Argentine restaurant.

The location is very near St Patricks Cathederal, Georges Street and that surround. Thats the main area for restaurants in Dublin and there is some serious footfall in the area with tourists, and in general people coming and going in all directions.
The reason why we want to open in the moring(with the main restaurant area sectioned off), is that there are a literally seveal thousand people passing the door for work each day. I think the way we have set it up internally we could service there needs without any distruption to the restaurant itself.

I would gladly talk to anyone who PM's me for more input or advice.

Thanks very much again.

Bandara

Ah the Gaucho Grill, nice to see that Shanahans disgusting over rated ripoff prices will get good competitor in the City.

I look forward to you opening Slimbo

Slimbo

Slimbo wrote: »

Thanks again for replies, I really have taken all your advice to heart.

The Ramsey quote was in jest, I was just trying to get across that we have a geat chef in the business which is extremely important to the overall scheme of things for word of mouth etc. His personal awards are outstanding and hes a real people person which I like very much about him.

As for being the only one in Dublin of its kind, after long and extensive research right across Europe, we are the only one of its kind in Ireland. There are 14 of them in the UK alone.
I have no issue saying what it is, just didn't think I was allowed to on here. The food theme is south american and its an Argentine restaurant.

The location is very near St Patricks Cathederal, Georges Street and that surround. Thats the main area for restaurants in Dublin and there is some serious footfall in the area with tourists, and in general people coming and going in all directions.
The reason why we want to open in the moring(with the main restaurant area sectioned off), is that there are a literally seveal thousand people passing the door for work each day. I think the way we have set it up internally we could service there needs without any distruption to the restaurant itself.

I would gladly talk to anyone who PM's me for more input or advice.

Thanks very much again.

Finally, South American food! I'll be checking it out. Good work Op!

chahop

So your opening a franchise, most of the info you have been looking for should be supplied to you, you should make sure they are working for you. You wont have to worrie about sorcing produce/supplies or pricing/mark up. They will supply you with all you need and tell you how much to sell it for. Job done.
Best of luck i hear their steaks are savage and they have a good wine list. Ill defo be in to ye.

Slimbo

Just to clarify, this is not a franchise, its a totally new set up and starter.
It would be great to get that supply chain help from franchises, but not to be.

Franchises.......i'm starting to dream already......just kidding.

Thanks for the support, we will be working all the hours the man above sends us to get this right as i'm sure everyone starting out would do.

I would love to get the support of people on here when opening, so I look forward to meeting and greeting you all......well some of you anyway!!!

the info on here is priceless for me personally, it just confirms my thoughts and gives me great pointers also, thanks again.

leiwand

a few more thoughts

while on holidays i met a commercial butcher who enlightened me greatly about irish meat.having not lived in ireland for quite some time i assumed it was dead hard to source quality.when i lived in ireland buying meat as ajoe soap in supermarkets(other than superquinn) wasa waste of time.meat was hardly hung for any time at all and the guys behind the counter told me the punter demanded beef(steaks) to be bright red in colour.guy i met on holidays told me you now have no bother sourcing dry aged hereford/angus beef hung well long enough.
meat would seem to be a priority and i presume from your cv you are well aware of this but i suggest you inform the consumer about the provenance and standards of the farmer,how long its hung etc. marketing of food is all about telling good honest stories.as a consumer/foodie i lap this up

my tuppence worth

b.

elgransenor

Slimbo wrote: »

Just to clarify, this is not a franchise, its a totally new set up and starter.
It would be great to get that supply chain help from franchises, but not to be.

Franchises.......i'm starting to dream already......just kidding.

Thanks for the support, we will be working all the hours the man above sends us to get this right as i'm sure everyone starting out would do.

I would love to get the support of people on here when opening, so I look forward to meeting and greeting you all......well some of you anyway!!!

the info on here is priceless for me personally, it just confirms my thoughts and gives me great pointers also, thanks again.

Slimbo,
best of luck with new venture.
It is a scary time but if you are going to make it,you are going to make it.
Can you keep us updated as to how is it doing?
Has it measured up to expectations?
What did you overlook in your plans?
If you posted regularly here it would be very interesting but also people would be more inclined to support you as it would give them a sense of ownership of the venture as we witnessed the birth of the venture.
Good luck again.:cool:

Slimbo

Thanks very much, I will certainly post regulary with feedback.

We hope to iron out the last(of a long long list)of issues this week, and then we are open to the public from next week.

Its been a good ol slog to get it off the ground, but just being dogged with everything has worn us out, but done the job and we are "just" there thankfully.

If I had to do anything again, I would have been 100% commited at the very start, instead of after work, weekends etc trying to keep my other work alive. There is a great early dilemma that you need to break free from one job and totally depend on the other even though your biusiness is not trading yet.

We believe we have created a work of art for Dublin with the interior decoration, and now the food will speak for itself and we will all live happily ever after....just kidding, we are fully aware that the work starts now!!!

Chat soon with good news hopefully.

Slimbo

Mickk

Hi,
I own a shop and a gym up the road from you on Camden St, also have a friend who just opened a coffee shop on Georges st (The Bald Barista), if you think he might be able to help you with anything (trends in the area ect) let me know and I will sort it out.
Good luck
Mick

dennistuam

i have worked in a small resturant/cafe in the west ,the boss told me the secret is keep the costs down by having a small choice the more choice the more waste,naturally you would want to vary it a bit.
good luck any ways

maninasia

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

You are potentially comparing earnings of 3 percent of turnover with an interest rate of 6 percent. (The 'successful' restauranteur wasn't very clear about exactly what was meant by profit).

That makes no sense. You could be turning over 100m a year, and be making a 3 million euro profit which would give you a 3 percent result for that calculation.

However, if it only cost you 10m to open and develop the business, then that would be a thirty percent return which would be a very healthy return indeed.

Plenty of industries operate on profit margins of 3 percent or less.

That said, a small restaurant or cafe would generally want to do a bit better than that. The issue is whether the profits is stable , but the person who mentioned this didn't say anything about whether the particular restauranteur's business was volatile or not.

You put it better than me. It also depends on the type of business. If you have a long term brand, your outlay and stock holding time, a daily good or neccessity like toothpaste or bread 3% margin would make you a lot of bucks. 3% margin on electronic goods would probably not.

dudara

Are you going to be operating as the Beunos Aires Grill - I just saw the listing on Menupages.ie.

The concept sounds interesting - I'll definitely be checking it out as I'm a big carnivore. The only thing that worries me is that it's very hard to get a decent steak in Ireland (we have great quality meat but most restaurants cook it badly) so I'm looking forward to trying yours.

Best of luck with it. You seem aware of key drivers in the industry - the only thing I would say is that in this current climate you need to be competitve. For instance, if I take restaurants close to you, right now Cornerhouse Grill and Brasserie 66 are often offering 2 for 1 main courses during the week and Sheebeen Chic has just opened.

Best of luck.

dennistuam

dennistuam wrote: »

i have worked in a small resturant/cafe in the west ,the boss told me the secret is keep the costs down by having a small choice the more choice the more waste,naturally you would want to vary it a bit.
good luck any ways

Gordan Ramsey says the same thing "Keep it simple..."

Bandara

dennistuam wrote: »

i have worked in a small resturant/cafe in the west ,the boss told me the secret is keep the costs down by having a small choice the more choice the more waste,naturally you would want to vary it a bit.
good luck any ways

Sorry but this might work in a coffee shop in the west but in a Dublin city resturant in the current climate you damn sure better have a wide range of options. Yes you can do a simple menu but it better be stellar in its execution, otherwise your just another also ran scrabbling around hoping to catch some walk-in customers. No one is going to choose you because you do a lovely simple Beer battered Cod and Chips.

Waste is a fact of resturant and food services, its not to be feared, you just keep it at less than 3% of turnover and your doing fine. In any event a well trained and commanded floor staff can move any potential waste in the form of promoting the daily specials that use the stock up before its spoilt.

earlyevening

Any incentives for boards users to try it out?

earlyevening

earlyevening wrote: »

Any incentives for boards users to try it out?

Over a million randomers visit this site every month, that's a lot of deductions for being a board user! The fact it's the only South American restaurant in Ireland should be enough of an incentive to people interested.

shrapnel222

i pass the restaurant every day on the way to work, and have been eagerly awaiting its opening, but just one question springs to mind. I thought that the import of brazilian and argentinian meat to ireland was prohibited. If this is true, how can you have an argentinian restaurant without argentinian beef?

Bandara

shrapnel222 wrote: »

i pass the restaurant every day on the way to work, and have been eagerly awaiting its opening, but just one question springs to mind. I thought that the import of brazilian and argentinian meat to ireland was prohibited. If this is true, how can you have an argentinian restaurant without argentinian beef?

The Brazilian ban was lifted in June afaik, Argentina still has a self imposed strict limit on its exports partly due to continuing issues in Corrientes.

shrapnel222

Hammertime wrote: »

The Brazilian ban was lifted in June afaik, Argentina still has a self imposed strict limit on its exports partly due to continuing issues in Corrientes.

thanks for the info. i'm still curious as to whether the restaurant will be serving argentinian beef though as their staple meat on the parilla

Bandara

shrapnel222 wrote: »

thanks for the info. i'm still curious as to whether the restaurant will be serving argentinian beef though as their staple meat on the parilla

I'd imagine they will be and have secured a line of supply already, its irrelevant really as they could serve beef from any country and no one would be any the wiser.

The irish restuarant public are still very very uninformed about food.

shrapnel222

Hammertime wrote: »

I'd imagine they will be and have secured a line of supply already, its irrelevant really as they could serve beef from any country and no one would be any the wiser.

The irish restuarant public are still very very uninformed about food.

I would think so too now that you've put my mind at ease with the legality of it all. I really don't think it can be called irrelevant though. there's a huge difference between passing irish beef as argentinian, or serving irish beef cooked in an argentinian way. one is completely unethical, the other isn't. this question will be asked of them many times and if the answer is an outright lie, then they put their business at risk.

You're certainly right about the fact a lot of people are uninformed about food, but i think a lot of people would tell the difference, and i doubt it's something they would be prepared to gamble on.

Ste05

If it is Argentinian Beef, the place will be a gold mine once they have a semi competent chef.

Although I also thought Argentinian beef was banned from Ireland too...

It'd be great to hear back from the OP on that point (i.e. is it actually Argentinian Beef or is it Irish Beef cooked in an Argentinian way?).

If it's Argentinian beef I would say I'll be a regular, I've actually flown to Spain for a weekend just to go to an Argentenian Steak House I know there...

Best of luck OP.

Bandara

shrapnel222 wrote: »

I would think so too now that you've put my mind at ease with the legality of it all. I really don't think it can be called irrelevant though. there's a huge difference between passing irish beef as argentinian, or serving irish beef cooked in an argentinian way. one is completely unethical, the other isn't. this question will be asked of them many times and if the answer is an outright lie, then they put their business at risk.

You're certainly right about the fact a lot of people are uninformed about food, but i think a lot of people would tell the difference, and i doubt it's something they would be prepared to gamble on.

I'm not 100% on this mate, I would just assume that an Argentinian steak house has to have argentina bred beef otherwise its first review will be its last.

I will bet you any amount of money that pretty much all the public would not have an idea if you blind taste tested them with a fillet of Irish, American, Aussie or Argie beef. They would not have a single bloody notion.

The Average Joe Public adventurism extends to medium steak with sauce on the side (which they send back cause its too 'raw') and if they are really feeling crazy, some Sea Bass

:P

Slimbo

Hi all,OP here.

Firstly, let me thank you for the interest and secondly I will explain the beef situation as it currently stands.

We are "not" serving Argentine beef....as yet!! But we are serving the very best beef we could source in an Argentine way....and it is different tasting for sure. However, i'm sure the customer will be the judge of this.
We are currently in talks with the Argentine Ambassador to Ireland in relation to the import of Argentine beef. We didn't forsee the lenghth of time and redtape we would encounter, but we are nearly there and should have Argentine beef on the menu within the month.

I would like to point out Argentina is not only renowned for its beef.
We will also serve Argentine style salads, pasties, sausages(delicious), soups, stews, curries & desserts. All very traditional and unique in their own way.

We also have a very Argentine feel to the restaurant, both with the decor and the music. The whole ambiance will suit everyones taste, and a great night will be had by all of our customers.

So in one month we will be serving the beef and that will be good for the business also. We have paid over the odds to source the best alternative and I am positive people will be happy with our choice.
I fully agree that the beef is what will make it, but there is a huge variety of dishes to chose from and we believe that our menu will be very well recieved in the mainstream.

We are open at 5pm tomorrow.....so here goes!!!

Lastly, I would gladly give incentives to people from boards, but how would I manage this? Any suggestions.

Liam

shoutman

Best of luck with the opening, if this is done right its bound to be a huge success.

Can I ask what kind of experience your chef has? Is he Argentinan/trained in a good argentenian restaurant?