Pop Up Restaurants...please explain.

thebooxttt

Ok, can anybody explain the pop-up full service restaurant?
I understand the concept, but the set-up costs & ongoing overheads for a stall/venue that won’t last 6 months...how the hell does that work???

So I have an idea for a pop-up. It will bring a concept to the fore but I just want to blitz it & move on. My issue is the costs involved...they are huge on paper yet “Pop Up” seems to be the new buzz word!
For a restaurant situation you have (to mention a few)
FOH: Chairs, tables, crockery, cutlery, glass ware, table decor, table cloths, cash register, wine coolers, ice machine, wall coverings, lighting, heating etc.
Kitchen: Prep equipment, cooking equipment, dish washer, pot wash, sinks, hot water, mains cold water, fire extinguishers, pots & pans, lighting, ventilation, refuse segregation etc.

Not to mention ongoing stock, wages, VAT, rent etc.
Plus do these places need HSE approval?? or planning???
Finally, how can anybody turn a profit in that time based on setup costs????

So many questions, so little time!!!

Any insights gratefully received

I think the only practical way of doing something like this is with a big food truck that serves really high quality food at a reasonable price. Ive seen it done in NY and Marco Pierre White has done it too. I guess over time you pay off your setup costs. Either way seems like you need a pretty big wedge of cash to start it, along with some serious stones!

magic_murph

I think the term pop up is a bit misleading.
Most of the pop up places pop on say on Grafton street for 6 months - get a bit of a buzz then move on.
spend another 4 months on O'Connell street, 3 months on Dawson street etc.
So they might pop up here and there for a few months but in reality they are operating 12 months of the year.

Other options are:
You start a new mexican pop up truck type thing, then you get into partnership / joint promotion with an existing restaurant that is going through a quiet time - you use there facilities to operate out of - perhaps only for a weekend or week then move on again - essentially renting the space for a while

Poping up for 6 months then closing the business simply isn't going to work unless your selling crystal meth or something.

High end Food trucks are becoming very main stream and an intertesting prospect but getting licence for a good location may be an issue

rainbowdash

thebooxttt wrote: »

Ok, can anybody explain the pop-up full service restaurant?
I understand the concept, but the set-up costs & ongoing overheads for a stall/venue that won’t last 6 months...how the hell does that work???

So I have an idea for a pop-up. It will bring a concept to the fore but I just want to blitz it & move on. My issue is the costs involved...they are huge on paper yet “Pop Up” seems to be the new buzz word!
For a restaurant situation you have (to mention a few)
FOH: Chairs, tables, crockery, cutlery, glass ware, table decor, table cloths, cash register, wine coolers, ice machine, wall coverings, lighting, heating etc.
Kitchen: Prep equipment, cooking equipment, dish washer, pot wash, sinks, hot water, mains cold water, fire extinguishers, pots & pans, lighting, ventilation, refuse segregation etc.

Not to mention ongoing stock, wages, VAT, rent etc.
Plus do these places need HSE approval?? or planning???
Finally, how can anybody turn a profit in that time based on setup costs????

So many questions, so little time!!!

Any insights gratefully received

As you said its just a buzz word.

Take the Volvo boat race I think it was last year, RTE were reporting from some "Global popup village" at the event.

In reality it was just a load of marquees not very different to what we saw at the Ryder cup in the K club or what we see every year at the ploughing match.

Its just a bit of marketing bling to make it all look a bit more attractive.