Starting A BBQ/Beer Garden Restaurant

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

Talk me out of it or if you’re more helpful, send me pointers haha.. I live in a tourist area on the shores of Lake Erie near the Lake Erie Islands. In the summer months (and fall) the area is very very busy. My partner and I already own a very well established retail store and art studio along with 7 acres that are commercially zoned. We are building a barbecue/beer garden/bourbon bar restaurant on one of the commercial lots. I am a BBQ enthusiast but am NOT a professional. We basically have 16 months to build out and master our menu at which point we will build out our team.

I have a LOT of fears and concerns but if this community could point me to some of the larger ones, I would appreciate it. Not going in blind here.. I’m a director at a large financial institution, I know the area and have sized the opportunity based on other firms that are similar in size. My concerns lie primarily in the operational aspects of putting out really good barbecue and charcuterie….

 

[Jim6820]

Wow! That’s quite an undertaking.

I am reminded of something that a friend of mine—a business major in college—did with a friend of his. His neighbor, “Charlie” was an excellent backyard cook, specializing in BBQ chicken, and wanted to open a BBQ chicken place. My friend sat him down and walked him through a realistic cost analysis.

The bottom line was—and, it was very surprising to “Charlie”—that he’d have to ”shove 400 chicken dinners out the door EVERY day” to just break even in the market he was considering; more if he wanted to make a profit. “Charlie” thought about it and decided to remain a good backyard cook!

The point to this story is be sure you do a realistic cost analysis and understand your bottom line in the marketplace you want to enter. Restaurants are the businesses most prone to failure and they usually do so within their first two years of operation. Being a good “backyard cook” is one thing; being a successful restaurant owner/operator is quite another.

Good luck!

 

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

Thank you! I couldn’t agree more with you… Quite frankly we really don’t want to do a restaurant. We are doing this project for alcohol sales which are huge up here but a bar without food is not the best draw and it’s also not allowed in the state of Ohio. BBQ seems like a nice fit with the beer garden feel. We are striving to put forward a simple menu… I think barbecue lends itself to that. And we figure if we’re going to do this we should do it very well. I think my biggest fear is finding a pitmaster up in Ohio.

 

[Smagnus]

Keep it simple. Pulled pork nachos and sliders - finger foods and such. Not in the business but that’s my advice.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I have no idea where to even start with your endeavor. Congratulations of thinking and asking as I don’t think this is something you would want to do spontaneously. My Uncle had a restaurant in NC that was in a high demand area (i.e., edge of a major college campus) with an embedded clientele. He was offering a very popular food type. So popular, that his incumbent sources of supply were not able to keep his supply chain full as he specialized in fresh ocean seafood with lots of variety, never frozen. Eventually, as things happen, his long term contracts expired at the 5 year point and his suppliers, knowing his dependency on their deliverables, started escalating their prices. Don’t get me wrong, I understand we all need to keep up with COLA, but they seemed like they wanted to be partial company owners as they knew he and they had no competition. As the prices increased, he passed on what was reasonable and ”ate” a little from his profits, but that put him on the proverbial hamster wheel of ever escalating price increases. Eventually, other competition for his business model got into the game thinking they could undercut his pricing (which is normal for most restaurants) and the “Big Boy” restaurant chains backed by lots of money, started encroaching. It got even worse when the local chain grocery stores also got into the game creating an untenable situation for the small business ownership model.

My lesson learned from this situation was to always remember to “detatch yourself from your emotional entanglements” and proceed like you were the competitor to your business, not the actual owner. One last comment, I travel to that area so let us know when you open so we can send a little business your way.

Good luck and God bless the entrepreneur. You are the people that bring the future into view for the rest of us.

 

[Gonefishin]

Had a good friend with a long time popular restaurant in San Jose. One night sitting around the bar he told me his trick was to be able to do the cooking when needed, you don’t want to be hostage to the chef.

 

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

Keep it simple. Pulled pork nachos and sliders - finger foods and such. Not in the business but that’s my advice.

Yes.. Keeping it simple as possible up front.. Minimize staff, kitchen investment, menu, etc. 100% agree with ya.. Cheers!

 

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

Had a good friend with a long time popular restaurant in San Jose. One night sitting around the bar he told me his trick was to be able to do the cooking when needed, you don’t want to be hostage to the chef.

Someone told me to partner with a chef.. I said I’m not hanging the entire deal on a chef-owner relationship going well. Those are typically precarious relationships. I’m practicing like crazy so I can step in when needed.. Really hoping to train up some good talent knowing that I’ll have to train up more every so often. Thank you for the input! Cheers!

 

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

I have no idea where to even start with your endeavor. Congratulations of thinking and asking as I don’t think this is something you would want to do spontaneously. My Uncle had a restaurant in NC that was in a high demand area (i.e., edge of a major college campus) with an embedded clientele. He was offering a very popular food type. So popular, that his incumbent sources of supply were not able to keep his supply chain full as he specialized in fresh ocean seafood with lots of variety, never frozen. Eventually, as things happen, his long term contracts expired at the 5 year point and his suppliers, knowing his dependency on their deliverables, started escalating their prices. Don’t get me wrong, I understand we all need to keep up with COLA, but they seemed like they wanted to be partial company owners as they knew he and they had no competition. As the prices increased, he passed on what was reasonable and ”ate” a little from his profits, but that put him on the proverbial hamster wheel of ever escalating price increases. Eventually, other competition for his business model got into the game thinking they could undercut his pricing (which is normal for most restaurants) and the “Big Boy” restaurant chains backed by lots of money, started encroaching. It got even worse when the local chain grocery stores also got into the game creating an untenable situation for the small business ownership model.

My lesson learned from this situation was to always remember to “detatch yourself from your emotional entanglements” and proceed like you were the competitor to your business, not the actual owner. One last comment, I travel to that area so let us know when you open so we can send a little business your way.

Good luck and God bless the entrepreneur. You are the people that bring the future into view for the rest of us.

Once again very very useful comments.. Thank you! I am absolutely planning on getting humbled pretty good for the first 2 busy seasons. If the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze I wouldn’t do this to myself.

I’ve done a business bunch of case studies and stuff over the years in school and at work but have not actually heard ideas about thinking about yourself as a competitor would. That adds a lot of perspective. That will be a permanent addition to the tool belt.

Breaking ground in August.. Open for summer 2024. The name is Beach Glass Lounge and it’s located right next to Ferguson Gallery in Marblehead, Ohio. Let me know when you’re around and I’ll get a round!

 

[Jim6820]

…but have not actually heard ideas about thinking about yourself as a competitor would.

And, of course, think about your business endeavor from the customer’s perspective too. That’s a frequently overlooked perspective. “Perception is reality to the perceiver!”

 

[AlphaPapa]

IMHO, one of the keys to a successful restaurant is consistency! I've been to a number of restaurants over the years and had a great experience. Then, the next time, so-so. I have a hard giving them another shot if I don’t know what I am going to get. Simply put, one bad experience can run someone off for good.

Consistency requires consistent inputs (raw materials, labor) and a consistent process. If you are constantly changing suppliers trying to get the lowest prices, you won’t have consistent food quality. If you are constantly turning over servers, customers won’t have a consistent experience. There is an old saying in high contact service businesses that goes ”treat your employees the way you want them to treat your customers.” There is an old Harvard Business Review article by a restaurnateur in Seattle (Timothy Firnstahl, I think) entitled “My Employees are My Service Gaurantee.” It is a good read.

A book I used when I taught quality management was “Customers for Life: How to Turn That One Time Buyer Into a Life Time Customer,” by Carl Sewell. Sewell was(is) a car dealer in TX that went to incredible lengths to please his customers. He said everyone that walked through their doors was a potential $334,000 (1980’s dollars) customer if they made them a customer for life. His 10 commandments for customer service are an excellent outline of his philosophy. It is a fun and easy read that might give you some ideas. There are plenty of copies floating around out there.

Good luck with your endeavor!

 

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

Thank you! I will seek out the HBR article and pick up that book. Server and chef turnover is a major problem in our tourist area. I am trying to find a path to consistency even if I have to rely on automation in some aspects of the consumer experience.

 

[C. Keeper]

Talk me out of it or if you’re more helpful, send me pointers haha.. I live in a tourist area on the shores of Lake Erie near the Lake Erie Islands. In the summer months (and fall) the area is very very busy. My partner and I already own a very well established retail store and art studio along with 7 acres that are commercially zoned. We are building a barbecue/beer garden/bourbon bar restaurant on one of the commercial lots. I am a BBQ enthusiast but am NOT a professional. We basically have 16 months to build out and master our menu at which point we will build out our team.

I have a LOT of fears and concerns but if this community could point me to some of the larger ones, I would appreciate it. Not going in blind here.. I’m a director at a large financial institution, I know the area and have sized the opportunity based on other firms that are similar in size. My concerns lie primarily in the operational aspects of putting out really good barbecue and charcuterie….

No worries! I'm sure you can find your future chef out of this crowd.

 

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

No worries! I'm sure you can find your future chef out of this crowd.
View attachment 18205

Let’s just say that in Ohio we’re trying to convince Canadians that the US is still worth visiting haha.. But hey I would take some help from some immigrants living in the US legally lol

 

[SmokeOCD]

Quite frankly we really don’t want to do a restaurant. We are doing this project for alcohol sales which are huge up here but a bar without food is not the best draw and it’s also not allowed in the state of Ohio.

Food Truck! Park it in the beer garden. You can do classy just as well as county-fair type food out of a truck.
It will force you to keep your menu small. Sliders, Tacos, Chili.(for example, using brisket and pulled pork)
No fries, just bagged chips. Cut the Fritos bag sideways and build a walking taco, if it's not too hilllbilly for your target clientele. Small area to keep spotless to easily pass inspection.

Watch Food Truck Race and Food Truck Wars to get ideas.

 

[Beach_Glass_Lounge]

Food Truck! Park it in the beer garden. You can do classy just as well as county-fair type food out of a truck.
It will force you to keep your menu small. Sliders, Tacos, Chili.(for example, using brisket and pulled pork)
No fries, just bagged chips. Cut the Fritos bag sideways and build a walking taco, if it's not too hilllbilly for your target clientele. Small area to keep spotless to easily pass inspection.

Watch Food Truck Race and Food Truck Wars to get ideas.

Believe me that was our first strategy.. They are not allowed in this town so food truck is a no go. Our clientele here is probably one of the widest spectrums around.. I will need to sell a $7 Rose to the college girls visiting and a $60 bourbon to the man worth $15M who comes there for the rare stuff. Our retail is the same.. We sell $5 keychains and $15,000 paintings. What a fun market to be in haha!!

 

[SmokeOCD]

We have a guy in the next town over that sells his bbq out of a caboose. Any rules against a caboose?
or next up in size we have...

 

[Motodad1776]

Let’s just say that in Ohio we’re trying to convince Canadians that the US is still worth visiting haha.. But hey I would take some help from some immigrants living in the US legally lol

You aint wrong about that, as a fellow Buckeye I'm looking forward to a ride up for partaking!!!

 

[Caps_Shield]

My brother owns a wildly successful BBQ restaurant. He started with a lot of restaurant experience and a great backyard cook. Now he is a pitmaster. The thing is he works 110 hours a week at least. Crazy hours to get the meat on. The pit needs a constant flame, even holidays so he is the one to do it. I guess my advice is just to read that again and see if it appeals to you. If so, I wish you nothing but success. My brother seems to love it so it can be done. Follow your dreams.

 

[Greg Jones]

We have a guy in the next town over that sells his bbq out of a caboose. Any rules against a caboose?
or next up in size we have...
View attachment 18211

There used to be a restaurant chain named Victoria Station where the dining rooms were old railroad cars.