Okay-if you don't know, I'm a chef(hence-chineseknife).This is my passion and what I probably will die being. It comes natural to me, cooking and creating, and so I have excelled in the restaurant business. 15 yrs. I have put into my knowledge base of food and customer service, always chosing places that have high standards for both of these. In short, I am good at what I do. My girlfriend also has restaurant experience, quite a number of years also, and is a very smart woman(which may be to my disadvantage ;) %). She has great customer service and displays people skills that I just simply don't have.

We ARE going to open a restaurant, but that's where the conversation starts to go awry. Basically, she wants to open a place that sells "high end" soups. I say okay- but what else. She says "that's it". I say okay- but what else. She says "that's it". I say- what else, she says "that's it"! So you can see how the discussion went. I say sell the bread we are going to serve w/ the soup, which would be house made, and market other aspects that comliment the soup. She says okay. Now we're getting somewhere.

So here's my question: Would you choose to eat at a "cafe"/"bistro" of sorts that sold primarily soup and a few other"extras" that you could take home(i.e. Unbaked frozen breads, fresh herbs, cookbooks, you know impulse buys)? Now say the exterior of the building is decent, but not brand new, but inside is very nice and makes you feel welcome. And say that the service, while not being fine dining, is of quality and consistency? Would you be willing to pay $10 for an oversized bowl of lobster bisque with a lemon-garlic grilled 1/2 lobster tail served with it? Or even $5.00 for a hearty cold cucmmber soup(it's great if you've never had it)

My dream is to cook and make people happy, and maybe make some money doing it. Aside from the fact that it's the riskiest business to get started in because of the failure rate, would you say go for it or not. What would you like to see in Chinesenife's Kitchen?

CK

Hi CK
I'm all for new and exciting places to eat
Hell I plan our vacations around restaurants
"Ok listen if we stop here they got an All u can Eat place right next to Busch Gardens..."
lol
The prices sound about right
and maybe you could do a "Soup Nazi" bit
hehe
My wife and middle son owned a Delicatessan for 8 yrs
but thats another story...and a unique animal indeed
Have fun with this endeavor and beware the tax jerks!!!
Roo

Call it "Soup for You" :)

Sounds good but variables such as location and advertising can be as important as the experience once you get them there. My friend grew up in the restaurant biz and has chosen to go with franchising. First was Outback and now Fleming steakhouse. It's a brutal biz, I wish you good fortune.

Warm soup is good for chilly days, but you'd need something more to keep your customers completely satisfied, like sandwiches.

That sounds like a good Collegetown restaurant! I'm sure that most people don't care what the outside of the restaurant looks like, as long as the inside is cozy and welcoming.

If it was a very good soup, yes, I would buy three.

I see a good future in your cooking shop, just keep your customers happy and full and you'll do fine!

Spunky would love your restaraunt if the only thing it served was garlic. XD

CK, right now I live in New orleans, Louisiana. Probably a city where the restaurant business is a very important part of the New Orleans culture and prosperity. Depends on where you live if I'd say you should go for the business.

Gee-joe- have you ever heard of McAlister's Deli?

I love a good restaurant but don't do soup.

I can make a decent soup at home.

Sniper

I would fork out $10 for a great bowl of soup. Many restaurants try to do too much with their menus, I think that there is a market for specialty restaurants of this type. But of course, being from south dakota where all you get are meat and potatoes at any restaurant, a just soup place sounds fantastic!!

Last edited: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 at 6:12:49 AM

Hey CK,

What region are you in? I would say you would also want to have large, excellent salads too. There are some very successful places in Berkeley where you can make an huge meal out of soup, bread and salad for not that much $. Lots of students go there. Always lines out the door. I think they have sandwiches too.

-Rx

Hey Knife,

I too am somewhat of a chef and plan to open a place within the next ten years. I won't be the cheff. I plan on being the host. I've had this silly dream in my head of walking from table to table and greeting people while offering up free spirits. My wife and I have been in the planning stages for quite a while now. We've spent the previous seven years observing folks and what they order. I'm probably the only person in the country who takes a notepad with him to dinner. Knowing your audience, so to speak, IMHO is key. We too are sticking to a very limited menu.

In your case soup is a great idea. Although, how warm does it get in that area in summer? You may benefit by varying your menu slightly from season to season. You'd have a year round customer in me that's for sure. Nothing like some killer soup.

P.S. I have a buddy that's made a mint in this biz with a very simple idea. His menu consists of gourmet meatball sandwiches. He located it in the most popular nightime spot in the Burgh. He keeps it open until 3 a.m. And has a line out the door every weekend. He also offers limited seating during the day but it's mainly carry out. He has extremely long hours but his investment was minimal and production costs are in kind.

I say if u live in a cold place soup good!......but if u live in a regular region as in warm in summer time cold in winter time then what will u do in summer time? People may no like soup in summeri say make a place selling newspapers and coffe for the early morning people and having soup in winter and having deli foods in the summer just a suggestion

Rogue I expect to eat for free the next time im around :)

Hmm, I remember you live in Charlotte...

Soul Food, brother, unless you live in the ab fab areas of town.

Word of mouth (no pun intended) is always the best draw. If you serve the best of something, people will make a path to your door.

However, for the money, people always eat the same ol' same ol' in mass quantities, don't they? Would you rather sell 2,000 pizzas a week or 50 bowls of bisque?

Me, I always thought a deli type thing, as you mention, would be best. Fewer employee hassles. More people in and out the door and money in cash register.

Fried chicken, mashed spud, greeeeeeeeeen beans, sweet potato pie, my my...

...dang, I drool

Last edited: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 at 7:23:18 AM

TO ALL OF YOU- Your comments and suggestions are very appreciated. Encouragement sometimes is the best medicine. The cafe/bistro/restaurant is definitely going to happen. Where and when to be decided, but it would be silly of me not to try. I've always wanted to be my own boss and to have COMPLETE CONTROL. I want to be THE BOSS.("the boss"-new alias for me ;) XD ). Anyway. Thank you for taking the time to read and post as this is very important to me. Thanks again, CK(the boss)

O_o

How did you know that?