Better Call Saul

BrutulTM said:

There's a million stories like this. Restaurants are one of those businesses that people think they can run with no experience or just because they're good at cooking for dinner parties with their friends. Restaurants are complex, low margin businesses where you have to be good at about 10 different things just to stay alive so these tourists usually fail badly.

There's a whole chapter about this in "Kitchen Confidential". BTW, farming and ranching have the same kind of appeal to amateurs and a similar number of them fail.

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I am a successful restaurant owner and will confirm this. I guarantee I make less than anyone here, and I would not recommend starting one unless you are ready to struggle.

BrutulTM said:

I like to cook and I love food and I have to confess I've had many daydreams about having my own restaurant but I know it's way harder than you would imagine. I have seen so many places with good food fail quickly so I just stick to visiting other people's restaurants.

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I don't want to derail, but I will say at 54 years old there is a freedom to what my wife and I have built. We spent years climbing the corporate world only to be fucked off during Covid.

Our little 50 seat restaurant opened five years ago last month, and grosses just over 1 million per year. We said goodbye to family, friends, Holidays, etc. (Even my response here is on my laptop in the restaurant)

We didn't seek this life out, but I wish I would have done it sooner. But again, say goodbye to money...lol....

Basically, if your going to do it...do it...and no half measures.

TED talk is over, sorry... lol

BrutulTM said:

I like to cook and I love food and I have to confess I've had many daydreams about having my own restaurant but I know it's way harder than you would imagine. I have seen so many places with good food fail quickly so I just stick to visiting other people's restaurants.

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I live near a small town, and have seen half a dozen+ restaurants come and go in half as many years. The diner spot is on its 4th owner in as many years and headed for another lights out. Mexican restaurant almost never has any patrons. They support it with a food truck that drives around to other small towns. Close it down and keep the food truck, maybe? Burger joint opened up last year and closed down almost as quickly. Frozen Sysco patties and buns. Condiments, toppings, and fries extra. They didn't mention this small fact or have it on their menu.

All these serve shitty food and wonder why they lose money.

A few the county over do hopping business. Breakfast joint always packed. Excellent food/price/service. Sandwich shop is get there early for lunch or dinner or prepare to wait. Parking lot full, lines of cars up and down the street. Excellent food. Home made bread and locally sourced meat.

Nearest DQ was sold to street shitters. It used to be packed. Now empty all the time. I am surprised the Subway is still open.

I have an acquaintance in another state that owns a small chain of his own pizza joints. Has for a long fucking time. Nearly went out of business because all his locations got Joggervilled. He had to bite the bullet and relocate and rebuild. He wanted to sell the chain after Joggerfication, but they weren't worth anything. No business, no workers, all crime. Old guy now, mid 60's and still grinding it out.

Hell, even Gordon Ramsay has about a 40% failure rate.

I'm glad I never even thought about it.

smart play is shovels, my uncle makes great money with 3 stores that sells restaurant equipment and supplies and profit margins are crazy. he sells new equipment to rich noobs like hank, after 6-18 months he buys all the equipment back at 10 cents on the dollar in bankruptcy proceedings and resells used equipment at 400% markup to couples who wanna open a fusion restaurant. rinse and repeat.

his only real competition are asians who specialize in restaurant equipment, he says they are basically a cartel who only sell to asians and do all sorts of crazy loan shark shit, he doesn't fuck with them at all. the ethnic restaurant equipment mafia must have crazy stories, hank should make a TV show about that and his restaurant experience LOL

if you ever get a chance go to restaurant trade shows, i go every year to pizza expo in vegas and its the highlight of the year. 3 days of endless 10/10 free pizza (international pizza competitions finals are there) and rubbing shoulders with pizza giants who love to talk and party. The NYC trade shows are also amazing.

BrutulTM said:

I don't know how the subway here is still open. It's in a terrible location. At the end of a dead end street where you would never see it if you didn't know it was there, behind a couple other fast food places. Besides the terrible, overpriced sandwiches that are at every subway, the employees there seem like making bad sandwiches is really too hard for them. When Jimmy Johns opened up in a much better location with seemingly non-retarded employees, I figured they were probably going to finally put Subway out of it's misery but it's still there for some reason.

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Subway in little town is in primo spot, but it is fucking horrible. Loaded with 1 star reviews. I think they go out of their way to hire retards. They aren't busy at all, and still manage to fuck up orders. Owner is an older guy, and I saw him there once...looked like he was really hating life. Probably losing money on the place, and he moved into a brand new building a few years ago. Lease on the new building is probably murdering him.

They used to have at least edible food, but they've really gone downhill in the last 4 years.

Saw a blip on YT. Jeremy Clarkson owns a big pub. Insurance went up $145k this year, and various costs increased by $30k. Pubs like his are vanishing at the rate of 2 per day because no one can afford to run them and no one can afford to drink at them. His pub has been losing money since the day it opened, and it has been fully booked every day.

In UK's case, National Insurance is a misnomer. It is used for welfare. Businesses are closing down left and right, which increases the tax burden on surviving businesses. At some point, they will have no one left to tax. Fucking extra £12,000/mo extra running costs out of nowhere just for welfare. This on top of what they are already paying.

In 2024, first year of operation, they paid £381k in fuel for generator, fuel for terrace heater (can't get enough electricity), and for parking lot attendants to meet "council rules".

Fucking amazing. All this shit is just tax so government can give free money to browns and blacks.

it's almost as if there's a plan

spronk said:

smart play is shovels, my uncle makes great money with 3 stores that sells restaurant equipment and supplies and profit margins are crazy. he sells new equipment to rich noobs like hank, after 6-18 months he buys all the equipment back at 10 cents on the dollar in bankruptcy proceedings and resells used equipment at 400% markup to couples who wanna open a fusion restaurant. rinse and repeat.

his only real competition are asians who specialize in restaurant equipment, he says they are basically a cartel who only sell to asians and do all sorts of crazy loan shark shit, he doesn't fuck with them at all. the ethnic restaurant equipment mafia must have crazy stories, hank should make a TV show about that and his restaurant experience LOL

if you ever get a chance go to restaurant trade shows, i go every year to pizza expo in vegas and its the highlight of the year. 3 days of endless 10/10 free pizza (international pizza competitions finals are there) and rubbing shoulders with pizza giants who love to talk and party. The NYC trade shows are also amazing.

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My restaurant is "Higher End" pizza style , and I have been to the LV show many times. I am skipping this next one, but I agree if anyone can go to these things....do it before you consider opening any kind of shop. (You would be surprised how many Chefs and Restaurant owners will open up and give advice)

(It can be super fun just to sample and walk around, I have never been to a NYC one and assume it is a good time as well)