Have you gone professional?

[stfron]

OK, so I'm sure I'm not the only one that's considered this, after many, many, wonderful meals, and visits to Smokeshacks all across the country- I keep getting this nagging, "I can do this!" "I can open my own place!" "My brisket tastes MUCH better than this..."

Does anyone have any experience and care to comment on the consideration?

 

[fatback joe]

I have not done it, but have known a few that tried with varying degrees of success. The big factor seems to be do you enjoy cooking or enjoy running a business and all the BS that goes with that? Cooking may be what you enjoy, but just a small part of it.

Another thing to consider is can you duplicate your better brisket on a large scale and keep the same quality......day in and day out. Most of the Q places (not the chains) can make better than what they serve if they were just cooking for a few people that were willing just to eat when the food is ready....will your brisket quality be just as good for the guy at 8pm as it was for the guy at 5pm?

Just a couple of things to think about. Personally, I think if you have the interest and the $$ to make it happen, then give it a shot.........don't look back in 5......10........20 years saying "what if".

 

[ron50]

Just remember that old saying that the best way to ruin a good hobby is by turning it into a business.

I found that to be the case with photography. It is 15% about taking the photos and 85% about running a business.

 

[richtee]

And restos are just freakin' money pits!

Ask JoeD or BBQpitstop. It IS enticing tho....

 

[seaham358]

I have a Road side Q guy near me and his food is real good. He has a med size pull behind smoker/BBQ cooker and he sells out on most days. He sells wings, pulled pork, ribs and brisket mostly. He will do something different once in a while. The prices are not the cheapest around but the food is always good.
You may want to try something like this before setting up a store front.
There is another place near me that has some Large smokers and they have a store front. They have some good food also and they sell side dishes. Again its not a cheap meal but is good stuff. I also think my food is just as good if not better but then I think about how much work goes into making the food and how much $$$ you will need to put out of pocket just to get things going.

 

[flagriller]

I was in the restaruant business as a manager for awhile. It's tough and the profit margins are small compared to other businesses and it's very time consuming. Take Taco Bell, opens at 10am for business, you have to be there at 6am, closes at 1am, and you leave at 2am. Then the hassle of the health department and keeping all the equipment working.
I don't want to distract you from trying, but there's more to it than people see from the outside looking in. If you want to learn, take a part-time job at one at night and weekends and you'll get a feel for what's entailed.

Just my .00014 cents

 

[teacup13]

my missus is a part partime manager at one of those chains, and it still alot of work

food cost/wood/charcoal etc etc
labor
consistency/food quality
health department
city/state licences
advertising
equipment

and the list goes on

its more business than cooking but the end result can be lucrative.

i personally would start a small catering company or the likes. do what i am doing this year to start out, volunteer your labor to a church or similar to see how it feels to feed a large group at once.

my first big cook will be to a Baptist Church. i am giving my services,wood etc and they are paying for everything else.

i might need some experienced help, i wonder if there is anyone in Michigan who is interested..lmao

 

[gooose53]

A friend of mine and his father own two BBQ places here in Charleston. When they opened the one close to me it didn't seem like they were doing very well. As it turns out the wife was stealing about 50K from the business, tips, etc. Now he's doing pretty good, but looking to expand by adding a beer, wine, etc. Good help is hard to find!!

 

[richoso1]

I have thought about it for a few moments, but i wouldn't want to deal with customers who want it their way. I've worked in places that had a kitchen, and those cooks/chefs would just go ballistic when a customer would send the food back. I guess they consider it an insult. I must admit that I have sent food back when it tasted or looked bad, luckily most waitesses listen when they take your order.

 

[bigal]

I don't want to rain on any parade, but think about this also. You can grow better veggies in your own garden, then why not become a farmer? You can make better decisions than most politicians, then become the President? ......You get the idea.

I learned real fast this fall. I enjoyed smoken meat for people, couple briskets here, a few butts there, many ribs, chicken, etc. Then I smoked brisket and pulled pork for 300 people, then had a Christmas party for 35, hunters supper for 25, add on the smoked meat presents given away.........I was SICK of it! For the groups I watched what rubs I put on, good but not WOW. Sauce was tricky as some like sweet, I don't.

Thats just the cook'n side. Ever manage employees? Vacation, sick, late, careless, here today gone tomorrow, can't listen, needs advances, loans, garnish wages, steal'n, can't add, breaks things, WON'T LISTEN, knows more than you and been do'n this for only 3hrs, you don't pay as much as competitor, you pay him more than me, the list goes on and on like the darn energizer bunny!

If I were to do it, I'd sell on weekends only if I wanted to(spare time type of thing). I'd make x amount of food and when it's gone your done. My prices would be high as heck, if you don't like it eat at McD's. Leftovers would be eaten by family or donated to my dog.

You gotta be the right kind of person to go through all that BS. My degree is in hotel/rest management, didn't take long to realize that people are the hardest thing to deal with.......then you have the public!

I take my hat off to those who do it, I can't stand whine'n employees and customers!

My restaurant would be similar to Ed Debevics(sp?) in Chicago. Rude, crude and plenty of attitude.

Just my .00015 cents worth(had to one-up FlaGriller

)

 

[vlap]

EEEK... Bad customers are a part of the business on a constant basis. Ive seen them come in saying they were not going to enjoy the meal. Before even being seated!
I have seen a friend prepare fresh calamari only to have a guest throw it on the floor and say its rotten while other guests say the same batch is the best they have ever had.
I have seen people order fish and send it back saying they don't like fish (then why order it?)
The things that some guests pull will drive you out of your mind! 10 years in the business was enough for me to get out. I find it is more rewarding to cook for friends and family. They tend to appreciate what you do a lot more than a guest in a restaurant.

 

[bob marsh]

New Guy here....I agree with Ron.

Dottie and I really work well in the kitchen and have learned to make just about all of the foods we love from scratch and have often heard "Why don't you two open a restaurant?" Wether it's idle flattery or the diners are merely prejudiced, who knows?

But we've known a few people who have owned/operated restaurants or businesses and we've seen just how much hard work it is and how uncertain the outcome can be.

For us it's a lot more fulfilling to do it as a passion and work regular jobs that amount to dull grinding anguish to pay the bills. Then too, I'm a lot better with a knife and a stove than I am with a checkbook - To quote Dirty Harry: "A man's got to know his limitations.."

Just my 2 cents worth - I salute anybody with the gumption to make a go at it!

B

 

[lcruzen]

My degree is in culinary arts and spent 20+ years in food service and did quite a bit of private catering during that time. It is an incredible amount of work and anytime you deal with a cash operation there are risks of getting ripped off unless you do everything yourself or have very trusted help and that is hard to come by. Since I've been out of foodservice professionally for about 10 years now I have a lot more fun with it and that is how my interest evolved into Q and sausage making. I must admit that the urge to trying it again with Q when I retire is on my mind a lot but there is so much to consider I don't know if I'll have the dedication to give it a shot or not. Right now I'm really enjoying doing it for myself, family and friends. However they are the same people telling me to open a place!

 

[charles1056]

I have no experience in the food industry, but I agree with what has already been said: People are hard to deal with. We own a small laudromat and the employee issue is a real problem. I''m sure the rest. business would be no different. A small part-time catering business, starting out with friends or churches sounds better, but there is always going to be the help issue and the people issue. I'm just going to stick with doing it for friends.

 

[bbqpitstop]

From someone in the process of making it work:

Ask yourself, do you like having a party atmosphere and people all happy with your food? Well great. Now ask yourself if you don't mind the planning, execution and cleanup from that party every single day.

Do you excell in marketing, bookwork, administrative duties and employee management?

Do you have a plan for pumping out your grand champ recipe on a regular basis with no room for mishaps? (Need I say Friedrich smoker?)

So many other considerations to list, not enough room here but if you're serious and need some tips, feel free to pm me. For anyone that has left me a phone number, I haven't forgotten you, just trying to find the time to get in a rather lengthy phone call, I'm gettin there.

Shelly
Desperados Barbecue

 

[ajthepoolman]

Start slow and see if you like it. Buy a concession stand on a trailer and smoke from that at county fairs and at the high school football games. See if you like it.

 

[teacup13]

thats another different ball game but is similar in ways..lol

i deal with concessionaires all the time, here you have 2 deal with the fair board, have major insurance, bad help, "tipping" the right people so you dont get stuck in the back... deal with health inspectors that are not so nice to people associated with the fair...

the biggest challenge with county fairs is weather, did i mention that it rains? wait, yah it rains..lol

when you lose a big weekend because of rain, u still have to pay the rent,food and the help plus you are still stuck with the food you have cooked.

i deal with all of these people about 9 months of the year, for the last 10 or so years

 

[bossman]

My suggestion would be to start by catering and see where it takes you. I can tell you as someone who has a commercial kitchen now that it wasn't easy.

It has been interesting, I have found as some have said that it can be a GIANT pain in the butt when people who order for catering are wanting something for nothing or haggle over what you charge.

So what I have ended up doing is finding a happy medium. I now do in-home parties and also teach BBQ schools, teaching others how to "Q". You would be amazed at how alot of people have little or no knowlege on how to do the things alot of us take for granted, until you remember how you started out!

I also went to a local community college and teach a BBQ and Grilling school there as well.(See my website for the last ad...) 25 people medium, $25 a piece for a four hour class and food at the end! Its been going well. We now do a grilling school, BBQ/Smoking school and a Holiday smoking school which is $30 a piece since we do Prime Rib, Turkey, Ham Etc.

For me I have found alot of satisfaction in this aspect of it, teaching others how to do this and get paid to!
Just something else to think aout

 

[peculiarmike]

I was talking with Paul Kirk, The Baron of Barbeque, about his new restaurant he opened in New York, RUB. He was flying to Las Vegas the next day to plan another there. He has been in and out of the business for years.
He said, "If you ever have the thought you might want to open a restaurant, go see a psychiatrist and have your head examined". You won't believe the headaches.
Then again, you might really like it. Be ready to be there every minute it is open or your help will steal you blind (if they come to work).

 

[goat]

I have done some catering and fed some large groups by my standards, 300 to 500 people numerous times. I feel that I can replicate my good food. As far as I am concerned, Big Al hit the nail on the head. Labor is the number one concern for me. There is a lot of money to be made in the food business, but it is like a dairy, 24/7. I have gotten to where I don't even cater that much anymore. No help, $3.00 gas, and people griping about the price are three good reasons. I refuse to cut my quality to fit into someone's budget. If I were to open something, it would be small, lunch only, and very low overhead.