Restaurant search

[vulcan75001]

Joe
I can't even imagine how overwhelming this whole "ordeal" is for you two...but by the sounds of things everything is under control and on track...too bad it won't be a Feb. opening...just about then "cabin Fever" is running ramped an people are looking for a new, good place to get out to , and I'm sure it's going to be a big success for ya...just keep the faith...

Later
Richard

 

[Dutch]

Joe, Have you check with your local Restaurant Suppliers? They usually buy used restaurant equipment or know of places going out of business that are selling off their equipment.

What kind of dishware says "BBQ" better than paper plates and napkins?? :mrgreen:

 

[joed617]

Hey Dutch,
Yup.. we have lots of contacts with restaurant equipment <an old friend of the family owns a place that auctions off the used equipment. As far as paper plates and nakins are concerned Umm the wife isw taking care of the front end and I'm taking care of the rear end <figures eh> lol. She looking all glassware. We'll also have mason jars with handles and our logo on them for beer, soda, iced tea and lemonaide. I have learned in my days not to mess with Momma, what Momma wants, Momma gets. <grin> You know the deal. My advice to anyone who is going to open a place either BBQ or whatever.. do your research .. make sure the wiring is up tp date as well as plumbing before you sign a lease. I'm holding off on the lease until I have these inspections done incase things are not up to code. and if they'er not why should I have to pay for somebody elses mistakes.. Soo just be careful and cover your rear. It's also good to get on the good side of the redevelopment commity and go to the mayors office and atleast make contact with them so they know your intentions. It goes a LONG way. We were invited to a Christmas tree lighting in the town and we went and we were also introduced to all the folks there that a BBQ restaurant was comming to town soon and they gave us a a nice plug. So many folks came up to us and asked lots of questions.. where is it going to be ... when do you plan to open .. great responce .. very positive .. That's an update and some advice ..

Joe

 

[Dutch]

Good for you Joe and great advice, too. I know when I worked part-time for the city and was doing a Personal Chef business on the side, I was approached by the Park and Rec department manager to chef for the City's Employee Christmas party. It seems that the Caterer that they had lined up had to back out at the last minute. (Rumor had it that the Board of Health shut them down for some major code violations :shock: ). Fortunately for me, the City had a Commercial Kitchen in the Senior Center so I was able to pull it off. I was introduced by the Mayor and had a lot of queries about Personal Chef services. It also garnered me a number of "in home" catering gigs for the Holiday Season.

 

[dgross]

Thank all of you for the great info. I've enjoyed all of it and best of luck to you Joe!!! How are things progressing? I'm new here and very interested in your endevour having worked in the rest. industry for a few years :) .

 

[joed617]

Hi Dgross and welcome to SMF, It seems I've been very busy covering my backside lately. As of now still haven't signed the lease until the landlord agrees to sign a statement that we will not be responsible for past electrical code violations. <seems fair to me> The electrician was suppose to have an estimate for us yesterday, but has the flu and won't be able to get back to us until after the first of the year. We recieved our POS <point of sale> system yesterday and we'll be programming that in the comming month. The remodeling on to as of the interior of the store will also have to wait until we signed a lease. The beer and wine license can't be submitted until we have a signed lease. So as of now it's a waiting game. The previous occupant of the restaurant is still responsible for the lease because she has a contract for 4 more years with the landlord. Meanwhile, we are paying storgae fees for the smoking oven and paying our monthly payments to the bank. I was in the construction business for 30 years until I had to have 2 back surgeries and that kinda threw me for a loop. But I did own a full scale bakery for some time in the 90's. What type of restaurant did you work in? Fats food? Barbeque? Any tips or pointers? or if you need some just ask away and I'll answer what I can. Have a great and safe New Year :)

Joe

 

[dgross]

Hi Joe! Sorry it took so long to get back but i've been trying to catch up from being gone on vacation :) . I worked for Spinnakers rest. chain for about 5 yrs. off and on (as well as other places afterwards). By the time I left, I was able to work any position in the front of the house from bakery to bartender. The one peice of advice is to hire good people who are team players. If you have a good and reliable staff there is no telling how far you can go( 'Cause it sounds like you've got the Q element covered

)!! When you are eating out I would suggest paying attention to the waitstaff and make notes on what you like and dislike about their presentation. Another good way to do that is to sit at the bar(if it's centrally located) and watch how everyone interacts (ie. staff and customers). Do they make everyone feel welcome or do they put people off? Are they dedicated to making the diner's visit the best it can be? Ect,ect... This is important since the staff is the first interaction that anyone has with your place.Hope this helps and if I can be of service just let me know. Daun

 

[joed617]

Hi Daun, Thanks for thr tips... I'll pass them along to the wife.. I get the back end and she gets the front end .. go figure. :) Tonight my mind is mush, just dealing with the electrical contractor and the landlord. I kind of got myself in the middle by trying to help move things along. I got the electrician, got the estimate and naturally it's not what the landlord wants to pay.. So I got the price down 500.00 bucks and he's still whinning .. lol oh well.. live and learn.

Thanks again,

Joe

 

[dgross]

Sorry to hear about the headaches but mabey you could use the argument...'Spend money to make money'

, ect, ect.... with the landlord? Best of luck. Daun :)

 

[joed617]

Hi Randy,
Lets see, The landlord had a failed business in there <Korean food> The food was good but the sevice was awful. to make a long story short the Korean business only lasted 8 months. The owner of the restaurant had some wiring done and never pulled a permit nor did she have the place inspected, We found out that the wiring in the dropped ceiling has to be replaced. So if I or anyone else who is going to lease that space the wiring has to be brought up to the NEC Code and someone is going to have to pay for it. Also the power to the store is not enough so a new wire has to be ran a new breaker panel. We <the wife and I> agreed to rewire the code violations also install 2 fire alarm pull stations, 2 strobe lights incase of a fire and more emergency lighting> if the landlord would update the electrical service. He kind of agreed until he got the price and has asked us to pay 25% of it. We do have a budget for the work that needs to be done. So today I'm sure I'll get a call from
him. So at this point we haven't signed a lease.

heck of a ride and stay tuned,

Joe

 

[joed617]

UPDATE: After 3 weeks or so dealing with electrical issues the landlord decided to upgrade the electrical service, He agreed to pay 3/4 of the $9000.00 job. It looks like we'll be siging the lease within the week. We've been wroking with 2 food suppliers and the latest one wants to bring the folks from thier meat suppliers to my home with samples.. <I kinda like this idea> So I'll get to ask them questions about thier products. with a signed lease we'll be able to send in the beer and wine license transfere application, Boston has a cap on all liquire license and they have reached it and nomore licenses will be issued <we lucked out on that one> Next we'll be getting the building permits required to get this place up and running. Perhaps next week we can start some the construction and hopefully we'll be up and running by March 1st of this year. It's been alot of work so far and still lots to go but progress is being made. The wife and son have been programming the "point of Sale system" we have a credit card service that will process the cards. We also joined the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. All and all things are looking UP.

Joe

 

[cheech]

Do you have any pictures of the place that we can take a look at?

 

[joed617]

Actually I do, I'll have to down size them and will post a few.

Joe

PS: looks like I'll have to wait until the wife wakes up.. she has the pics someplace on the network. I'll have to post later

 

[joed617]

found a few pics of the new place, We need to repaint and do some construction. This is a pic of the front left side looking out.

 

[joed617]

another pic.

 

[joed617]

One more.

 

[monty]

Smokin' Joe's in the raw! Can't wait to visit the finished product!
Lookin' good Joe!
All the best to you and the Mrs!
Cheers!

 

[joed617]

Still has the asian look, we haven't done a thing to the place yet.. Darker colors will be added, new color for the chairs <black> no idea what the wife has in mind for the color of the table tops ..

Joe

 

[ultramag]

Glad to here things are looking up for you Joe. Sounds like one heck of an undertaking and the work has hardly started. Can't wait to see what you do with the place. Wishing you nothing but continued success, it is a joy to see a SMF brothers dreams come together!

 

[cheech]

Wow that is better than most BBQ joints I have been in. Looks like a nice place