I live in Williamsburg, VA. If you've ever been here, it's a nice, quiet, small town-feel but with everything you need here, shopping, restaurants, ect.. If you look around, you'll see alot of trees. Little do you know, just a 10-15 minute drive will lead you to Yorktown. Yorktown has a beach (pictured), draws in alot of tourist being so close to Williamsburg, Virginia Beach and houses several military and naval bases within a few miles. The bridge you see in the picture, goes over the penninsula into Gloucester, which itself has a population of 150k (combined with other small towns). Location is NOT an issue. Yorktown currently has very few restaurants, on the water front there is only 2 I can think of, one that serves pizza, and one that serves american food but has a VERY small menu (burger, fish, salad and a couple of appetizers. If you've ever been to North Carolina or Virgnia, you'll quickly notice ALL their mexican food is the SAME. The ingredients they use you can buy from your local grocery store. They use this really odd-tasting white cheddar cheese, it's what they use for their queso, it's what they put in cheese enchiladas, it's the same cheese they sprinkle on your rice and beans, so in other words, your beans taste pretty much the same as your enchiladas. The sauce they use for the enchiladas comes straight out of the can. Tex-mex they use like a chili-sauce, it's so different then here. So, I was thinking of opening up a mexican food restaurant in Yorktown, or franchising one. Do you think it's wise to put a mexican food restaurant on the water front? I was thinking of the Riverwalk in San Antonio which has like 2 or 3 mexican restaurants, and Im sure Kema has some as well. I guess I'm looking for someone who's experienced franchising a restaurant and any recommendations of tex-mex - type mexican food that you may know of in other parts of the country I could look into.
When I clicked on this thread I expected to see a restaurant opening or restaurant franchising conspiracy theory.
What is the price range for the food at the other 2 restaurants? Are they always packed? Who is the main clientele?
Price range is $8-$14. So-so, the one that has american food has an outdoor patio seating, overlooking the water. Clientele is people of all ages. The younger beach folk and your older, sight-seeing, tourist-hat wearing, camera with strap around their neck people.
Based on your responses you should go this route... cheaper overhead costs, cheaper food prices... Get some lawn furniture and you are set.
Restaurants are risky. Most go out of business in the first year of operation. Margins are generally very slim. Even the restaurants that make good bank go through a fad boom-and-bust cycle. And, to make it a go, it's hard work and crappy hours to boot. So, my advice is that if you know little enough about the restaurant business that you'd ask about it here, you should just stay away. There are easier ways to make money.
Yes, he is correct. Do not follow your dreams or act upon your ides. Take the easy way out. You don't know anything about restaurants and you should not learn about them because they are risky. You would have to work hard and long hours. That is not what this nation was built upon, and you should be ashamed.
I don't have much advice, other than if you're that close to the water, focus on seafood and have a killer bar. Your bar could mean the difference between riches and poverty. Nobody wants a watered down drink and heavy plate of gut-bomb Mexican food when they just came back from the beach.
i kinda agree with this. The Vietnamese family who ran the eggroll/calzone/cherry lemonade stands on campus and along the drag near Co-op, were/are millionaires.
Let me tell you something, as someone who is closely involved with a major restaurant family in Houston I can tell you this right now: YOU DONT HAVE WHAT IT TAKES. Things you dont have: The Brains The Cojones The MONEY Do you realize the over inflated real estate that comes with beachfront property? Do you realize the cost of starting a restaurant? I can assure you, you dont. Do you realize the cost of MAINTAINING a restaurant? You believe in aliens, so I can answer that one for you...NO. Can you handle the little problems that will come up every day? You probably can, but honestly when the time gets rough you will probably leave the restaurant and open a zoo. Or just leave for a zoo keeper. take it from me as someone who cares about you...dont open one up. BUT if you are insistent on opening a restaurant there...let it NOT be MEXICAN food. You will probably hire the only mexicans in that town to be your cooks so I would highly recommend against that cuisine. PS: I checked the demographic numbers...Richmond Virgina has 4% Hispanic population out of 200k people. 40ish % are white and 50ish % were African American. If you want to do a restaurant do one with a majority population.
I've turned people in a town that has much worse racial percentages towards hispanic population who are VERY picky eaters (for one, 2 of the people wouldn't eat CHINESE food because when they were 15 someone made the comment about their food looked just like cat paws), they'd only eat american/fast food, that was it, into loving mexican food, especially tex mex. Where i come from, not many people experience anything else. I tell you, my friend, a mexican place here would work. But carry on....
Whatever works. I have some Indian friends who own a fried chicken franchise placed in a strategic location, in an area that most favors that particular consumer. The owners are vegetarians. There is nothing wrong with pandering to the crowd you want to earn from.
Toy, I think it is a great idea, and if you are truly interested, I can hook you up with the guy who designs menus for Tex Mex places all over the world. Just email me through the board. DD
Huh? You think white people and black people don't eat Mexican food? Do they also refrain from eating Chinese food, do black people avoid hot dogs, pizza, and pasta? It isn't like he is thinking of a restaurant type without broad exposure like Ethiopian or Moroccan or something, which while having good food can be harder to get people to try. Mexican is probably one of the big 3 foods that has penetrated the American culture (along with Italian and Chinese).
