Restaurants and Institutions

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earth2table: Read All About It
July 27, 2006

Stu Stein

July 27, 2006
Before we go headlong into the daily grind of establishing Terroir, a little more background. I’ve been in the business for over 15 years and in management in some form or another for over 10 years, but experience sometimes isn’t enough. Let me recommend a few books for those of you who are even thinking about going into the restaurant business.

If you’re thinking about the culinary field or are a cook or a chef, then you must read Michael Ruhlman’s “The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America” (Henry Holt & Co., 1997) and “The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection” (Viking Adult, 2000) as well as Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s “Culinary Artistry” (John Wiley & Sons, 1996).

But those books deal with our journey as culinarians, not as business people. For the business side, the slim but fully packed “The New Restaurant Entrepreneur: An Inside Look at Restaurant Deal-Making and Other Tales from the Culinary Trenches” (Kaplan Business, 2004) by Kep Sweeney focuses on the most critical phases of the restaurant cycle, from creation through exit strategy.

To catch you up on exactly were we stand to date with Terroir, I’m going to break it down into semi-manageable categories--at least, manageable categories if you’re on several double espressos.

So far I have:

• completed the concept and written the business plan (take a look at the table of contents);

• found the location and continue to negotiate the “best” deal;

• secured financing.

In am in the process of:

• layout and design;

• forming the business entity and licensing;

• branding the concept and marketing package;

• researching/pricing equipment and furnishings;

• building in sustainability and finding sustainable resources;

• coordinating management of the operation.

Lease/Business Formation/Design

According to the building developer, the magic ground-breaking date is now Aug. 1, with a projected 10-month completion. I’ve been calling Vegas to see if I can get odds on the actual completion date. I know you can bet on anything, so I figure I might as well have a little fun while I watch the date of occupancy move backwards and the overruns grow larger. Call me a realist!

I am still negotiating with the developer and real-estate agents to get additional concessions. We believe we should be getting more in developer concessions based on three factors: my “first-in” status in this new development, the fact that the location is in an up-and-coming neighborhood instead of an established area, and the fact that having an established restaurant in the development brings value.

Once we finalize the deal, I will form the actual business entity and have Jim Neill, partner at the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, work on the licensing. Kelly J. Edwards of Scott/Edwards Architecture LLP is busy designing away, and we will have another detailed design meeting soon.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on July 27, 2006 | Comments (0)