What makes a good restaurant name?
Some of the most popular restaurants in the Bay Area today:
French Laundry
A16
Quince
Boulevard
Coi
RN74
Zuni Cafe
Camino
Nopa
Slanted Door
Chez Panisse
Flour + Water
Spruce
Nothing particularly similar about these names, except perhaps that they are generally 1-2, slightly unusual words in most cases. Surprisingly, only a few (A16, RN74, Flour + Water) actually say anything about the food they serve. Of these, Chez Panisse, Zuni Cafe and Boulevard have been around the longest (15+ years, 30+ for Chez Panisse) and for local foodies have become mainstays in the restaurant scene, conjuring up very specific philosophies and ideals for food quality, service and overall experience.
In choosing a restaurant name it is important to be memorable but not too weird--those restaurants that choose funny or goofy names don't seem to last long (we'll see what happens to Heaven's Dog, Let's be Frank and Hogs and Rocks...) even though they may have initial appeal.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Resources
A few great resources for finding existing restaurant spaces:
Carol Gilbert Incorporated (CGI). Carol is an amazing resource with a ridiculous amount of knowledge, experience and connections in the San Francisco retail real estate market. Beyond being a professional real estate broker, she and her team are restaurant specialists and will consult on any and all sorts of restaurant deals. CGI has have represented some of the best names in the local industry and around the country including Bacchus Management (Spruce, Pizza Antica (several locations), Mayfield Bakery and The Village Pub), Hubert Keller's team (executive chef at Fleur de Lys, owner of Burger Bar), and many others. CGI is the best in a very niche business. The benefits of using CGI over a typical real estate broker are exclusive listing, consulting backed by 30+ years experience and insider connections with local landlords, government departments any other restauranteurs. Also, she really likes the color red.
On the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of personalized expertise is RestaurantRealty.com, run by Steve Zimmerman and partners. While it is also a good resource, it is a very different approach to finding the right restaurant space. The website is exceptional in that it seems to be the best resource for viewing existing restaurant businesses and property for sale or lease. This should be the first spot you look when seeking a Bay Area restaurant business to purchase but only to get a rough idea of what is available and what it will cost you. In the end, you will need the personalized service of an experienced broker like CGI. Just my two cents...
Carol Gilbert Incorporated (CGI). Carol is an amazing resource with a ridiculous amount of knowledge, experience and connections in the San Francisco retail real estate market. Beyond being a professional real estate broker, she and her team are restaurant specialists and will consult on any and all sorts of restaurant deals. CGI has have represented some of the best names in the local industry and around the country including Bacchus Management (Spruce, Pizza Antica (several locations), Mayfield Bakery and The Village Pub), Hubert Keller's team (executive chef at Fleur de Lys, owner of Burger Bar), and many others. CGI is the best in a very niche business. The benefits of using CGI over a typical real estate broker are exclusive listing, consulting backed by 30+ years experience and insider connections with local landlords, government departments any other restauranteurs. Also, she really likes the color red.
On the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of personalized expertise is RestaurantRealty.com, run by Steve Zimmerman and partners. While it is also a good resource, it is a very different approach to finding the right restaurant space. The website is exceptional in that it seems to be the best resource for viewing existing restaurant businesses and property for sale or lease. This should be the first spot you look when seeking a Bay Area restaurant business to purchase but only to get a rough idea of what is available and what it will cost you. In the end, you will need the personalized service of an experienced broker like CGI. Just my two cents...
Monday, January 25, 2010
Another beautiful conversion: Nopa
While I'm on the subject, one of the best examples of a non-restaurant space build out is Nopa Restaurant on Divisadero @ Grove, formerly a local bank, I believe (They also happen to serve great food and outstanding cocktails)
Location, Location, Location.
Location. The old adage says that nothing is more important to the success of a new venture than the choice in real estate. Of course it depends what sort of establishment yours will be. A destination restaurant? A mainstay, tourist haven? A take out taco joint? Whatever it is, the location is of utmost importance. We have yet to choose a location for our restaurant but are considering the process as the most crucial early milestone.
The two main location options for a new restaurant are, 1) A full build-out of a non-restaurant space (i.e. converting an old automobile garage into a beautiful space like Spruce did) or 2) Move into a space that houses an existing or recently closed restaurant. Both options have pros and cons, of course: In San Francisco, non-restaurant spaces require a "change of use permit" for the real estate to be zoned for restaurant use; many inspections by fire/health/building departments to ensure that public cooking/eating would be appropriate in the space; approval by the neighborhood to add another restaurant; various alcohol permits.... etc etc. Lots of red tape. Of course it can be and is done all the time but usually requires a a great deal of knowledge and/or experience to navigate the authorities. Option 2) is simpler, in that an existing restaurant has managed to get all its permits and approvals, has the proper utility hook ups for cooking etc in place, and the landlord of the space is OK with a restaurant in her building. BUT--and this is a big but--existing restaurant business will often ask for "key money" to buy them out of the space. Key money takes into account code compliance, existing lease terms, entitlements, condition of premises and equipment, past success in that location, and other factors. Typical key money for restaurant spaces in SF range from $50k-$2M, but seem to fall in the $150-$250k range in most cases. More details on this coming soon....
The two main location options for a new restaurant are, 1) A full build-out of a non-restaurant space (i.e. converting an old automobile garage into a beautiful space like Spruce did) or 2) Move into a space that houses an existing or recently closed restaurant. Both options have pros and cons, of course: In San Francisco, non-restaurant spaces require a "change of use permit" for the real estate to be zoned for restaurant use; many inspections by fire/health/building departments to ensure that public cooking/eating would be appropriate in the space; approval by the neighborhood to add another restaurant; various alcohol permits.... etc etc. Lots of red tape. Of course it can be and is done all the time but usually requires a a great deal of knowledge and/or experience to navigate the authorities. Option 2) is simpler, in that an existing restaurant has managed to get all its permits and approvals, has the proper utility hook ups for cooking etc in place, and the landlord of the space is OK with a restaurant in her building. BUT--and this is a big but--existing restaurant business will often ask for "key money" to buy them out of the space. Key money takes into account code compliance, existing lease terms, entitlements, condition of premises and equipment, past success in that location, and other factors. Typical key money for restaurant spaces in SF range from $50k-$2M, but seem to fall in the $150-$250k range in most cases. More details on this coming soon....
Friday, January 22, 2010
Rules should be easy to find.
As before mentioned, there are lots of rules you'll need to follow to open your restaurant in a timely (and legal) fashion. Presumably the various agencies that define and enforce the rules want you to obey them for the sake of public health, fire safety, building code, adequate plumbing, etc. So why, I ask, are these rules so damn hard to find?
Apparently many of these rules and regs are federal, while the enforcers of the rules are local (i.e. the SF Planning Dept enforces the federally-passed ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). AND, the federal laws are, naturally, not restaurant specific, so you're going to have to dig through pages and pages of irrelevant regulations to get what you want. I am piecing together a concise checklist of relevant laws that I haven't been able to find yet online. Stay tuned.
Apparently many of these rules and regs are federal, while the enforcers of the rules are local (i.e. the SF Planning Dept enforces the federally-passed ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). AND, the federal laws are, naturally, not restaurant specific, so you're going to have to dig through pages and pages of irrelevant regulations to get what you want. I am piecing together a concise checklist of relevant laws that I haven't been able to find yet online. Stay tuned.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
So Many Rules
A major goal of this blog is to chronicle the myriad rules, regulations, requirements, codes and protocol you must follow to open a restaurant here in San Francisco, CA. There are LOTS.
I hope to translate what--at times--can be the seemingly foreign language of legislators, the health department, plumbers, planners, contractors, and the other characters you will encounter on the inglorious path to opening your own restaurant, into a concise check list of steps to opening day. Perhaps I'll keep a running list (over on the sidebar there) of all the agencies you will become intimately acquainted with once you've really decided to go for it.
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