OCCOM FOOLISHNESS Strikes again! New Restaurant opening soon

OB, Have you looked at their financial statements and tax returns for the past several years? Will the gross profit cover all the operating cost, overhead, and profit?

How about depreciation?

No. They were the first business since the rebuild and didn't make it a year.
Theirs? No, I would have to doubt it or they wouldn't have failed in the first place, barring some crazy fund mismanagement or a drug or theft problem. Researching restaurants isn't like researching a stock, C.I.. Unless you plan to follow their concept, their way; their financials do little more than show you the up and down trends throughout the year, and possibly what things their customers liked or didn't. Even if you did plan to follow in a particular proprietor's footsteps; there is no guarantee that the loyalty of the customers wouldn't leave with him. I know of one place just outside of Lake Geneva where the owner, "Casey", would run a great bar business- sell it- the customers would stop coming- he'd buy it back for 50 cents on the dollar- rebuild the business- and repeat the process, over and over again. It was Casey himself that made the place work.

I'm gambling on our concept working there. It is unproven and is not the same concept we brought to our Cedarburg location. I believe the age-old adage that nine out of ten restaurants fail in their first 2 years is accurate. I also believe that incompetence, mismanagement and un-earned money are leading reasons for this phenomenon. Our business model in Cedarburg brought us gross earnings in the neighborhood of a 50% increase over that of our predecessors. I couldn't wager a guess as to what their P&L looked like, but ours was not terribly impressive. We did show substantial gains; but very little of it was realized by us, so far. Much of the reinvestments we made this first year were in places we don't expect to revisit next year so we're optimistic next year will put a little more dough in our pockets. We'll have to wait and see.

My partner is as good as it gets in the back of the house and has a solid understanding of the overall business. He's taught me much and continues to do so. His mastery of his craft coupled with the fact that he's just about the most likeable person I've ever met and the fact that he works circles around most everyone around him; yields employees who wish to emulate him and a seemingly endless supply of people who long for the opportunity to learn from him. I couldn't have a better partner.

I bring a wealth of business experience to the table; meaning I generally see through the scamsters, identify the thieves, hire exceptionally trainable supporting staff and create an environment where good people feel comfortable. I believe I am viewed as exceptionally rigid but extremely fair. Customers and critics alike; comment that our food is outstanding... and customers even more than critics comment that our service is terrific. My front of the house staff doesn't fit the traditional "pursuit of perfection" professionals... but IMO more than make up for it in smiles and genuine people skills, which I believe is paramount to an enjoyable dining experience. They come mostly with no prior experience, lots of raw aptitude, happy outgoing personalities and the honesty and energy of innocent youth. They too; are terrific.

Debates between my partner and I are few; as each of us have tremendous respect for the other's skills and generally approach a subject with a pre-conceived understanding that the more qualified person is probably correct. We do change each other's minds frequently, but it is out of correctness do to critical thinking and knowledge or unthought-of of side effects... never pig-headedness. Again; I couldn't ask for a better partner.

In both restaurants so far; we signed on to replacement of included equipment at our sole financial obligation via a triple-net lease. This is fairly standard in the restaurant business, as few things last forever. The new one, since it is so new, is in much better shape equipment-wise than our first.

I had dinner with my new landlords (they're a couple) tonight, and was once again struck by how uncommonly fair and compassionate they are. After dinner; the man who redesigned and built the place said goodnight to his wife (per her suggestion) and we went for a drink to hammer out some additional details. He is a carbon copy of me in his desire to exchange value for value to the mutual benefit of us both. All potential catch points were ironed out with easy smiles and mutual understanding. They are both tremendously likeable people. Incidentally; he thought of the "Harbor City Bistro" name and then thought of the addition of "Wooster's Pub", passing the latter off as an example... and didn't admit he truly did like it until after my partner and I embraced it. I'm weary of people giving me tired advice... but this guy is a never ending fount of good advice. I feel very fortunate to have met him.

Yeeks, I am rambling. Must be the wine. :wink:

Wow, I'm just now catching up on this thread. Not only are you staying up quite late tonight, you've got a heck of a plan on your plate. Best wishes to your continued success, Bill.

OB, Seems you have the right experience and people skills to make a go of this new restaurant. As a frequent diner, I'm very aware of how the staff treats their customers and their ability to exchange pleasantries even during the taking of the order - and their continued attention and presence while enjoying the meal - just enough and not intrusive - always with a smile. I also believe when trained correctly and service provided, their tips increase substantially. My wife thinks I'm a generous tipper, because I've been known to leave 25 to 30 percent.

It doesn't hurt to have the chef meet with the customers once-in-awhile to inquire about the food. That always adds an extra to the diner's enjoyment.

But you already know all that. Good show. c.i.

O'Bill probably agrees with CI's philosophy regarding tipping, I guess.

Indeed I do. I think everyone who's ever been in the business does. The extra couple bucks hurts the patron not at all but makes a tremendous difference to the server, who in turn takes even better care of you next time. If my kids ever reported receiving the old standard 15% for an average; I'd know they were doing something terribly wrong.
Thanks for a the well-wishing!

It's so nice to read along and see how successful you've become, Bill. Hard work does pay off, and I wish you luck
for your future endeavors.

5 more days till we get the keys to the new kingdom. I'm very excited! Among the many remaining dilemmas is; how do I be at 2 places at once? As coincidence will have it; 100% of my front of the house staff is female. (Yes, I've hired several men, but they didn't work out for one reason or another). I'm not really all that comfortable with summer crowds without a Male presence (preferably a pr!ck like me), in the front of the house. The girls are all well aware that the police would be there, in under a minute in all likelihood, but that's generally overkill for any situation that may come up. They are also aware that the Men in the kitchen could be summoned in the case of an idiot-> who didn't leave when asked, but I'm not too sure my cooks would be very politically correct in such a situation, if you know what I mean.

The obvious answer is to hire a manager, right? Well, no, I already have... and the most qualified person was promoted from within... and she's not the intimidation factor I'm looking for. So I think some more, and then some more, trying to find a solution that's both fair to her and not a monetary waste that would be the equivalent to a "bouncer" in an environment that clearly doesn't require one.

Then, the other night while I was home working (or babbling on A2K or something), the very situation that I'm concerned about presents itself. No biggie because I live in a flat 2 doors down and can be there in 30 seconds when needed... but that's not always going to be the case. So this is what happened anyway:

"Idiot" comes in and sits at the bar. My manager/bartender recognizes him as an overbearing annoyance that's been coming more and more often. This time; he crosses the line and tells her a pseudo-dirty joke, after she declined his offer to do so. No biggie she figures, since there's no one else at the bar at the time anyway, and it wasn't that dirty of a joke. Next, he asks her for my one of my hostess's names. She declines to give it to him and explains that our hostess's are only 16 (good answer!, even though the Indian beauty he's referring to is actually 18). Next, he takes it upon himself to walk over, introduce himself and begin telling his stupid joke to a couple of the kids (It's go-time).

Next, my manager/bartender, casually walks over and says something to the effect "I'm the manager here and I assure you; you don't want to talk to the owner. Now apologize to the kids and leave immediately". He did, and he did! I got a call from her a half an hour or so later and in a just-so-you're-aware-of-it kind of tone, she tells me she had to ask one of our guests to leave for misbehaving. She's got his business card, and gave him one of mine and reports he says he'll be calling me to apologize tomorrow.

So, I now know that I did indeed hire the right person to manage in my stead (I'm very proud of her, and told her as much, she shrugged it off as no biggie :smile:). Anyway, I now know she can handle problems in my absence, but, still, what would she do about the idiot that doesn't cooperate? Keep in mind, this is mostly my paranoia talking since in the last year I've had scarce few confrontations and never had to get even nose to nose with an idiot to get him out. (Close a couple times, though, and I always prefer to err on the side of caution where women are concerned).

So (sorry I'm rambling so much), I think I've come up with the answer. If it's security I'm concerned about; why not install security? I'm picturing my manager, using the same casual tone and stating; "You've been recorded there, there, there and there" while pointing out the various security cameras. "The video feeds are transferred over the internet and recorded on the owner's computer. If you don't want trouble; I suggest you leave immediately." What do you think?

Security cameras are something I've been contemplating since we opened. While I believe I have an honest staff, a little deterrent couldn't hurt, right? Then I'm thinking; while I'm at it; why not truly install the eye in the sky and be here all the time. I know the feeling of being trusted is as important to an employee as trust itself. But I can sell it as a necessary night-time security system (there has been a series of tavern robberies unsolved around here recently) and further explain that with the breaks I'll get on my insurance for being thorough, the savings will pay for the system.

So now I'm wondering if I'm going overboard. I found a 16 Camera Package: "Board System 8" on this page, that I believe I could plug into my existing Restaurant Server (Perhaps with a major Ram upgrade?). This system could be configured to show virtually every nick and cranny of the facility... and frankly, grant me better supervision than my a$$ on a bar stool or wandering around does. 16 channel DVRs (Digital Video Recorder) are pretty pricey, but I'm thinking might be justified by the benefits...Examples: There's the customer that sent me a complaint, yep. There he was sitting there for 10 minutes without dressing for his salad, yep. And there's my server on her Cell Phone out back, yep.... Were I to hire a thief behind my bar (damn near inevitable in the long hall), I could retrieve her every action for a week and compare the timestamps on her orders to what she actually made or sold… In the event I hire kitchen staff that wants to leave with product (also nearly inevitable); the inventory anomaly would point me to locating the thief on film in a matter of hours. In the event the Tavern-robbers did hit my place; I'd have a wealth of video to turn over to the law (their MO is to hide in the establishment at closing time apparently, because there's been no signs of "break in".) My motion detectors would trip the alarm anyway, but I'd like to help get them off the street since some of the smaller places can't afford the security.

So, is the 16 Cam set up excessive and a reflection of my paranoia? Or do the benefits easily outweigh the expense and presumed employee discomfort in feelings of invasiveness? What do you guys think? (Maybe I should post this in electronics and get some feedback on the tech stuff as well)

Anyway, I hope you're all well, and that I haven't bored you out of your skulls.

Not bored.
But no help.

I was thinking security cameras hooked up over the Internet ... and lo ... that was your plan as well. Can't help with the specifics, though. But I do like the concept.

So what's next, Bill? Going global maybe? "OccomBucks" has a nice ring to it.

"BillyBoy's restaurant" would be an eye catcher as well - especially in German speaking countries




That's why

As long as your staff feels that the security system is to protect them rather than to spy on them, I see no problem.

Great mind... you have Tico. :wink: 1 endorsement.

Depends on how the new property does this year. We're torn between doing another small town or trying Downtown Milwaukee next. Milwaukee has a lot more Pros, but a lot more Cons as well. If all goes well, I'm thinking 1 per year for the next 10 years and going absent for the off seasons (Costa Rica Baby!) as soon as it's reasonably feasible. Any opinion on the Cam set up?

ahhhummm, no.
Cam opinion?

It won't be that easy to sell, since they'll serve both purposes. I prefer oversight to spy, but I'm sure their will be some mixed emotions... especially in the kitchen (tough to call those protectionary). 2 yes's, no no's. Cool.

Thanks for taking the time to respond you guys.

In my work history, I have held positions in organizations that attracted many transients and others looking for personal assistance or handouts of some type or another. While the majority were civil and nonthreatening, we got more than our fair share of irrationally angry and violent types. This can be quite unnerving and/or frightening and/or dangerous to the lone employee in the front office.

We solved the problem by installing a 'buzzer system'. Whenever somebody came in that s/he wasn't sure about for any reason, s/he could hit the buzzer that did not ring in the immediate vicinity but did ring everywhere else. That prompted everybody to immediately 'casually stroll' to the location and provide the safety of numbers which was generally sufficient. A second combination on the buzzer prompted others to immediately summon the police.

The system worked so well that we even integrated the buzzer system among other organizations in the immediate vicinity so that we could help each other out too.

The only problem with a dedicated surveillance system in a place like a restaurant is that there is often no way to monitor your employees without also monitoring your guests. While a surveillance camera trained on the cash register or whatever is understandable and prudent, I think most restaurant guests would not like to know they were under constant surveillance while enjoying their evening.

Tonight I just opened a can of soup.

(my wife is staying in town to dine)

OK on this thread, Walter?

Since your staff are dealing with cash money and are in the public eye anyways I don't think they should have an issue with video cameras. If I was wait-staff it would not bother me. In another less-public type of job, it might.
The kitchen cameras could be a benefit in other ways and better explained as safety measures or useful for insurance claims should a kitchen fire occur, and not specifically for spying on your staff!

My thinking is of your customers privacy. What about a situation where a man and woman are married to other partners and are having an affair, meeting for a date at your restaurant? I don't know what the law is on taping customers without their permission or knowledge. Anyone?

That's Fast Food - although served fast as well. Could bring the highly reommended cuisine of Bill's location a bit in miscredit

From a technical standpoint, I like it. But speaking as an employee, I have a strong intestinal reaction against a surveillance camera pointing at me. I can absolutely see myself leaving my current job if my employer installed a surveillance camera in my office. Of course, my reaction may well be untypical, and your employees may see it differently than I would. So if I were in your position, I'd bring it up in front of my employees that I'm thinking about this, how it may give `us' bargaining room with the insurance, yadda yadda yadda, and see how they react. If they like it, go for it. But if their body language says `U-oh, the boss is getting pointy-haired', I'd reconsider.

If they saw it as something for their own protection/ security?