Have you ever noticed what's good for the blog is not necessarily good for the blogger?
Sometimes life gives you more free time, whether you want it or not,
and you suddenly find you have ample opportunities to blog. Last
summer, for example, my wife N went east to New York to take courses
for her masters degree. I used that time to start my blog and managed
to post several times a week. She's back in NYC again this summer and,
lo and behold, I have a bit of spare time to write.
Time to make some lemonade from my lemons. One way I'd like to use this time is to share some of the lessons I've learned during my attempt to open a restaurant in San Francisco.
As you may recall from my story a few months ago ("Mr. Sardine's Wild Ride"), I am trying to fulfill my dream of opening a small sustainable neighborhood restaurant.
I've decided to start a new series on In Praise of Sardines for people interested in learning more about how to open a restaurant (or a tea house, cafe, wine bar, pastry shop, catering business, or other food service related business). Following the lead of my first post on the topic, the series will be called "Wild Ride."
Maybe you're someone who, like me, has worked in the restaurant business for years, and you are ready to make the leap into becoming your own boss. Or perhaps you are one of those gifted cooks whose friends always insist that you really must open a little bistro, because you throw such fabulous dinner parties. Or maybe you're simply someone who enjoys eating out and would like to learn more about the crazy world known as the restaurant business. [Or maybe you entered "wild ride" into Google and thought you were going to find a completely different type of content.]
First, a disclaimer. What I will share with you is solely my experience of the process. I don't pretend to be an expert and I don't intend for my stories to be the final word on opening a restaurant. Also, I only know about the restaurant search process in San Francisco, not in Topeka, Tuscon, Trinidad or anywhere else. Even within San Francisco, your experience or that of others you know may be totally different. If it is comprehensive advice that you seek, you would be far better off consulting any of the countless how-to books on the topic and taking classes such as those that, within the US at least, are often offered by local community colleges, culinary schools, and the SBA.
Rather, I intend for this series to be less of a recipe or guide book and more of a sketch book or journal. This is just a blog, after all. Maybe you'll learn something and hopefully you'll not repeat my countless mistakes. Perhaps you'll have more sympathy for the owner of your favorite local restaurant (and give her a hug next time you're there). Maybe you'll decide to keep your high paying desk job. At the very least, I hope that you'll be entertained!
For those of you who are simply interested in learning about the status of my restaurant search, I'll also use these posts to catch you up to date!
Tune in next for Wild Ride, Part II: Meet the Brokers the Basics [sorry, I got a little ahead of myself].
Read the previous Wild Ride post: Prequel
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I apologize for any inconvenience (and no doubt irreparable psychological trauma) caused to those of you who attempted to leave comments on my blog today. My blog host, Typepad, decided to go on holiday for much of the day. I request that you have your attorneys contact them directly.
Can't wait to read more, Brett!
I have a friend who's a good cook, who's thinking about opening a catering business (he now works in the tech field, ie: high-paying desk job). I told him that perhaps he should work for a caterer on the weekends, to see if he likes that kind of work.
He replied, "Oh, I don't want to work on weekends!"
So hopefully, your restaurant will only be open when you feel like it.
And you can have weekends and evenings off!
(BTW: Are Brokers like Fokkers?)
Posted by: David L | Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 11:41 PM
biting my nails in anticipation.
Posted by: lobstersquad | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 07:38 AM
Brett -- I missed the first installment back when it was first posted, but I just read it and can't wait to hear more. Best wishes to you in your search, and I look forward to dining at your restaurant the moment that it's open!
Posted by: NS | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 08:04 AM