Do you think this restaurant will make it??

Question

So my husband and his two sisters are Latino. They were born in Mexico and then came here about 10-15 years ago. (Some came before others). Well they have gotten together and decided they want to start a 100% Authentic Mexican restaurant. We're not talking Tex-Mex. Our area here in NC has a high hispanic population and people are always asking where they can get authentic Mexican food. We dont plan to have an extended menu.... just authentic tacos de asa, pollo, puerco and lingua. Plus rice and beans and empanadas. They are planning a trip to Mexico in two months to go to a few nice restuarants to get good ideas. They don't want gorditas or burritos (They plan to avoid the Tex-Mex). They are going to make everything fresh and homemade (Even the tortillas will be made by hand and no meat will be frozen). The space they are looking at is very very nice and new (Its a nice little shopping center). What do you guys think so far? Any recomendations??

Answer 1

I live in NC and I'd eat there!

Answer 2

Great idea. Use 100% fresh food, and as your doing go to some REAL Mexican restaurants. And talk to some chefs that have resaurants in Mexico! Great idea! Keep working. Use some Mexican deserts like flan and try and buy a Mexican cookbook!

Answer 3

Yes this is a great idea to make a Mexican restaurant all that food that you say is getting me hungry i wish you good luck

Answer 4

Whether the restaurant makes it or not will be down to dedication and hard work. If your team can do things right and maintain a high standard of service and food quality then there is absolutely no reason why you should not succeed.

As a pointer to help in the preparation of your venture I would offer some advice which consists of two pointers which all restaurants live and die by.

1. GP - Gross Profit this is the ratio of the cost of your ingredients to the sale price on the menu. It should be at least 75% so if you buy some chicken for $1 you need to sell it for $4.

2. Staff cost percentage - this is the ratio of your gross staff costs to after tax turnover. This should be 25% or lower.

Include detailed projections of these in your business plan, work hard, be thrifty and keep the wastage low! I wish you the very best of luck!!

Answer 5

Sounds fantastic, wish you were in my area!  Good luck with your new business, I hope it does well.

Answer 6

Sure, they will! I live in Seattle which is a real restaurant town but with the exception of the taco trucks most of the Mex restaurants were American style (oaxacan people owned them but the food was not what they ate)

A new restaurant opened in a good neighborhood recently and after 5 or 6 o'c forget it ! you will have to stand in the rain to get a table and people do!

You hear people talking saying things like why isn't there more cheese on it etc. you know...They are used to the American style stuff...

But they come back and bring their friends to get the almost black mole chicken or pork tamales wrapped in banana leaves! ( which I think is a very 'smart' way to give just one tamale for a single serving)

The restaurant I'm talking about was filled with Hispanic families first -so tell the sisters to advertise in the local Spanish Language paper and even the local neighborhood ad for the Grand Opening (clearly stating that it is "authentic") ...even though the money will be tight at first.

Good luck to all...and if they want to move to Seattle...I'm a gringa who is sick of standing in the rain...

Answer 7

I think it will make in NC. Where in NC I'm in Sanford.

Answer 8

Yep, include some Tex-Mex and Cal-Mex. Most real Mexican food is pretty bland.

Answer 9

Sounds really good!  Now may not be the best time to open a new business with the state of the economy, however it is a good time to purchase the place to be the home of your restaurant.  I know that you said you wanted to avoid the Tex-Mex menus, I would put a few in there if not you are going to loose business from then non Latino community and when starting a business you never want to cater only to one community and shut out others.  You need all the business that you can handle.  Good Luck!

Answer 10

Yes!  Have a business plan.  Educate yourselves in running a small business.  Many local community colleges have free classes for business start up.  They will teach you such things as budgeting and the fact that you better not expect to see a profit for 1-2 years and you have to be able to get through that financially.  They will teach you what licenses are needed in your area, how to set up for tax, etc..etc.....about insurance you need, such as liability, and work comp, etc..etc..

And even though the owners will be family, it is best to have everything in writing.  Have an attorney look everything over.

While the idea of running a restaurant can be romantic it is lots of work and will require lots of time.  But with a good product, good value, good word-of-mouth and a strong sense of business you can make it work.

Answer 11

if there is a large enough market for it. and people know you exist. why not.

a small tip: when starting the business, you might want to consider catering on hispanic family events. this will help you make a name under the hispanic community. and generate a small amount of extra income.

Answer 12

I think this is all great! But as a hspanic i think you should extend the menu a little! if you keep the choices very limited you nay have a problem of people getting tired of eating the same old thing and they may stop coming so expand your menu a nd give lots of choices keep the variety going that way the people will always come to try something new! good luck

Answer 13

yipper