Vegan pizza place?

Question

ok, how hard and what all would it take to open my own vegan pizza place? and what would the chances of being successful be?

Thanks.

I am 18, and still trying to discover what my future holds, so this is just a thought I recently had. I use love pizza, but I'm vegan now, so I don't get pizza out, I make my own, and it would be a nice thought to me, if I could provide other vegans (especially teens) with a great vegan pizza place, where they wouldn't have to worry about hidden ingredients and people giving them strange looks.

Answer 1

What general area do you live in? Some restaurants offer vegan choices. You should check out http://veganeatingout.com

Hope that helped.

Edit: I suggest you move more towards the coasts. LA would your best bet. Go wherever they're a lot of g*y people. I know this sounds stereotypical but I'm g*y and I'm allowed to say that.

Answer 2

i would definitely go there. probably California. theres TONS of health food places and vegetarians.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 3

You're not going to stay in business if you cater ONLY to vegans.  I'm not saying to not open a vegan restaurant, but make sure you have non-vegans working and tasting the items to make sure that the food is good and will attract all types of people, not just vegans.  (There's a vegan restaurant in Seattle that does this, I forgot what it's called, saw it on Food Network.)  The majority of your patrons will be non-vegans.

If you go with the above mentality, it doesn't matter which state you live in, as long as it's a metropolis.  

Oh, as for the money, there's always government loans for small start-ups.

Answer 4

My best advice is that it would totally depend on where the place is located. For example, in the Canadian town where my family lives, a vegan pizza place would get maybe 2 customers per day... however, where I live, in west L.A. it might have a chance of succeeding.

If you're planning on staying in the same area in the future, try to get a judgment based on how many vegan restaurants are in your city, and how successful they are. I personally am ecstatic when a new vegan place opens up, and I would definitely patronize a vegan pizza place... unfortunately though, vegans are in the minority.

Edit--- Ok, I'm going to chime in with some stereotypical stuff too :D I would say that the best places for a vegan restaurant would be the places with the most liberals and hippies. L.A. of course comes to mind because I live there, and I've seen that vegan businesses thrive all over LA county. California in general would probably be one of the best states to have a vegan business in.

Just as a little disclaimer: I don't think every single vegan is necessarily a democrat or a liberal, but I would bet my life that over 90% of vegan North Americans are... that's just the vegan cookie crumbles!

Answer 5

My first thought is do you really know what your getting into.  The in's and out's of running a business.

Have you even considered or know the cost of a good pizza oven?  What about other options to offer?

The one person that suggested getting a job in a pizza place and learn the business - not that bad of a suggestion.  You learn on another person's dime how to order, sanitation requirements, the type of employee's that your going to want, how to and where to order the supplies that your going to need.  Learn how they handle the different situations that come up in business - someone not showing up for work, broken equipment, etc. etc. etc.

I would also think twice about going into a market/area where there are already alot of similar businesses.  While you want to be in an area that you do indeed have a market - you don't want to be 'lost in the sauce' (just another place).  So thinking of going on the outskirts of a big city might be something to really consider.  Close - but not so close as to be just another one of many.  Not too far of a drive (because of the cost of gas) - but a place to go for a nice pizza with friends.

I would also suggest not limiting the choice to just vegan.  While such may be the choice that you have made for your own life - many people like and expect cheese on a pizza.  Something to consider would be to have a good quality cheeses.  By such an approach, you are also exposing people to choices that they may never have considered and actually have a positive effect - something that sounds like would appeal to you.

Even in the small town - and I am talking SMALL TOWN - that I live in, there are people that are vegetarian/vegan.  I live in Texas.  True, Houston is up the road - but such a diet choice is not unheard.  Many people are actually making a move in having less meat in their diet for health reasons.  A new business just opened in the area that I live in - a vegetarian/vegan sandwich shop - - and it is doing GREAT business - in Texas - a SMALL town.  Reason that it is doing so great?  Selection of site and the people likely to be in the area where they have their shop.  They opened it up near the sky diving school - lots of people from outside of the area are coming in to jump - as well as the locals.

Before you even going to be able to get a loan for such a venture, your going to have to be able to present to others that you know the business, that you know the market and why it will have success where you are going to open it, and that you fill a need within the market that is not being met (your a good finacially chance and likely not to default on the loan).

I hope that you make it.  I prefer something other than the 'all the same' sort of chain places that abound.  If given the choice - I am one of those that make the choice of a 'mom and pop' place over a chain every time.

Answer 6

GOD BLESS YOU!

lol

I'm also a vegan pizza lover - and- like you, I don't eat it hardly at all any more b/c for me it's not a food of convenience like it used to be (I have to make my own).

I think it's a great idea. I think it would be successful as long as it is in a location with a huge veg*n population. I hear that Portland, OR and Seattle, WA are both good places for something like that. From what I understand, there is also a hefty demand for cruelty-free foods in NYC and Southern California. And finally, I think Vermont has a good population of individuals who are all about being green and eating organic. That might be a good market.

Good luck if you decide to try it!

Answer 7

Have a few million dollars?  No?  Then go to work for a regular pizza place, start off as dishwasher if you have to, and learn the business.

Answer 8

Depends on where you plan to open it and how big you want it. There are a few vegan pizza places out there such as Vinnies Pizzeria Di Teggino and T.J. Scallywaggle's Vegan House Pizza & Subs, and they are quite successful. As long as you get good employees, pick a good location, and make good food that is not overly priced I think you would succeed! Where do you live? It may be easier to make a pizza place where you live. Of course the big vegan cities that are known for being vegan friendly are good such as Portland, Seattle, New York, cities in California. Other good locations include cities in Florida such as Orlando, Houston Texas, Chicago Illinois, Boston Massachusetts, or Scottsdale Arizona.

Links to check out:

http://www.fabjob.com/restaurantowner.as...

http://www.pizzabusiness.com/

http://scallywaggles.com/