Restaurant Ideas

I usually steer clear of oysters unless I am right by the ocean. But I love the ideas!

2. Gourmet Popsicles. Think organic strawberry, basil, lemon grass. Pineapple, mint, ginger. Go crazy. Keep them interesting. Keep them organic. Cost $3-$5 each depending on ingredients

There is a huge disconnect here, though. A pint of organic strawberries is like $4 wholesale, and you might get 2-3 popsicles out of a pint if you're fair about it, not to mention any overhead. I fail to see how $3-5 price point works for this model.

Benefits: No brick and mortar needed. Make them off site.

Where off site? You can't just make stuff at home, you'd have to rent a commercial kitchen, more overhead.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but do you have bar/restaurant ownership experience? I don't want to pick on you or anything, but owning a bar, all day every day pretty much everyone I meet pitches their "ideas that would make a killing" but none of them seem to just do it themselves. Hell, I've got over 18 years in the Louisville restaurant scene and even I wouldn't come close to saying I think I've figured it out, it's just not that easy. These aren't lemonade stands, everything you encounter ends up costing you money, the balance to just stay open is incredibly tedious.

[Robin Garr]

I usually steer clear of oysters unless I am right by the ocean. But I love the ideas!

In fairness, oysters shipped on ice and cared for come through live, so I guess they're fresh when you shuck them. Louisville has been a huge oyster-loving town since at least the 1860s (when Mazzoni's was founded) and probably before. Having the L&N railroad making a straight shot to the Gulf with reefer cars full of ice made it possible even in those old days. Having a UPS hub makes it even easier now.

(Tee hee) "reefer cars"

What I was thinking was 'Why not have both?"

Pacific Oysters are beautiful raw- don't tell me they aren't better than Atlantic, because I know better. They're very elegant and taste like the waters they come from. A pain in the butt to shuck but so worth it.

Atlantic Oysters are warm-water bivalves and are brilliant for cooking applications. You can get them by the bucket- preshucked. You can do a bazillion things with these fellas, I'm just not a fan of them raw, as some tend to have 'full bellies,' as I like to put it.

You could do both. If you're billing yourself as an oyster bar- why not be the best you can be?

200k could get you into the game. Good luck.

These were things I was going to do in Louisville and never got the time to. They are needed. Im fairly certain in the right location they would make a mint. Someone take the ideas and run with them.

1. Oyster Bar. Im not talking the ridiculous "concept" pushed by Doc Crows but an honest to goodness Old Florida Panhandle style oyster bar. Like an AwShucks or Shuck'ems. Shuck them right at a long bar in open view of customers and everyone.
Menu:
Raw oysters on the half shell $1 a pop, which wholesale for .35 to .55 a piece last time I priced them out with the distributor in town.
Broiled/chargrilled varieties: $2 a pop Oysters Dupont, Oysters Rockefeller, Oysters with Sriracha and Butter, etc. Rotate through 5 varieties.
Thats it! Maybe be adventurous and add a fryer for fried oysters if you want.
Full liquor license but beer is key with oysters.
Potential location: Across the street from the Icehouse on Main Street is a location for lease last I checked. Has a garage door you could simply roll up in the summer, let traffic from conventions and down town and sports games roll in.
You make your money on volume and alcohol. Having well trained fast shuckers is key. Dont skimp on employee training.

......

I too love the idea and I think that I'd be a regular customer. In case you have any doubts about an inland oyster joint, see (or even visit);
http://www.spondivits.net/
Atlanta, GA
Yes, they are more than oysters....namely crab and lobster buckets....but they shuck good! Anyway, with the flowing beer and booze, I think that they are a simpler version of your concept.

I'm with Alejandro on this one.

Yes, you can buy cheap(er) oysters.
But they are gonna be tiny.

Yes, there is a perceived "explotation" of markup because they're "fancy".

But I assure you, the markup is not purely profit.

I live in Florida now as of three weeks ago. Apalachicola, Mississippi and Louisiana oysters are anything but tiny, they are bigger than ANYTHING I have ever gotten at any "oyster bar" in Louisville and going for around a $1 each at raw bars. And again for people who grew up eating oysters they are, anything, but fancy. This is the crowd you would be shooting for.

You also have to figure in a huge labor margin as well as storage solutions (not to mention a risk of potential spoilage - high on any live seafood) into the mix.

Shuck a few thousand oysters in the course of two days and you'll see what I mean.

I'm not going to even begin to touch on the issue of staff retention. No qualified cook in their right mind wants to spend their entire shift doing nothing but shucking oysters, much less pretty much your entire staff.

There's a certain amount of pay you can quantify to skilled labor, but also a certain amount that is reasonable for the job. With job duties like this, you're basically paying a premium for under skilled labor, purely because the job is no fun, and you're doing it purely to keep people happy and retain them.

It's not exactly a sound business model from a staffing standpoint alone.

Hmmm and yet there are hundreds of raw bars throughout the Southeast, other than Louisville, figuring out how to retain shuckers at their oyster bars. I assure you its not magic, same as any other bar person they work for pay and tips.

Places near the water can do it because they are able to get oysters for dirt cheap, because they are digging the out of the dirt only miles away.

Then how are they doing it in TN? Washington DC? You really should get out of Louisville, travel around and scout some of these locations. Because others are managing to make it work.
Pearl's Oyster House in Memphis, TN is AMAZING. And a dozen oysters there is $10.99, less than a dollar each.

Look I dont care if anyone opens an oyster house in Louisville, as Im not living there and probably doubt I will ever return. But I have done my research on this and some of the criticisms are way way off base to what is happening in the region.

And that Popsicle stand idea? Not a bad one. Look up King of Pops in Atlanta.
Great concept, but again, entirely seasonal... What's the plan for the off season, or bad weather. King of Pops (last I checked) operates one location in a gas station parking lot. They do great business, and are highly regarded... But I think it's someone's hobby project.

There is no plan for off season. Run it seasonally. Spend your winters in the Bahamas. The end.

2. Gourmet Popsicles. Think organic strawberry, basil, lemon grass. Pineapple, mint, ginger. Go crazy. Keep them interesting. Keep them organic. Cost $3-$5 each depending on ingredients

There is a huge disconnect here, though. A pint of organic strawberries is like $4 wholesale, and you might get 2-3 popsicles out of a pint if you're fair about it, not to mention any overhead. I fail to see how $3-5 price point works for this model.

Because your popsicle isnt pure frozen strawberries? /facepalm
http://www.thehyppo.com/shop/straight-up-strawberry-pop

Where off site? You can't just make stuff at home, you'd have to rent a commercial kitchen, more overhead.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but do you have bar/restaurant ownership experience? I don't want to pick on you or anything, but owning a bar, all day every day pretty much everyone I meet pitches their "ideas that would make a killing" but none of them seem to just do it themselves. Hell, I've got over 18 years in the Louisville restaurant scene and even I wouldn't come close to saying I think I've figured it out, it's just not that easy. These aren't lemonade stands, everything you encounter ends up costing you money, the balance to just stay open is incredibly tedious.

http://www.kytchen.com/

Here you go.
Go on a road trip.

http://www.pearlsoysterhouse.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pearls-oyster-house-memphis

$10.99 a dozen. And yes they have shuckers.
Been there. Place is awesome.

Monday 50 cent oysters. And no they arent small.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/pearls-o ... QlXVZO02Yw

Any other "this will never work" criticisms I can smack down?

You wanna put your money on the line for any of these concepts?

There is inherent risk that numerous people have mentioned. Just because you have a comeback with places that have made it work doesn't mean it will, or have a market to meet the demand.

It's just not a concept that I see as viable.

I move tons of oysters a week, as does Alejandro. I'm not saying it won't work... Just not a concept that I'd out money behind, nor do I find exciting enough to meet a demand day after day, year after year.

You wanna put your money on the line for any of these concepts?

There is inherent risk that numerous people have mentioned. Just because you have a comeback with places that have made it work doesn't mean it will, or have a market to meet the demand.

It's just not a concept that I see as viable.

I move tons of oysters a week, as does Alejandro. I'm not saying it won't work... Just not a concept that I'd out money behind, nor do I find exciting enough to meet a demand day after day, year after year.

You're right. Hopefully someone will soon open another combo hookah, tattoo, sushi, pizza place on Bardstown. God knows the city could use more.

And I was going to put money into them, which is why I went out doing the research, visiting other owners and locations, scouting ideas. But then I moved from Louisville, so I thought someone else might want to run with them.

Oyster bars and gourmet pops ARE working in other cities. Nothing is unique about Louisville, that would make the concepts unviable.
I mean you guys tried a ramen noodle bar and you think oysters and popsicles is to crazy for Louisville? Hmmmm, okay.
Im done with the thread, feel free to get the last word in.

Here's the last word:

I knew you were bad to begin with. You just proved it to me, in spades.

You're right. Hopefully someone will soon open another combo hookah, tattoo, sushi, pizza place on Bardstown. God knows the city could use more.

And I was going to put money into them, which is why I went out doing the research, visiting other owners and locations, scouting ideas. But then I moved from Louisville, so I thought someone else might want to run with them.

Oyster bars and gourmet pops ARE working in other cities. Nothing is unique about Louisville, that would make the concepts unviable.
I mean you guys tried a ramen noodle bar and you think oysters and popsicles is to crazy for Louisville? Hmmmm, okay.
Im done with the thread, feel free to get the last word in.

Hopefully someone will soon open another combo hookah, tattoo, sushi, pizza place on Bardstown. God knows the city could use more.

My first tattoo is going to be a tattooed sushi roll and a piece of pizza smoking a hookah.

Hopefully someone will soon open another combo hookah, tattoo, sushi, pizza place on Bardstown. God knows the city could use more.

My first tattoo is going to be a tattooed sushi roll and a piece of pizza smoking a hookah.

I apologize for my misquote- not sure what sorta wizardry I had up my sleeve on that one.

I hope the conversation isn't over. I am no restauranteur, so I am curious to hear from knowledgable people why they think Memphis can support an oyster place and Nashville can support two fancy popsicle places, but we can't support one of either. What is it about Louisville that makes the businesses not viable and not worth the risk? Why did the popsicles fail here but apparently thrive in Nashville? Are we too small, too spread out, not enough tourists, not enough [insert demographic here], we only like our oysters rolled instead of raw -- something like that?