Open a BBQ restaurant, they said. It will be fun, they said

good luck. just sold my restaurant. did it for 30 yrs. expect lots of highs and lows and never before seen stress level. all worth it. most important your place keep your finger on everything watch everyone around you at all time. good luck
 
marubozo said:
There will be no ND stuff going on the walls in the restaurant. That's for sure. Now offering discounts on game day with apparel, maybe. I may live here, but that doesn't mean I like ND. I will try to attract their fans, but I won't stoop to littering the place with their paraphernalia. It's a college football thing, and some lines cannot be crossed. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Haha, that's funny. I guess you are a Michigan fan? I'm a Clemson fan but unfortunately live in the town where our rival university (South Carolina) is located.

I've contemplated myself if I would have to somehow promote their university if I wanted to set up a successful BBQ place here. I don't think I have it in me to do it....though. Go Tigers!

As for your situation, I was in college not that long ago, and remember that students would do almost anything for a free t-shirt and a free meal. There were credit card companies who would setup booths on the main strip of Clemson and give people a free meal and t-shirt in exchange for them signing up for a credit card. Now for a credit card company, the tactic is a little sleazy IMO, but it was very effective.

Maybe you could go to the university and hand out coupons with a pretty hefty discount, along with a free t-shirt. Could end up costing a good bit, but hundreds of students wearing your t-shirt would be some great marketing. Then, if you get them in the door with a good discount, they then realize that your food is awesome, that 15-20 minute drive from Notre Dame won't seem too bad anymore.
 
get Gordon Ramsey over .... they pay to fit your kitchen, decorate your restaurant, set up neon signboards and also promote your business (for free)
 
This thread certainly is a great place for a 1st post. Exciting read and the respect within this community is manifest. Really wish you all the best with this project. I'm a new fan of your Facebook page just to make sure I don't miss any development.

Oh, and great job with the T-shirts! :D
 
humdogj said:
You're definitely doing something that myself, and a lot of others, only dream of doing. It's awesome just to read about the experience that you are going through and how your information could help someone down the road with their own restaurant startup.

Once again, keep it up! Never put up any ND stuff....great move:p On Wisconsin! Go Badgers!
Click to expand...

Thanks. That was my whole reason for creating this post. In my planning for making this a reality, I found tons of amazing advice on this site and others just by reading about others who have gone down this path before. It's far more helpful than any book. So, I just hope that either in success or failure, by sharing my experience I can help others go on to do their own thing. (or save them a lot of money by convincing them not to do it!)

And boo, no Badgers! I bleed green. Go MSU!

raginranger said:
Haha, that's funny. I guess you are a Michigan fan? I'm a Clemson fan but unfortunately live in the town where our rival university (South Carolina) is located.

I've contemplated myself if I would have to somehow promote their university if I wanted to set up a successful BBQ place here. I don't think I have it in me to do it....though. Go Tigers!

As for your situation, I was in college not that long ago, and remember that students would do almost anything for a free t-shirt and a free meal. There were credit card companies who would setup booths on the main strip of Clemson and give people a free meal and t-shirt in exchange for them signing up for a credit card. Now for a credit card company, the tactic is a little sleazy IMO, but it was very effective.

Maybe you could go to the university and hand out coupons with a pretty hefty discount, along with a free t-shirt. Could end up costing a good bit, but hundreds of students wearing your t-shirt would be some great marketing. Then, if you get them in the door with a good discount, they then realize that your food is awesome, that 15-20 minute drive from Notre Dame won't seem too bad anymore.
Click to expand...

Michigan is evil! I went to Michigan State, so that's where my allegiance lies.

But good idea on the college freebies. Like you said, I bet there's some opportunity out there to grab some of the student base with something like that. I'll have to brainstorm that a bit.

Dim said:
get Gordon Ramsey over .... they pay to fit your kitchen, decorate your restaurant, set up neon signboards and also promote your business (for free)
Click to expand...

Hah, it's funny you mention that. Just the other night my wife said I should just call Robert Irvine and have Restaurant Impossible come out and finish the place and get the doors open. I think she may have been serious. :twitch:
 
Sweet! good luck to ya. I do a lot of traveling. I always try the local BBQ when I'm out. If and when I get close to ya... I'll drop in and give your BBQ a try.
 
Best of luck to you! Looks like the place is in good shape and the location should have decent traffic. With good food and advertising, hopefully you can make a go of it.

I'm originally from the BC area. If I get some time when I'm back home for a visit, I'll have to swing by.
 
The rest of the wood came today. Not looking forward to stacking it, but I guess with all the delays, I've got time on my side. :redface:

wl1y5k.jpg
 
I hope you the best! I'm so glad there will be no ND stuff on the walls! Boiler Up! But wait what goes better with bbq than sports and a cold beverage. How how about BIG 10 memorabilia and just a little ND to keep the locals happy. I'll send you all the PU stuff you want.
 
Two questions. First, apparently your place is close to ND, I wouldn't place a single item of their on the wall either, but my team Rutgers is joining the B1G soon and I am not familiar with the area up there is it also close to any other schools cause I plan on going to a lot of away games and would love to visit on the trip.

Two, I am new here so I am unsure, did you do any catering first before you moved to the restaurant or just backyard, family get together stuff. Thanks
 
boiler93 said:
I hope you the best! I'm so glad there will be no ND stuff on the walls! Boiler Up! But wait what goes better with bbq than sports and a cold beverage. How how about BIG 10 memorabilia and just a little ND to keep the locals happy. I'll send you all the PU stuff you want.
Click to expand...
Go Irish!
 
humdogj said:
Great thread! Keep up the great work. Can't wait to see more and more as the project progresses. Hopefully someday I will be stopping in at The Prized Pig for some good ol' BBQ.

You're definitely doing something that myself, and a lot of others, only dream of doing. It's awesome just to read about the experience that you are going through and how your information could help someone down the road with their own restaurant startup.

Once again, keep it up! Never put up any ND stuff....great move:p On Wisconsin! Go Badgers!
Click to expand...
Man what's up with all the ND hate? Go Irish!
 
The Smoking Pig said:
Two questions. First, apparently your place is close to ND, I wouldn't place a single item of their on the wall either, but my team Rutgers is joining the B1G soon and I am not familiar with the area up there is it also close to any other schools cause I plan on going to a lot of away games and would love to visit on the trip.

Two, I am new here so I am unsure, did you do any catering first before you moved to the restaurant or just backyard, family get together stuff. Thanks
Click to expand...

No other major schools immediately close by, but within just about two hours or less there's Northwestern and Purdue. And a bit of a stretch, but Michigan State is about 2.5 hours away and Indiana University is about 3.

As for the catering and stuff, I did a ton of friends and family type stuff, but did some occasional catering as well. I only did really small gigs (usually 40 or less people) since I wanted to keep it something I could handle doing myself and not needing to hire help or invest in more equipment.

luv2putt said:
I want a shirt ... How much ??
Click to expand...

Well, no shirts being sold quite yet. First run was a small batch just to cover staff needs and to get a few shirts on friends and family to wear around, but I'll be doing a much larger printing once we get open and will have some available then.
 
Marubozo I wish you the best of luck and will be following this thread....
Dang just read it all and my eyes are tired lol

I will try to be there for your opening.

Keep on keeping on and keep your head up.


Dave
 
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