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

Pyle's BBQ said:
Do you have one person dedicated as a prep cook? Do you have any extra room in your cooler? Two things I would look at if you are running out of sides. One person is in charge of making the sides for the week. You could make the beans, slaw and potato salad on Tuesday to get you through Sunday. On Sunday sides could be made again so you have product for Wednesday. I wouldn't put the red cabbage in your slaw until the night before or the morning of service. Less chance of it turning purple. Not knowing how you do M&C you might be able to have those ready to put on the smoker when needed.

I was like you and did the open to close Thurs-Sun, order on Monday, be there Tuesday to put it away and Wednesday get things ready for the Farmer's Market. It was a tough summer. You are doing more volume. Be sure you take care of yourself. It will do no good if you go down due to exhaustion.
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I do have a dedicated prep cook, and we're already doing all of that. All of the sides are prepped and first thing in the morning we just have to pull from the cooler and throw in the oven, or add dressing to the cabbage and potatoes, etc. We've even usually got 4 pans of corn bread always ready to pull.

But it comes down to space again. We prep as many pans of all the sides we can fit, but both walk-ins are full, the reach-in is full, so the rest of the day is spent prepping to fill everything up again by the end of the night.

Sparty said:
I heard several of your commercials today on 96.1 :)

But do you really need to advertise at this point?
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Certainly don't NEED to right now, but the radio spots are still working and bringing in new folks from quite a distance away who have no idea we're even here. Pretty much every day someone will come in and say they heard us on the radio and had to come check us out. So it's certainly worth it for now, but it won't be an ongoing thing by any means.
 
I am new to the forums and just found this thread. We live in Grand Rapids and are planning a spring trip down the coast to seek out good food and beer...I am definitely adding your place to our list! I am working my way through this entire thread and so far I am very impressed... love to hear you are having success and looking forward to trying out your Q!
 
I had a semester or two in college where I'd routinely go to bed at 2 or 3, and wake up at 6 or 630.

It got to a point where I was technically awake, but almost a zombie. Seemed like I was more likely to get sick and not be able to shake it for a while.

Not good. Your rest is important! :p
 
Since I know many of you are interested in some of the details about sales and menu item breakdown, I pulled up last week's stats. This is for the 5 days wed through sunday. Could have done a lot more, but sold out at about 6 on Saturday and at 4 on Sunday.

80 brisket platters
105 large rib tip platters
80 pulled pork sandwiches
57 brisket sandwiches
36.7 brisket by the pound
312 soft drinks/tea/coffee
38 pulled pork platters
48 half chicken platters
22 full rack platters
29 half rack platters
27 sausage platters
24 squealer sandwiches
22.5 pulled pork by the pound
18 a la carte rib tips
22 burnt end platters
23 chicken sandwiches
14 pork sampler special
9 a la carte burnt ends
11 sausage by the pound
12 chicken wing specials
5 half chicken wing specials
10 half rib tip platters
8 Friday sausage special
17 kids meals
 
You say you could of done a lot more but sold out. From the sounds of all your updated posts you couldn't have done a lot more as you are running at full capacity.

That is great 5 day sales

The problem you have is a great problem to have. Don't let people tell you that you never want to run out of food etc. All restaurants wished they could sell out while running max capacity. The bad problem would be if you were selling out and still had the capacity to produce more.
 
Remember when you had nothing to do all day but wait for contractors and inspectors to return your call... those were the good ole days:laugh:

Really, it's great to see the success of all your time and efforts. I've always wanted my own BBQ restaurant. After following this thread from the very beginning, I now know for certain that I do not have what it takes :crazy:

You've probably saved me thousands of dollars in hard knocks education. The least I could do is travel your way for what certainly must be the best BBQ in the Michiana area.

Remember to take care of yourself. Everyday cannot be a sprint to the finish. Once you reach the burn-out level, it's hard to come back from that.
 
So, Rib Tips continue to be a big seller, they look to be your biggest item. That is interesting to me, as they are not an item out here.
 
meridian8 said:
would it be worth it to reduce the menu to only carry higher margin higher volume sellers?
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Nope. On our comment cards people fill out, menu variety is the one thing that we're constantly dinged on. And when we first opened, the menu was even smaller, but people wanted the stuff they are used to getting in the area.

landarc said:
So, Rib Tips continue to be a big seller, they look to be your biggest item. That is interesting to me, as they are not an item out here.
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Tips are mostly a chicago area, midwest thing. When I opened I didn't even have them on the menu. I've never been a huge fan and figured people would just get racks instead. Nope. Every other person that came in wanted tips. Had lots of people walk out because we didn't have them. Infact, people will often still walk out if they get here and learn we're out of tips or if they have to wait for the next batch to come off.

Other than all the space they take up on the smoker, I don't mind them now. Unlike ribs and brisket, there's basically zero trimming, so you get to use everything you're paying for. And the price isn't bad, so the margin is pretty good.
 
Never stop advertising, it is a fatal flaw that many people make. Second once you get to the point that you think you never need to advertise, then raise your prices. You may lose some customers, although you are making a higher margin and the trade off is worth it. After about 18 months, I would take a good look at your menu and see if you can work the 80/20 rule. Where 20% of your items are making you 80% of your money. At that time you can drop some items if you want to. 80/20 is where you want to be.
 
marubozo said:
The main issue last week though was me hitting my physical limit. On Saturday I was about at the point of collapsing due to exhaustion.
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your health(and your family) are important enough for you to schedule a day away from the business(barring emergencies)---every week!!

Love your sharing of this journey!!
 
Hey, I was just on your website checking out our menu, an under the brisket player it says "I generous serving" instead of "A". Just a heads ups. Unless that's how you guys talk on that side I the country!
 
Thanks for catching the typo. We may talk funny up here, but that isn't included.

And today may be my lucky day. Found a used double CVAP for $800 in Chicago. He said it works, which I'd hope so, but frankly at that price I wouldn't even care if it didn't. My repair guy could fix it up for another $500 and I'd still save about $4k. And all of my hot holding issues would be solved. Wouldn't improve smoker capacity, but it would certainly help me maximize the space I do have in it.

Now I just need the guy to call me back so I can set up a time to go pick it up.
 
Awesome score on the CVAP.

Are you using rib racks in the SP? Have you thought about finishing some brisket flats in the rib racks. Start them flat then finish on edge... it would give you time to cook more ribs.

Brisket is your biggest seller. You have to add up all the brisket items and also look at your margin.

Another option you now have is grilled chicken on the broiler. Chicken is staying cheap and the margin is evaporating as pork and brisket get more expensive. Just some food for thought (yes I did).
 
marubozo said:
Kate Upton. At The Prized Pig? Possibly. The saga continues...
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I'm thinking we are all still waiting for pictures. :heh:

Anyways I love following this thread and check in daily. Am I crazy for still dreaming about opening up a small place even after reading this thread?
 
Here's a picture of the best seller. Rib tips with mac and cheese and potato salad.

1623345_584779441617485_425724515_n.jpg
 
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