I was thinking about opening up a old style deli in california, possible hot rod themed... this is in the baby stages of development... so who owns one? let me know what I am getting into. Bigdaddy
Not a Deli but..... My family has been in the restaurant business for 50 yrs. (See link to Chuck-A-Burger below). My grandpa, my dad, and now myself. My dad will be the first to tell anyone, "How do you lose all of your money? Open a restaurant." I do it because I'm 3rd, generation otherwise I would choose a different career.
I was brainstorming a while back, and thought it would be corny/cool to have a hot-rod themed restaurant... menu items named after car stuff: APPETIZERS: Clutch Poppers (bite-size anything) Muncie Munchies (tortilla chips or homemade potato chips) 5-Spokes (5 different "dippable" appetizers with dipping sauce in the middle) SOUP/SALAD: "Gasser" Chili Mustang Salad (Say it out loud) BURGERS (Served with "Side Pipes" a.k.a. french fries): 4-Barrel (1/4 lb. burger) Dual Quad (Double 1/4 lb. Cheesburger) The Stromburger (house specialty burger) Smoky Burnout (Spicy BBQ sandwich) Inliner (Meatball Sub or anything on a hoagie roll) OTHER SIDES/ENTREES: Flat-Blackened Chicken Deadman's Curve (Jumbo Shrimp) Carrera Panamerica (fajitas) BREAKFAST: Baby Moons (eggs over easy) Streamliners (Sausage links)
I worked in one (cousin owned) for 5 years of saturdays, does that count? It is actually tough work. Repetitious. On your feet all day. Perishables so you have to re-stock often. Dealing with stupid customers can be tough. Hard to innovate or have market niche. Have to sell a lot of sandwiches to make just fixed expenses. Hard to find enthusiastic help. Can be a messy and stinky job. Must work weekends. You WILL zing the end of your finger off on a slicer more than once. If you have children that you can hire to help you have a shot. I highly recommend working at one part time on saturdays for a year first. On the other hand, I have seen some expand into local chains and do exceptionally well. Good luck. *Don't let your enthusiasm for the hot rod theme override the realities of this business. To most people it's just another deli.
Full Race Camembert. Top Fuel Buffalo Wings. Chopped Pork on Wide White Bread. Scallops. Dead Man's Pastrami. Frenched Fries. 86 the skidmarks.
Had a place on the Ga. coast in the 80's. Every time I start to think about another one I bash myself in the head with a hammer. Long hours, feast or famine $$. Help is always a problem, slave to the customer. But other than that... you always eat good.
HAHA I would drive all the way to Texas just to eat there if you had a place like that! Big Daddy , where would you plan on having that deli? Good ones are hard to find around here.
If it doesn't have a Chocolate, or at least a Cherry Phosphate on the menu, it's not a Deli. I worked my way through College in Cafes. it's demeaning hard work as stated above. And the risk of being robbed (been there) or killed over register chump change makes it way not worth it.
A friend of mine and his wife used to own a hamburger place in Oklahoma. They retired at age 47, and now do what they want. They got to the restaurant at 9 a.m., opened at 10, closed at 3, and went home by 4, M-F, no weekends. They both worked there, and had a couple of employees. They had a limited menu. They cut their own fries. The served burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, chili. They also drove the same cars for 20 years, did all their own house repairs, etc, all the while investing as much money as they could, so they could live off investments. It worked out well for them, but they were frugal with their money, and put in a lot of hours at their restaurant.
nailed it right there!!!!! we have a actual restaurant, not a deli, but everthing chopped says is dead on!!! the wife wants to do 2 or 3 more here in the midwest! i told her to wait for me to die first!!!one is way more then plenty to handle! i wanted it to be 50's themed but the cost for that shit is unreal...would have doubled the build cost, and i did most of the work myself! on a side note....if i ever win the big one, im goin to build a drag strip with a drive in and a restaurant all in one....wish me luck!
A buddy of mine did something like that several years ago and had a hot rod/musclecar theme, I think the names you came up with a frigggin excellent, he had some hot rod names but also incorpated sandwiches with musclecar names as well, it sorta of catered to a different crowd that could relate to there era and likes. The Cobra, GTO, SuperSport and so on. Good luck with the new gig.
I don't own a deli, but I've been in the biz for 15 years, and I just felt I should add this to everyone else's posts...Kiss your holidays and weekends goodbye. You like Saturdays off? Tough shit, you're gonna miss that car-show, Saturday is the money day. You like seeing your family on holidays? Tough shit, 'cause Thanksgiving/Mother's Day/whatever are money days and you can't afford to close those days. You like watching your kids grow up? Tough shit, 'cause they're in school all day and you're gonna be working until past their bedtime 5 nights a week at minimum. You like a 40-hour workweek? HAH--I scoff at your "part-time job"--I put in 55-60, and that's down from my last gig which was 80+ a week. Why do I do this again? (goes away to cry) Jack
My family owns a sausage store and European deli and what everyon else has said is true. It's an ass-busting business. Lots and lots of work, no holidays, no weekends, no spare time. My nephew used to call the sausage store "Daddy's house" 'cuz that's where Daddy always was. On the upside, I can stuff and twist sausages in my sleep. (That doesn't sound right...)
mike , theres so many ways to go with this, that im just goin to let it go!!!! see, i dont always have to give you shit!@
Like every one has said it's alot of work and sacrafice. You also have to be mentally and financialy ready or your just wasting your time. I am proof that it works. But my shop is not a deli, it's a snowball stand. (snow cone as some call it) Best of luck if you do go for it. Robert
I live in the SF Valley, and the place is rotten with 'em. Abe's, Mort's, Solley's, etc. If you're going to make a traditional deli work, you're gonna need a substantial Jewish following. Lots of platters for Bar Mitzvahs, Pessach, etc. Need to get a good Latkes recipe, need to teach the guys to stack the corned beef to where you can barely get your mouth around it, gonna hafta find a good source for homemade dill pickles. Don't know how many Jews are in the OC, bubba. Just my pair'o'pennies. But if you wanna run up here and take a tour of the great delis, let me know- I'm always down for a bowl of Kreplach. (it's not as gross as it sounds-trust me)
Ya Kiddin' me? The best Ham sammich I ever had was at a Jewish deli. Just 'cause the Jews don't EAT it don't mean they don't SELL it. But Amen to the Boar's head, man. That's some Flinkin' flankin' good ham.
I just gotta say man I am not in the business but I have seen what good places can do once they become popular there is a place in Seattle called Pecos they only accept cash and are only open for lunch hours mon - fri and every time i went there or passed by there were always at least 10 people in line that place was jamming you get a following like that and your set.
California needs GOOD delicatessens. Most of them use the same suppliers so you get the same mediocre meats, cheeses, salads and bread. You need to find quality ingredients. Cute names for menu items won't get my business. Places like that usually have crap food. I don't really care much about the decor of a deli so long as they have good hot pastrami and etc., etc., etc. It's going to help if you are Italian, Greek, Jewish, German, Polish or Russian. Good luck!
There seems to be quite a few czechs and russians around here (orange county) maybe he can get one of them to work for him.....crap now Im hankerin for a hunk a cheese
Here is some inspiration for you http://www.triplexrootbeer.com/ Scroll down to view the menu. We hit it once a week in the summertime with whatever jalopy(s) we have. They have a pretty strong following.
Seriously ? If you weren't born to it or grew up in it or through the initiated ranks of your first job , well then , NO . You want to see what you are getting into? Go work in one for a year at 60 to 80 hours a week and then see what you think . Not to discourage you , but my idea of reward and everyone elses are very different . 1- work weekends and nights so you can watch everyone else have fun first hand. 2-60 hour work weeks are NORMAL .(nominal) 3-Will your wife live with you like that ? 4- do you like to see your children ? Because you get to watch them grow up in step photographic stages.( I have a 16 year old daughter? ) 5-You have to do EVERYTHING! If you cannot , then paying someone to , is expensive( check refrigeration costs here ) 6- Can you make everyone happy? 7-know exactly why you are doing this. 8-everything costs more than you though it would 9-your burnout potential is the highest it will ever be 10-ever been a counselor? 11- do you enjoy madness? 12-etc. etc. etc. It is the marriage of the masochist and the machine . It will break you on so many more levels than you knew existed , if you are not careful . Other than that, Go for it. g'luck . swaZZie
I agree with some of this and dis agree with some of it. My wife was partners in a DEli for years and did a tremendous amount of research before opening. They were open from 6 am till 1;30 5 days a week with about an hour after to clean up. They located in a office / industrial park that had no business's open on holidays or weekends so they would not have to work on weekends.High rent but had access to customers with a higher than average income and not the kind to bring their lunch. They (two women) did all the work themselves, no heartburn with employees ect. The biggest thing they saw in their research was everyone seemed to serve the same old stuff,you know the meat truck backs up and unloads frozen preformed meat patties,chunks of pressed meat,frozen potatoes, frozen vegetables, and then they were heated up and sold as homemade DELI food.ugggk. They made huge fresh cinnamon rolls every morning ( actually they were made the day before)baked early,and the Deli case was stocked with oddball delicious looking FRESH treats. One of the biggest sellers in the summer was Caramel apples.Once a week they made Fudge and was usually sold out soon after. Winter time was soup time. no mixes from the food truck. Talk to some older ladies and practice till your soup makes you have an erection, it has to be that good! Bread for the sandwichs was homemade and baked in coffee cans so the slices would be round and BIG. Pickels wrapped with deli meat and cheese,deviled eggs ,Things that are not available everywhere else. They sold tons of homemade Cheesecake ,with Cherry Mash being the all time favorite. In season ,melons and peach and strawberry shortcake were great sellers. They had a theory that almost everything was better fresh . We gained a tremendous amount of weight in the two and a half years she was doing this,but when I walk past the DEli case in my local food store I have to smile,they don't have a clue. Her partner returned to her childhood home after a divorce and my wife couldn't find anyone with the vision and work ethic to replace her. It can't be a job it has to be a passion!
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