The permanent pop up restaurant...

[abefroman]

This is an idea that I have thought about for a long time. I think it has potential but I might be missing something. I live in Chicago and I have always liked the concept of a pop up restaurant. While the food itself is usually really good, theres just something cool about it being temporary.

Pop ups allow chefs to R&D a concept at a fraction of the price compared to opening a traditional restaurant. However, there is a lot of red tape involved within the process of creating a pop up. This leads to higher than perceived costs.

To create a pop up restaurant you need the following:

• Find a location
• Negotiate rental time agreement
• Get insurance
• Get permits
• Get licenses
• Source product (food)
• Set up a mobile kitchen (if needed)
• Get plates, utensils, takeout containers, ... etc
• Set up a dinning room / seating (if needed)
• Find staff (if needed)
• Set up POS system
• Set up marketing / advertisement plan

As you can see there are a lot of steps. I think this scares away a lot of people who can do the most important part - make great food. That is where my idea comes in.

A permanent pop up restaurant. This restaurant would always be changing its menu and chefs. It would also be much more resistant to YELP reviews and ever changing food trends. Most importantly, it would allow a chef to focus solely on their food and concept.

The following is the value the business would give to chefs wanting to create a pop up:

• Find a location
  • Provided
• Negotiate rental time agreement
  • Done through a website allowing for as little as one lunch service or as long as two weeks.
• Get insurance
  • Provided
• Get permits
  • Provided
• Get licenses
  • Provided
• Source product (food)
  • Create partnerships with food suppliers to offer discounts
• Set up a mobile kitchen (if needed)
  • Provided
• Get plates, utensils, takeout containers, ... etc
  • Provided
• Set up a dinning room / seating (if needed)
  • Provided
• Find staff (if needed)
  • Possibly provided. May leave it up to the chef in order to manage less people
• Set up POS system
  • Provided
• Set up marketing / advertisement plan
  • Utilizing social media platforms this would be provided.

The business would generate income from daily rentals and different add on features. After building a reputation I would lower/remove the rental costs for a percent of generated profit.

There would also be potential for a youtube channel as well as creating udemy courses.

The only employees needed in the beginning are a facility manager and social media manager. The rest can be outsourced (Cleaning crews and that type of stuff).

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time and happy new year!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I actually poo-poo'd this idea, but I think there is value in it. In effect, you are offering a restaurant validation service.

New chefs and restaurateurs can test market concepts without the huge cost. After 1 or 2 months of data, they can leave an open up a new permanent restaurant, or drop the idea. Upon leaving, they can message all their customers who used the popup.

I can see this working in Chicago and other major metro area.

 

[abefroman]

I actually poo-poo'd this idea, but I think there is value in it. In effect, you are offering a restaurant validation service.

New chefs and restaurateurs can test market concepts without the huge cost. After 1 or 2 months of data, they can leave an open up a new permanent restaurant, or drop the idea. Upon leaving, they can message all their customers who used the popup.

I can see this working in Chicago and other major metro area.

Thanks for the feedback.