Browsing this Thread:
1 Anonymous Users
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
 
Joined:
2011/2/15 23:56 Last Login : 2014/5/12 21:25 From Parts Unknown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
76
 |
Indeed. It would be one of the nicer things I've been called in my lifetime!
Posted on: 2011/4/7 2:20
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
I agree with everything CSURugbyHooker just wrote. But can I just call you "hooker" for short? :)
Posted on: 2011/4/7 1:59
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
Joined:
2011/2/15 23:56 Last Login : 2014/5/12 21:25 From Parts Unknown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
76
|
Quote:
Meanwhile the bar will hemorrhage money while single beer geeks sip their microbrews. Give me the families that want a reliable place for a good Italian dinner. A full bar would be attractive although BYOB is much cheaper for the customer. No bowties, no valet parking, just good family food. Yes, I would go there especially during the week because it would be a 10 minute walk away. We have enough bars as it is. USE THEM!! Hemorrhage money... really? You live in the bizarro world. A case (24 bottles) of good quality beer costs roughly $30-$40 retail at Super Buy Rite, so at distribution level it would be less. He turns around and sells those bottles for $5-$7 each, at minimum. So at $6 a bottle to the customers, he makes $144 on a case and profits roughly $100. Draught has much higher profit margin and the simple menu offerings cost next to nothing on his end, so I fail to see where the hemmorhaging is taking place. As for the Little Guido's Italian pipedream you've conjured up, he has to hire a good chef and quality kitchen staff (those don't come cheap) that consistently turns out good food for the stroller brigades to be happy. So the neighborhood goes to Little Guido's once or twice a month - tops - and feasts on their cavatelli with meat sauce - that Leo's inevitably does better - then goes down the street two weeks later to Delenio's for pizza... rinse and repeat. The business model that you've suggested would fail him in less than a year. Meanwhile, us single beer geeks that live in mommy's basement that sip on microbrews and think that most Italian restaurants serve over-priced and over-hyped Chef Boyardee will continue to frequent the good beer bar a couple of times a week.
Posted on: 2011/4/7 1:55
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
 
|
Quote:
Yeah, what's with all those huge TVs around town! +2 more -- BAN the Box! 
Posted on: 2011/4/7 1:46
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
Wrong. All of them are way too far away to walk to. What do they have in common though? You got it, They're popular. Take all those young families you see in Van Vorst and Hamilton Parks and imagine the business a family friendly Italian place a 5 to 10 minute walk away would attract. What is the problem with most restaurants in downtown? They try too hard to be "cute" with their menus. Keep it simple and keep it good and you'll clean up. Plenty of places already for cocktails. Another one would be more fruit rotting on the vine as you move on to the next "cool" place. I can see it now, "the music sucks" "the musics too loud" "they don't have blah-blah-blah beer". Why cast your lot with the whims of a bunch of whiners.
Posted on: 2011/4/7 1:15
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
We have good Italian. Prestos, Casa Dante, Laico's, etc. We do need more GOOD cocktail places in town. I enjoy Bar Majestic, but would like more options with a similar feel. We lack consistently good "going out" options.
Posted on: 2011/4/7 0:30
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
Meanwhile the bar will hemorrhage money while single beer geeks sip their microbrews. Give me the families that want a reliable place for a good Italian dinner. A full bar would be attractive although BYOB is much cheaper for the customer. No bowties, no valet parking, just good family food. Yes, I would go there especially during the week because it would be a 10 minute walk away. We have enough bars as it is. USE THEM!!
Posted on: 2011/4/6 23:51
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
Joined:
2011/2/15 23:56 Last Login : 2014/5/12 21:25 From Parts Unknown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
76
|
Quote:
you do know that you don't have to play the video games at barcade .... there is an actual bar there as well This I know, but the place is a zoo and and it's way too loud to have a conversation w/o shouting. That's not to say I haven't gone there and won't go to the one here in JC when it opens, but like I've said previous, a bunch of us would like a place that has the beer selection of Barcade/Zeppelin without the noise and distraction.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 23:41
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
you do know that you don't have to play the video games at barcade .... there is an actual bar there as well people definitely go to the brooklyn one just for the beer selection (not to mention we also have zeppelin beer hall... though the music/patrons can get to be a bit much there)
Posted on: 2011/4/6 23:36
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
This is so cool. I didn't know there were so many people who also loathe the 360 TVs and the loud music.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 22:43
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
Joined:
2011/2/15 23:56 Last Login : 2014/5/12 21:25 From Parts Unknown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
76
|
Quote:
Italian restaurants tend to be a dime a dozen and no matter what place you're in, the menus are mostly similar, and the food ends up being no better than what you can make at home. A place like Leo's, an institution which has been around for 70 years, is going to take in all the business in the area because of its long-standing reputation. Would you stop going to Leo's if an Italian place opened up in Jersey City? I wouldn't. A bar is an entirely different beast. I avoid most bars because they're either way too noisy or have a crappy selection of beer - or both (see Lucky 7s and Lamp Post). A place like White Star and 9C is cool, but it's always the same beers and not so cheap deep-fried appetizers. It's awesome walking into a place that has a beer on tap for a few days before it's replaced with something else. It's great when a bartender can recommend to you a beer that you've never tried before based on what type(s) of beer you typically drink. This is how a bar separates itself from the pack in a very short period of time. As for being a "sausage factory," all the places I've been to that are somewhat similar to the business model I suggested are usually a good mix of both men and women. Eliminating the TVs will keep the fratty crowds that gather to watch sports and the "middle aged men who just want to complain about the Mets" far away.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 22:40
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
Fort Defiance in Red Hook would be an excellent model for someone to follow in Jersey City - small menu of excellent American fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner, properly prepared cocktails (something that absolutely no one in Jersey City does well), rotating beer taps, and family-friendly dining in the earlier hours. No pretension and prices that reflect the neighborhood.
http://fortdefiancebrooklyn.com/
Posted on: 2011/4/6 20:59
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
Recently went to Kraftwork in Philly. Wide variety of roating beers with delicious menu. Not too pricey. I think something similar would work very well in JC.
http://kraftworkbar.com/
Posted on: 2011/4/6 19:25
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
The above posts prove my point perfectly. If you do the microbrew crap you'll end up with a "sausage factory" full of middle-aged men who just want to complain about the Mets. Downtown is full of young families with young kids. These people don't want to have to drive to get out for a family meal. Like I stated earlier check out Leo's in Hoboken. That place does so much business and has so many locals who walk there. I am there almost every week and it's always busy. People of all ages are there because the food is amazing and the prices are reasonable. Italian food is the most popular cuisine in the USA. This is about your wallet not someone else's "dream bar".
Posted on: 2011/4/6 18:40
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbie
|
Much agreed! Good beer, easy-going, no TVs, good music but not too loud! (that's my biggest gripe about most bars). A very limited menu of simple food (mexican?).
I think Beechwood has a good atmosphere but it's BYO and more of a brunch place. We could use something breezy like that for the nighttime -- serving beer and wine, of course.
Let's make it happen!
Posted on: 2011/4/6 16:55
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
Joined:
2011/2/15 23:56 Last Login : 2014/5/12 21:25 From Parts Unknown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
76
|
Chris-
As a beer geek, I would love to see a bar that features a constantly changing rotation of craft beers on draught and a wide assortment of bottled beer that you typically won't find in an average bar. As much as I like $2 bottles of brew, I - and many more people I know - would readily pay more at a bar that keeps us coming back by always changing the rotation of beers. Serving a nice assortment of wine for the non-beer geeks would be bonus. A place with no gimmicks (ie Barcade) that's just a laid back, easy going environment is key. Please keep the television distractions to a minimum, or better yet, non-existent. A lot of people like myself look for a place where there's a rock-friendly jukebox that plays as background music, not loud enough where you have to scream to the people you're sitting with and say "WHAT!?" five hundred times just to have a conversation. Serving food is always a nice option, but I'd focus on a small appetizer menu that features only a handful of items that are impossible to screw up and quick to prepare. There used to be a bar in Cleveland a while back that only served a cheese and crackers platter, homemade pizza bagels prepared in a toaster over, and a handful of cold club sandwiches (including the best PB&J on earth) that could be thrown into the toaster oven if you wanted them warm. There was a fridge and a prep table big enough for two people to stand at that was the "kitchen" at this place and the bartenders were the ones who prepared the food. Jersey city can really use a place like this.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 16:25
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbie
|
Hey Chris...Brian from Park & Sixth. Give me a buzz
Posted on: 2011/4/6 16:01
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
Posted on: 2011/4/6 15:05
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Go over to Leo's in Hoboken. Take a look at their food and prices and customers. They're on a backstreet of Hoboken and still going strong 80 years later. Emulate that example. Full bar but family friendly and they're rolling in dough (pun intended). Forget cool bars or clubs with a "cool vibe" or live music venues. Do you really want that headache? There are plenty of bars in downtown but a seemingly endless line of unsatisfied customers who want every bar tailored to their specs. Good food at reasonable prices will keep people coming back week after week.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 14:58
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
Hopefully not off topic, but there's a big, cool-looking wreck of a warehouse on the edge of the Pathmark plaza on Grand Street that would be an amazing music hall. If the reference is meaningful, it would be on the scale of Liberty Lunch (in Austin) before its demise. Plenty of room for parking, and away enough from densely populated blocks to minimize noise issues. It could be a major draw if done right.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 14:40
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
Joined:
2010/10/5 14:23 Last Login : 2011/12/23 15:50 From jazzy city
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
157
|
bands (including my own) play at lamp post and lucky's pretty regularly. i wish we had something like maxwell's though. and i cant believe we're this close to new york and there is barely any kind of music scene here.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 14:25
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
Joined:
2008/1/3 19:12 Last Login : 2020/9/30 18:46 From Van Vorst Park
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
2391
|
Yeah, the fact that it's so hard to have live music here is mind boggling.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 11:46
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
yea i should have figured. The barcade that is opening on Newark ave has been in that process and it's almost hitting a full year. Hopefully when we get a new mayor he can change the ordinances for entertainment. That's the one thing this city is missing. That would help grow our Arts scene a lot and bring people into the city from outside places.
Posted on: 2011/4/6 6:30
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Quite a regular
 
|
Hold on - you're looking for some stranger on the JC-list to become your "partner", you already said you're not going to be around that much - and you expect this thing to be so successful that you can turn it into a franchise later ?!
Sounds like the making of one of those Gordan Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares !
Posted on: 2011/4/6 1:12
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
You must mean within four days, or so. Quote:
That's odd. That's not the block your bar is on. And I think I would have noticed since you'd have been clearing my walk. And the only times I haven't been around to clear my own, I've hired someone.
Posted on: 2011/4/5 22:43
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
If you end up opening a restaurant, may I request that you make sure the food is GOOD? I know it may sound obvious, but there are so many places in JC that run from "mediocre" to "decent," and "decent" isn't even that great. There are a few good places, but for a large city (even just limiting it to downtown), it's surprising hard to find anything great.
In any case, good luck with whatever you end up doing.
Posted on: 2011/4/5 16:26
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbie
|
FYI - I don't live in JC anymore. By the time I got there, it was usually packed down. That said, there was 1 time in almost 8 years that I didn't shovel at all. There were also times that I used my snowblower to remove snow down Mercer St from Barrow to Jersey (for free). Ask some of the neighbors.
Posted on: 2011/4/5 16:23
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbie
|
An entertainment license is required to have live music, djs, etc. The city (allegedly) hasn't issued entertainment licenses in approx 4-5 years.
Bottom line: the powers that be don't want clubs in JC.
Posted on: 2011/4/5 16:17
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
This time, find a partner who is willing to shovel the snow and do the neighborhood a favor.
Posted on: 2011/4/5 16:16
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: Thinking about opening a restaurant / bar
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
Joined:
2010/10/5 14:23 Last Login : 2011/12/23 15:50 From jazzy city
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
157
|
maybe there are underground night clubs here that we don't even know about
Posted on: 2011/4/5 16:14
|
|||
|
||||