Any Catching Ideas

[simcity]

Any catching ideas .

I am due to go back to Melbourne ( Australia ) to reopen a business !

I am the landlord and the tenant did not commit to the lease.

I use to run this location a successful café shop before, but I am not interested to start again the same type of business!

What I am looking is a Thai café / restaurant open 7 days from lunch to dinner .

It is in a busy area , and my aimed is to look first after the local and second after the tourists !

I will get Thai personnel as chef , I will sponsor him , already done the exercise with pastry chef long time ago !

Now I feel like a sucker. But it will be great if you guys can given me some impute , I want casual and simple , between a Thai place with plastic stool but smart at the same time ! get the oversea students and locals at first !

I think BOI is helping Thai restaurants oversea with ideas , will contact them later .

Place is not big enough for some floor show .

If you have some catching idée please post them ?

Thank

[Curt]

We all know that the best food in Thailand is from the small carts, stalls and shops.

Most Thai eateries fail when they try to be all things to all people.

Even in Thailand, very few "full menu" restaurants are a hit.

Those that do succeed, usually do on the merit of 1 or 2 signature dishes.

I would keep it simple, like a noodle soup shop.

If I were in your situation, I know just the guy I would smuggle off to Oz!

If it is a larger space, you might think about a 3 or 4 stall "foodcourt", manned with individual cooks preparing the individual dishes that they prepare best.

You could sub out the stalls and run the beverage concession yourself.

[stumonster]

pad kapow moo gaorb - just light on the chilli's , I think would be well recieved.

[N&M]

Whereabouts in melbourne ? I know Melbourne well.

What nationality are you ?

I can suggest a place there for you to go look at and do it Thai style. It is very popular and seems to do very well.

[simcity]

Thank for the impute

Curt

the place can seat 32 inside and few outside , i can not turn it as a mini food court

Studmonster

Thank, all ready have the larb and gapraw dishes on the menu

N&M

my place is in st kilda , i need to stay evasive at this stage ! the tenant still there,

it is in acland street .

i have been out the market for over 9 years , because I came to live in Thailand .

the few nice Thai places i use to know were in commercial road , bridge road , victoria street .

please tell me what place you like , yimthai in victoria street use to be really good and popular ! looking at bit at this format .

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Any catching ideas .

I am due to go back to Melbourne ( Australia ) to reopen a business !

I am the landlord and the tenant did not commit to the lease.

I use to run this location a successful café shop before, but I am not interested to start again the same type of business!

What I am looking is a Thai café / restaurant open 7 days from lunch to dinner .

It is in a busy area , and my aimed is to look first after the local and second after the tourists !

I will get Thai personnel as chef , I will sponsor him , already done the exercise with pastry chef long time ago !

Now I feel like a sucker. But it will be great if you guys can given me some impute , I want casual and simple , between a Thai place with plastic stool but smart at the same time ! get the oversea students and locals at first !

I think BOI is helping Thai restaurants oversea with ideas , will contact them later .

Place is not big enough for some floor show .

If you have some catching idée please post them ?

Thank

When I was inverness I went to what I thought was the best Thai restaurant in the UK. The food certainly wasn't the best - but the atmosphere was great. They set it up Riverside/Good View style (v popular Thai restaurants in Chiang Mai). They left out all the traditional stuff - buddhas, thai handicrafts, etc - and just concentrated on a good ambience. A live band, bar atmosphere - but selling Thai food.

It was exactly the sort of place I would go in Chiang Mai - it's called Thaitananny. You might be able to google more info.

[saeb]

When I was inverness I went to what I thought was the best Thai restaurant in the UK. The food certainly wasn't the best - but the atmosphere was great. They set it up Riverside/Good View style (v popular Thai restaurants in Chiang Mai). They left out all the traditional stuff - buddhas, thai handicrafts, etc - and just concentrated on a good ambience. A live band, bar atmosphere - but selling Thai food.

It was exactly the sort of place I would go in Chiang Mai - it's called Thaitananny. You might be able to google more info.

Good to know that Inverness has a good one - I'll send my spies out.

Have you sen the one on the South Bridge end of Inverurie at Port Elphinstone called the Thai Temple?. Pass it right on by. I appreciate the guy's motives to keep his missus occupied and pehaps make a few bob but the food is, well, not nice.

I think that 'Oxford Thai', Cowley Road, Oxford have it just about right. No bloody great plants decorating the place, no bloody big ornaments to clutter the place up - but the food is good, reasonably priced and they wil spice it up if you ask.

Seems to work on the Keep it Simple motive.

No -this is not advertising!. Just an opinion.

[Mighty Mouse]

There is an oversupply of Thai restaurants in Sydney with the upmarket, fully licenced establishments just scratching out a living, some only breaking even.

They rely mostly on all night diners or party groups, who purchase wine or bring their own to be charged corkage.

The most successful Thai eateries are those that are unlicenced, in busy locations and that cater for people who want to eat quickly and leave.

The best locations are near major shopping centres, beaches, universities, popular night life areas etc. with plenty of on-street parking available.

These restaurants have an open plan kitchen where customers can watch their meal being cooked, provide free cold water (Wall/floor mounted, refrigerated water dispensor with ice cubes) and put on a cheap lunch. (AUS $7 - $7.50)

Meals are served within 5 minutes of ordering and they have a wide ranging menu. Sea food is charged at a higher price.

They enjoy a great turnover of customers every day.

The location is the all important factor.

[Neeranam]

Weird! I was eating in Acland Street 6 months ago and discussing opening a Thai restaurant/stall.

I think the idea of plastic seats and 'food court' style is best. Everthing there is cheap, with lots of thrifty backpackers from the $10 hostels.

There is a Thai place nearby on the road that the Prince of Wales(had some amazing nights there 8/13 years ago!) is on. Check out what they are doing - It seems to be doing well.

What about having a religious theme - lots of Buddhas and incense around. There are lots of hippy, alternative people around there.

Pad Graprao Gai - everyone loves it.

Maybe along the same lines of the hare Krishna place that used to be in the city - $4 eat all you can.

There's a good one on Hampton Street.

Inverurie has a Thai restaurant? They'll be opening one in Clat next. And Inverness?

I know Aberdeen has three now and everyone seems to be doing great business.

Best of luck

[simcity]

Thank to Grant & Saed

Yes Mighty , I like you post I think in the same direction , local first with good value and simple approach ! I am fully license but will not carry a big range , perhaps a menu of Thai beers ! your ideas of water dispenser, it remind me at the restaurant I have next door with : the water jug on the table , and just bring a glass full of ice cube !

Yes customer everyday, when it rain or shy , became a second kitchen to them !

It is all ready open kitchen, perhaps going back to Formica table and plastic table clothes, and stool?

No clutter as mentioned

The restaurant next door of my place in Bangkok , have pencil and menu sheet on table , and the customer mark what he want as ordering ? is that sound good or bad to you ? But off course if you feel a customer bit lost you will take his order! more for the usual who know the place .

Neeranam , I do not have enough space for stall , if it was a commercial place in a shopping center I will think that is great !

I think one very busy place are the one close to the winery restaurant St Kilda, they doing take away and eat in .

For decoration , I have to be careful regarding religion , I think to use Buddha theme to make a financial exploitation is a nono , Thai students will not appreciated !

On hotel near chiangmai was built with a Buddha structure and got a lot of negative review !

Perhaps I live religion out !

[Mighty Mouse]

My Thai g/f, now living with me in Oz, gained waitressing experience in a licenced Thai restaurant in Sydney.

A Thai women, with her Dutch husband, owned the business but were struggling to make a profit. She was forced to sack her cook and do the cooking herself to cut down on costs. Her husband worked the bar and my g/f attended the tables.

They also had a home delivery and take-away service.

The biggest problem was that there was very little available parking so the restaurant was not easy to get near unless you walked to it.

The owners sold it just before their lease expired and walked away with nothing. There was no big profits to be made.

The premises were bought by an English man who opened with an English style menu. He is also struggling to make money and recently closed for lunch as there was no trade at all. His evenings are not much better, maybe only Friday and Saturday nights are profitable.

Other Thai restaurants in the same and neighbouring suburbs are not doing a good business, and almost all of them have advertised their businesses for sale. They are also licenced for alcohol sales.

My g/f and I often have lunch at a non-licenced Thai restaurant that is near a number of back packer hostels. Their tables are always full of diners, mostly backpackers, and they provide a big lunch for AUS $7.00. There is a constant turnover of tables and they seem to have a good take-away service too.

The system is pay for meal upon ordering at the counter, then sit down and wait for your food to be served.

This stops the eat and run without paying types, and also eliminates the need for a waitress to write down orders at the table, and that means less staff required.

The free cold water service seems to be catching on here with many restaurants now placing a cold water bottle with drinking glasses on your table as soon as you sit down.

This would be cheaper to provide than installing the water dispenser as mentioned in my previous post. The downside to the bottle system is that your table waiting staff need to serve and remove bottles constantly, where as they would be available for other duties if you had a dispenser installed.

Other Thai restaurants have self-serve, choice of dishes, all you can eat menu but they don't seem to be so popular. The bain-marie does not keep the food hot enough.

Another Thai food outlet we visit is on Manly (Ferry) Wharf. Here, you choose your meat and sauce first, then choose five vegetables. There are about a dozen from which to choose.

They cook it for you. Quick and easy.

That is a stall type of business, an open kitchen and a front counter with the vegetables on display.

The tables are benches with fixed stools that are also available for other adjacent food outlets, and are part of the wharf facilities. There is no table service, no free water, but they do a good trade.

I think your biggest decision will be whether to go licenced or unlicenced.

Licenced means diners who want to sit down and have well cooked, well presented meals and stay most of the evening chatting and drinking with their friends. You need very attractive premises for this and well groomed waitresses who can provide a friendly, efficient service.

You also need entres and sweets on the menu and coffee making facilities.

Unlicenced means quick dishes, fill 'em up and move 'em out. No fancy decore needed in the restaurant and casually dressed waitresses are acceptable. Compact menu, no coffee served. No liquor licencing fees to pay either.

I suggest that you look around as much as you can at other restaurants before making a final decision.

[simcity]

Thank you for your long post! I am sleeping on it!

The place has been licensed for ever; I open it with a license in 1987 .

When you have a license you keep it! But no need to sell too much from it! Perhaps law has change on that.

If you do an order from the counter and paid upon ordering, I like these ideas a lot, same with coupons, but that make a lot of movement into the place, find a table and stand up again, and I am sure some people will be upset with it .

Perhaps something to see if you get to busy! All entry same price / all main course same price!

The place is small about 10 tables inside and 5 tables outside!

I will need to put as inland table with fix stools in the middle to save space and one bench in the back!

The place is in a very busy area, with most of the local do not own a car! I will look at delivery and take away at the same time.

I just went to the restaurant next door my place ( bangkok ) and got not the bottle of water , but a plastic jug , toilette roll on a plastic cover for napkin ( can I go that far ? ) lol

[The Dan Sai Kid]

When I was inverness I went to what I thought was the best Thai restaurant in the UK. The food certainly wasn't the best - but the atmosphere was great. They set it up Riverside/Good View style (v popular Thai restaurants in Chiang Mai). They left out all the traditional stuff - buddhas, thai handicrafts, etc - and just concentrated on a good ambience. A live band, bar atmosphere - but selling Thai food.

It was exactly the sort of place I would go in Chiang Mai - it's called Thaitananny. You might be able to google more info.

Good to know that Inverness has a good one - I'll send my spies out.

Have you sen the one on the South Bridge end of Inverurie at Port Elphinstone called the Thai Temple?. Pass it right on by. I appreciate the guy's motives to keep his missus occupied and pehaps make a few bob but the food is, well, not nice.

I think that 'Oxford Thai', Cowley Road, Oxford have it just about right. No bloody great plants decorating the place, no bloody big ornaments to clutter the place up - but the food is good, reasonably priced and they wil spice it up if you ask.

Seems to work on the Keep it Simple motive.

No -this is not advertising!. Just an opinion.

Acually Inverness has a Thai restarant with great food too - I forget the name, but it's quite close to the train station and you have to go down to the basement of the building - but the food was great - they had Sai Ooah and lots of unusual stuff - at the end of the meal I got a free nip of Sang Som! Because my wife was from Isaan they gave her a bunch of vegetables to take home too! Who recommended it? The Thai owner of Thaitananny! ( a very un-Thai like act)

[N&M]

Thank for the impute

Curt

the place can seat 32 inside and few outside , i can not turn it as a mini food court

Studmonster

Thank, all ready have the larb and gapraw dishes on the menu

N&M

my place is in st kilda , i need to stay evasive at this stage ! the tenant still there,

it is in acland street .

i have been out the market for over 9 years , because I came to live in Thailand .

the few nice Thai places i use to know were in commercial road , bridge road , victoria street .

please tell me what place you like , yimthai in victoria street use to be really good and popular ! looking at bit at this format .

Yes, know all the places you talking about and Acland st is a great street to have a restaurant in, very popular.

Go to south melbourne, clarendon st and find the Woolworths supermarket, I think it is woolworths, anyway in the st next to it, I canot remember the name of the st, the same st the post office is in, diaganaly opposite the woolworths carpark is a pub, on the other corner opposite the pub used to be an 'optus' shop.

Just a few doors down from this Optus shop and almost opposite the entrance to the woolworths carpark there is a vietnamese noodle shop. Go and check it out on an evening around 6. It is made to be quick and fast. Very tasty and there are a few seats where you can eat there, most take home though.

Follow the style and setup, but do it with Thai food if that is your speciality. This type of arrangement and quality would do really well on Acland st. Plus if you have a few seats on the sidewalk and in the window for people watching, it should do really well.

If you do it and it works, you owe me free dinners for life when I am in Melbourne....lucky for you that will not be very often.

[simcity]

If you do it and it works, you owe me free dinners for life when I am in Melbourne....lucky for you that will not be very often.

N&M

Who are you ? I forgot already LOL

For life ( pen py my dy ) , one free dinner ( pen py dy )!

Thank you I will check the place when I go back, i make a note of it .

do you know the takeaway next to the vineyard in st kilda? Opposite the toilet block ? Grovenor street I think ?

Did you try it ? was really busy when I have my place there ..

[snoophound]

Depends on the area

I had a girlfriend from Pattya who had her dream of a thai rest in Melb near Toorak ,I went and on the main road in about 6 blocks there were six thai restaurants,Its the same in Newtown in Sydney.

My lady is a great cook and we have been in and out of a couple of places in sydney

Unless you have a serious edge the thai rest market is way too overcrowded.

My mailbox gets a dozen flyers a week from thai restaurants in our area.

Incidentaly we have tried most and none meet the missus s or my standard for good thai food,that smells opportunity but experience tells us people prefer falang thai meaning seriously dumbed down thai food.

How about a franchise like gloria jeans coffee ,I have a friend who bought and hasnt looked back.

Any catching ideas .

I am due to go back to Melbourne ( Australia ) to reopen a business !

I am the landlord and the tenant did not commit to the lease.

I use to run this location a successful café shop before, but I am not interested to start again the same type of business!

What I am looking is a Thai café / restaurant open 7 days from lunch to dinner .

It is in a busy area , and my aimed is to look first after the local and second after the tourists !

I will get Thai personnel as chef , I will sponsor him , already done the exercise with pastry chef long time ago !

Now I feel like a sucker. But it will be great if you guys can given me some impute , I want casual and simple , between a Thai place with plastic stool but smart at the same time ! get the oversea students and locals at first !

I think BOI is helping Thai restaurants oversea with ideas , will contact them later .

Place is not big enough for some floor show .

If you have some catching idée please post them ?

Thank

[N&M]

Really, do those coffee franchises actually work that well ?? Location I presume same as anything.

SC, not sure of the vineyard, probably at some stage. I nearly bought a house one street behind Acland st, would have been a great reno project, but came to Los instead.

Come on, free dinners maybe for a couple of nights a year forever, in return for a booming successfull idea. I deserve much more. Its not like I live there or anything and would be in the place every night !!!!

The angle I am talking I think would be a huge hit in that location, even have a name for it if you want, but that will definitely cost you free meals forever and in writing.

[simcity]

I am glad you did not got the toorak or south yarra restaurants :

i use to have a place in toorak too i lost a fair bit of money with it , i use to have a restaurant in Southgate and make a lot with it , location and what people are asking make the difference !

I do not know if you know St Kilda , but it is abound with flats an accommodation , peoples who feel they want to live and go out .

Most of the places in St Kilda I really feel want to charge to much ! I use to have a flat in the george’s hotel and getting take away in St Kilda was ridiculous , complicated and expensive !

Many nice places not expensive and busy, are not in a high profile street, because the rent is to high at the beginning!

A new place opens in a low rent area, everyone work hard and the place became a real success and boom!

I have the chance to have a top premise and position, bought it nearly 15 year ago , with a low mortgage on it ! i can start and look at doing something different , getting out the usual ! If success can be seeing in a not distance future !

Some of you guys has give me some ideas and I thank you for that! Am just testing the water to see if I could make a go with it! The tenant are putting pressure for me to sell and I do not want to now, because the price not to my expectation.

He thinks I can not get back into it, after 9 years and empty it of all the expensive bakery equipments that was inside!

no idea about franchises

[snoophound]

Massive margin in coffee.

gross margin 75%-

franchises also seem to have better resale and the banks will lend on the better ones for fitout

Really, do those coffee franchises actually work that well ?? Location I presume same as anything.

SC, not sure of the vineyard, probably at some stage. I nearly bought a house one street behind Acland st, would have been a great reno project, but came to Los instead.

Come on, free dinners maybe for a couple of nights a year forever, in return for a booming successfull idea. I deserve much more. Its not like I live there or anything and would be in the place every night !!!!

The angle I am talking I think would be a huge hit in that location, even have a name for it if you want, but that will definitely cost you free meals forever and in writing.

[simcity]

Really, do those coffee franchises actually work that well ?? Location I presume same as anything.

SC, not sure of the vineyard, probably at some stage. I nearly bought a house one street behind Acland st, would have been a great reno project, but came to Los instead.

Come on, free dinners maybe for a couple of nights a year forever, in return for a booming successfull idea. I deserve much more. Its not like I live there or anything and would be in the place every night !!!!

The angle I am talking I think would be a huge hit in that location, even have a name for it if you want, but that will definitely cost you free meals forever and in writing.

Once I went to a place in bay street or clarendon street , someone have a freehold vacant shops and want some advice , opposite was a Vietnam corner café business , she told me it was very busy !

Not sure if it is the same !

[boppia]

Why don't you try something different and go Esarn. Most people love Esarn food and love to have it with beer Singh or Chang and Mekong whiskey. Promoted as Esarn (Lao?) food, it's the future of Thai food abroad! Yam Saap!

[solo siam]

I dont think Jungle Soup or fermented fish paste based dishes go down particularly well abroad, Issan food is a little bitter and certainly too hot.

[saeb]

Inverurie has a Thai restaurant? They'll be opening one in Clat next. And Inverness?

I know Aberdeen has three now and everyone seems to be doing great business.

Best of luck

There's an idea - a chain of Thai eateries in Clat, Durness, Unst and such like. Pound to a penny we'd make a fortune on the Mekhong and Saeng Som sales.

Ones in Aberdeen are really overpriced and overdecorated. Keep it simple, functional and with a fairly basic menu seems to be the way to go.

[simcity]

Massive margin in coffee.

gross margin 75%-

franchises also seem to have better resale and the banks will lend on the better ones for fitout

Snoop it was a pastry and cafe shop in my time .

Now everyone and his dog opening cafe place in Melbourne ( well they done that the last 6 years ) !

i was selling 7*3 kilo bags of cafe from this place a week when i use to have it ! at 125 cup par kilo , it show the volume was ok !

Sure i will have a espresso machine, but not looking at a high turnover! And i do not think a cafe franchise in some part of Melbourne will be successful .

[N&M]

What do you mean the tennants are putting the pressure on you to sell ?? I dont understand this.

It was not in Clarendon st, just around the corner as I mentioned and certainly not Bay st, that is down near the casino I think from memory.

[simcity]

N&M, the Vietnam corner place I was talking about is in bay street, I got confirmation it is a successful place too, but not the same as the one you talking about ! .

He tenant have a fabulous business and he rent my shop next door and the next door business too. He has the entire strip in the small block!

He is doing very well, and I think his aim is to purchases my freehold, but do not want to give me what I expect!

Perhaps he want me to take it over and fail reopening it !

Hope it make sense ..

[N&M]

Ok, but if he wants your shop to buy, then it is up to you if you want to sell or not. If he is desperate for it, he will pay a good price. Do not weaken.

If he wants to rent it and you are in the middle of 2 of his shops, again he will want it and he is just using scare tactics on you, dont fall for it.

Lastly being on that st, I would imagine that you should have no shortage of tennants wanting to rent it. Just rent it out to someone else if he is not coming to the party.

Your the owner, the landlord, you hold the trump cards not him.

[mogoso]

Any catching ideas .

I am due to go back to Melbourne ( Australia ) to reopen a business !

I am the landlord and the tenant did not commit to the lease.

I use to run this location a successful café shop before, but I am not interested to start again the same type of business!

What I am looking is a Thai café / restaurant open 7 days from lunch to dinner .

It is in a busy area , and my aimed is to look first after the local and second after the tourists !

Give your self a break, 7 days a week, lunch dinners a tough grind in a restaurant. Too much stress, take a day off.

[simcity]

yes mogoso , i work for 2 years a first, not taking a day off ! but retired at 39 and came to live in thailand , been there for 9 years !

it is a balancing act with futur and chance ! i got a car accident at 38 , did not have anything but car was a total lost.

decide to call it quite from this day !

[N&M]

Forgot, just make sure your lease is tight, water tight. I have leases that I wrote ammendmants to myself, bumping up the strength. My lawyer then beefed it up some more in legal speak !! He is jewish and excellant at his job.

If a tennant does not commit to a lease, you should have a case against them especially in a commercial sense. If your lease is stronger to start with, you can get all sorts of things compensated for in your favour.