Revised menu-comments appreciated.

Looks pretty interesting. Been following the menu from the beginning.

"burnt ends commonly called Brownies"

Really? Never heard the term and I'm pretty common with Burnt Ends. Is that an Ohio term?

just my 2 cents,

don't use add protein.....sounds like a health food line. maybe ...add beef, chicken,pork.etc. also your prices look waaaaaay waaaaaaay low. and for someone who has never ran a restaurant your menu is huge! hope it all works out.....best wishes.

also, it looks like you will have lots of food waste. because you have too many offerings. and it looks like you will have to have several cooks and prep cooks, and 6-10+ waitstaff. remember..KISS! hope it works out

I like the menu presentation...has very good eye appeal, easy to read and navigate. Well done.

Prices...those are just plug-ins for now? Please say "yes"

Starters - reconsider. You're offering a low price option to apps.

Overall, I'm still left with the same impression I had when you pitched a menu some months ago---too many items, too much inventory, which can drag down food costs due to spoilage. Another disadvantage...too many items = too much time deciding what to order. Your job is to sell food/bev and to turn tables. All in all the menu is creative.

How much volume does your business plan project?

Fellows;

I sincerely thank you for your comments an concerns. Our Story Board from the beginning was to have authentic BBQ transplanted to Ohio. We also wanted to have a broad enough offering, that someone that wasn't in the mood for Q, could still have a great burger, Flatbread(not using the term pizza, as this area is know for great pizza), upscale salads, apps, sides and deserts.

We will also be featuring 20 micro brews on tap, another 30-40 in the cooler. Burbon/whiskey will be featured, appx 20-30 brands, along with Southern themed speciality drinks.

We have visited Bub City in Chicago, Blue Smoke in NY and Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester. Note these places have board menus and are very successful. While these places have great Q, they also offer other inviting dishes.

My partner is an architect, hence we'll have a very warm and inviting place. Estimated 1st year sales should bump 1M.

Terminology will change on menu, we have hired a 25 year veteran chef that will run the kitchen. He's know for running a tight food cost and waste control. I'll be running the smokers and working closely with chef on all aspects of kitchen. Kitchen staff will be in the 8-10 range, floor staff and bar around 18ish, depending on hours. We will be open 7 days a week, lunch dinner, brunch specials on Sunday.

Smokin, if you Google the term Brownies, you'll see where I grabbed it from.

Again, thanks guys, I'll keep you posted and again, really appreciate all feedback.

I wish you every success. Your concept is well thought out and very inviting. Multi tap microbrews are the rage everywhere now.

Speaking of Ohio pizza, I grew up in Shaker Heights. Geraci's in University Hts was my hands down fav.

quote:

Geraci's

Thanks Max!

If you get over to Northeast OH, stop in.

does anybody know how obamacare will effect this business? the businesses don't have to deal with it until next year......confused....

Dublin5521, we have under 50 employee's, hence no effect yet, but we plan on sometime in 2014/2015 offering our employee's some type of health care.

My goal is to make working at Fire Grill very attractive as we will be setting a high bar for Hospitality.

Think Danny Meyer's book, Setting the Table"

We have a very good local HR guy that is handling our HR Manual along with other issues that will arise on a daily basis.

quote:

Originally posted by jcohen1005:


Smokin, if you Google the term Brownies, you'll see where I grabbed it from.

HAHA. I did, and on the first page "brisket brownie" there was one link that was that term (and they said burnt end comes from Texas which is wrong), all the others had brisket and brownie on the same page. My two cents, but I think you missed my point. In many areas some call me a Brisket/BBQ Expert and I've NEVER heard that term. Using it on a menu is confusing. To me, a Brownie is a Brownie (dessert).

I've just never heard that term so I'm confused.

Stick with Burnt Ends. But be warned, to many/most people in our restaurant (and we're in BBQ country) they think Burnt means Burnt. We actually have to educate people to how good they can be. If your concept is BBQ, go with known terms.

FYI, when I googled Brisket Brownie, dessert came up first... LOL

Looked at the menu again after seeing your comments. I think I might have sent this to you previously via email.

When I look at the menu, BBQ doesn't seem to be the highlight. Yup, there is the one heading that's the larger font, but the menu heading and text are in the same font. If you truly are wanting to make BBQ the start, I'd look at the menu, show it to some average people and ask for their input.

Maybe some color? Some font box around the text?

I understand the 50 employee thing. but mark my word. only because I don't trust federal gov. they will change the 50 employee number to a lower number. and make even more businesses comply...more money for them to waste! and fines will prob. go up too.....my honest opinion.

Smokin, all good comments.
I'll shoot you a updated menu first week of December for input.

Dublin551, I have no problem helping/offering employees health care benefits. EVERY company that I worked for in the last 15yrs offered health care, and my company offered it for 30 years. Why not the restaurant industry?

hey im not complaining! im glad you can do it. enjoy!

Dublin551

I hope we can do it.
Thanks for the comments.

Somewhat off topic but for what it's worth...

Earlier this year the state of Vermont appointed itself as the single payer entity under "The Affordable Health Care Act".

As of a month ago, the VT website wasn't much different vs the national one. Questions posed by phone result in different answers depending on whom one speaks with. As an owner of a business already up to his ears in state/Fed regulations, I'm expending an inordinate amount of time trying to switch my Blue Cross plan over to the new Blue Cross plan.

In trying to match the HSA plan we now have, the new rates are slightly up, the deductibles and co-pays are somewhat higher. My personal opinion is what we now have wasn't broken and the fix is worse. Meanwhile the state appointed Navigators are pretty much clueless as to augmenting the transitions for small business's.

In my neck of the world it's pretty clear that health care costs will be going up. Guess who'll be underwriting the new costs?

Max - good topic, and is actually 'on topic' for everyone, whether they know it or not. We were in the same boat in terms of what wasn't broken, and in no need of fixing. However, three years ago, we had a consultant work with us and blue cross/shield here in Pennsylvania (Keystone East), to make sure we would remain in compliance with the health care laws. That was a good move, because for many of us to move into the ACA healthcare, we would have taken a beating. I could talk a week on the subject, but won't because my feelings run deep on what the ACA represents.

Regarding the Fire Grill menu, it looks great - and I'm assuming the prices weren't filled in yet, as everything was around 4 bucks :-). Your menu appears to be a deep set of selections, which has it's plus/minus aspects. People like selection, and you certainly have some. Menu looks good to me, just don't get too 'disjointed' in your offerings, and capitalize on BBQ if your BBQ. My restaurant is BBQ, but with a Cookshack charbroiler in the house, we can also offer things like chicken breast for those not really wanting BBQ - that sort of thing. And since cooked over wood pellets on the CB, it sticks with the BBQ theme. Another consideration when having a large menu is if (when) your chef and another key person is absent any given day, a larger menu makes your restaurant more susceptible to being brought to it's knees. (the best laid plans of mice and men . . .). Another consideration when having a large menu list, especially when opening a new restaurant, is produt flow. You'll likely discover some items early on that only sell modestly, and seemingly just aren't worth the trouble they cause. In my case, this is paramount. Just adding a single side dish can cause ripples in the pool - from additional prep time, refridge space, prep order, and space on the serving line, etc.

A final recommendation I would have, although it can be seemingly painful, is have a true soft opening day or two, with friends and acquaintances only, for at least a full day. Even if charging at a significant discount. Ideally, try to run at least 50% of a 'normal day' through the place, with you and your partner focused heavily on what causes hiccups in the flow. I can about guarantee you will walk away from that with some valueable adjusting to things like work flow, prep order, some staff re-arranging (every ace in their place), etc. And you'll also likely see some things that really worked well that you may decide to capitalize on.

Just passing along some thought - best wishes for your new place, and who knows, next time I'm passing through the Buckeye state I may get a chance to see the Fire Grill up close.
Rick

Astronorick;

We really don't think the menu is that deep, but we are very aware of cross utilization and minimizing food waste.

Totally agree about soft opening. We are planning at least two weeks of training for wait staff which the kitchen will be serving during those training periods. We are thinking about 4 days of Friends /Family and definitely a very soft opening on Thursday, just a simple sign on door, no promo's, social media, just word of mouth. Grand Opening will be in April when weather breaks and our patio opens up stairs.

I've attached our floor plan, which has been just submitted to our POS company for programming table set ups.

Thanks again for all feedback.

If you want to hire me as a BBQ Consultant, after seeing those plans it would be a nice place to visit and see.

Thanks Smokin for the offer. Unfortunately, you're not in the budget, but if you get out this way, I'll buy dinner.