More restaurant news

Great news! I accepted the offer of one of 3 banks who agreed to underwrite my Small Business Association (SBA) 7(a) loan. While it isn’t 100% that I’m fully funded, it’s 99% and that means things are starting to happen. So for those of you who are reading and following along, I’d love some input either here, on Facebook, Twitter, or by email. Please, don’t hold back!

I met with my architect and design team yesterday. Aaron Wittkamper & Amy Reiff work together as architect and designer. A local project they did has gotten a lot attention recently, the Tattersall distillery in NE Minneapolis. The link has some photos of the place. My question about design for you is: what makes a restaurant space inviting for you? Do you like to sit at the bar and eat? Do you need a booth? A large common table? Lots of small tables that can be reconfigured quickly and easily? What works and what makes you want to come back?

And what about flow through the space? Do you prefer ordering at the counter and having the food brought to you or sitting down and having your order taken? Would you prefer to pick up wine and beer where you order food or is a separate bar area preferable? Or both?

If I have sidewalk seating but you can’t drink alcohol out there (a la The Blue Door) is that OK?

What menu items are “must haves” for you? I’ll let one secret out of the bag now; we will feature a plant-based Big Mac replica that is so close to the original it will be scary. Except instead of the plastic, non-decomposing fries we’ll have delicious crinkle cut fries made out of just potatoes! If you haven’t seen “The Smoking Fry” feature of Super Size Me! you really should click the link and watch it. It’s 5 minutes and if you are not at least moderately nauseated by it you are not paying attention.

Other meetings this week with bankers, accountant, lawyer, insurance agent, etc. It’s amazing how much time this takes to put together, but I’m super excited about doing it. Targeting an opening in the 4th quarter of this year…

P.S. I don’t remember if I’ve done this before or not, but if I haven’t, shame on me and if I have, good for me for pushing. If you don’t read Seth Godin’s blog, you should. I don’t care what you do for a living, how much a decision maker you are at work, whatever. His posts are daily and pretty short and just plain filled with wisdom. Subscribe by email and they’ll get delivered to your inbox every morning. Like a little breath of sanity each day.