Mall food court

02 Mar 2011 2 Comments

by bokuchoiramen in Restaurant building

Alas! There has been some progress. Hopefully this time it will be all the way through

I decided to put my hopes for the food court at the University Mall. As I am writing this, the only thing left for me to do to, is to sign the lease contract, and pay the deposit money. I am waiting on the latter.

There are significant differences between the mall place and a regular restaurant.

 I won’t be able to to run the restaurant hours how i would like to. In fact, I have to be open at all times when the mall is open. That means, I have to be open: from mon-thu from 1030 till 830, fridays and saturdays from 10 - 9, and sundays from 12 to 6. My biggest problem being that I wanted to be open until later times. But who knows, maybe in the future I can run a ramen truck for late nights… but that’s a long term idea.

I won’t be able to sell the same things the other stores in the court are serving, but that’s not really a problem. The challenge is that I have to sell food the same fashion as any other food court restaurant, which means no server. I am now looking for disposable bowls with a lid (the lid is there so that people don’t spill during transportation).

There were somethings already installed at location. There was a hood (a fire hazard protection roof, at least $10,000 cost) and a walk-in fridge. Both of these items are very expensive, so at least it helps. Also, I won’t need to worry about no dining room. And the whole zoning and plumbing issue shouldn’t be there.

An obvious advantage is that there is a lot traffic through a food court, and if the food is good, then people would come. The problem is, that now I am not sure how many people will be willing to go buy noodles at a food court to eat.

The rent is alright (can’t mention how much, legal reasons). Included with the previously installed equipment, one could say that this venture is cost-efficient, but not necessarily. Since I need to be open for such lengthy hours, the cost of labor increases. Through my calculations, I break even by selling 70 bowls a day. By break even I mean that I don’t make a single penny, just to keep the business running.

I should also note that getting a place at a mall like this would be near impossible. But i think i was able to get this place by chance. See, when I went to check, this is the only mall with any openings that I was able to see. On top of that, I have noticed some stores closing, including a Dillard’s.

Also, I already got my lawyer to file for an LLC. Once that is done, I can start setting up the business side of the ramen shop, including the hiring process.  As far as the mall court place goes, just have to sign that sweet contract of death.