What kind of restaurant would you open if you could?

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Actually in our town there is a place for a traditional American style, southern Italian, inexpensive, restaurant.

Spaghetti, carbonara, lasagna, ravioli, fresh and baked, veal or eggplant Parmesan, that kind of simple stuff.

Good salads, maybe some pizza, a good Italian bread, and some neat desserts.

It would go over big.

And could be a real money maker, our town is growing like crazy.
 
I'd have an eclectic little hole in the wall on our town square, across from the courthouse. After the shopping center was built, most of the stores that once circled the courthouse have become either antique malls or lawyer's offices.

I'd have a few tables in the back, where people could sit to eat, drink coffee, cuss and discuss. I'd also have a lunch counter, blue plate specials that are really special, carry out and catering service.

I had a chance to do this years ago, but my ex-husband said, "You'll be working every week-end and holiday...you have a family to think about."
I agreed, and opened a greenhouse instead. Then, I NEVER had a day off. :wacko:
 
:) I would do a kick butt breakfasts not just ordinary fare,plus lunch with a really great bakery and sell homemade frozen entrees for two to four people servings,small 6 inch cheese cakes, strudels sweet and savory,soups,quiches you name it plus a bit of catering, wedding cakes and specialty cakes on the side.I would love a place where we get up real early but close around 3PM in the afternoon. Something along what the famous Silver Spoon did or still does in New York.
I think this would do really well in a ski/tourist town.
 
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Hi luvs!

I would want to have a place that was open yet quaint. If the ceiling was really high (like in old factories, etc.) I'd paint it black and have fabric draped - either in gauze or in different soothing colors. Staff would have traditional waiter/waitress dress - white shirt, black pants, long black apron.

Food would be rather eclectic - Thai curry mussels (maybe several different....

oops, husband is ready to go - I'll finish this tomorrow.

OK - back to finish - I guess what I'm getting at is something very eclectic. If you have mussels for example there can be several ways to serve them. There would also be something "blue plate" like a really good veal/pork/beef meatloaf with portabella mushroom gravy to dress it up - oldies but brought up-to-date. There would be a little bit of everything for everyone. I would take advantage of seasonal ingredients. I would probably have to move to find a really good fresh farmer's market and a butcher/fish monger - we don't have anything like that around here.
 
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It would be a small (perhaps 20-25 tbl) restaurant in a beachside community, something like Carmel, Santa Barbara, or Morro Bay. Ideally near the beach but still close to a wine region. The dining room would be contemporarily designed, along the same lines as Kenneth Brown-type stuff. The kitchen would feature all new state of the art SS equipment. I would feature smalller, weekly changing menus which would take advantage of the freshest produce, meat, and seafoods available. The menu would be offered with both ala carte and with 2-3 prix fixe menus per week. I'd do all kinds of funky stuff that I can't get away with at work like Freshly Shucked Kumamoto Oysters with Gold Osetra Caviar, Horseradish-Lavender Foam, and a Cucumber-Yuzu Mignonette.
 
Drive-in restaurant. Carhops on roller skates. If you drove a '60s or earlier car in you get '60s prices on your food. Been planning that for 20 years.
 
It would be an "earthship" building (it is a really cool sustainable building - kinda like the home that Luke Skywalker grew up in as a child) and I would make it a wonderful experience with various garden "walks" . The food, of course, would be awesome with the main focus being on local and organic. The decor and atmospere would be eklectic (sp?).
 
Personally...I would end up with a diner/bar(where the locals can still be locals)...I'm just considering what is needed in my area...a resort town that basically rolls up when the snow flies.
 
Speaking of diners, Erik.....

:angel: I wish I could remember the publication - it could have been Life Magazine -

Anyway a few innovative people had salvaged old Train Diner Cars and turned them into diners (and a few even made homes out of the Coach Cars!)

Diners have ALWAYS had the best food, the most interesting owners and staff and I'm sure the most fun to own and operate!! The definitely have character and atmospere!!!

And, by the way, .....I'll have the Blue Plate Special!

Best of luck to you!!!:chef:
 
Cyberchef said:
:angel: I wish I could remember the publication - it could have been Life Magazine -

Anyway a few innovative people had salvaged old Train Diner Cars and turned them into diners (and a few even made homes out of the Coach Cars!)

The Chattanooga ChooChoo in, of course, Chattanooga, Tennessee, has restored cars. http://www.choochoo.com/
 
I would want to open a specialty cheese shop with a small, quaint cafe attached to it. The cafe would serve fresh artisan breads and various other baked goods, as well as specialty cheeses, salads, and deli items. I'd have really nice coffees and cappucinos. It would smell like fresh bread and coffee when you walked in and would have nice, big armchairs and cafe tables for people to lounge around in. There would also be some regular cafe style tables for people wanting a more "sit down" type meal.

The shop attached to the cafe would sell a lot of our baked goods as well as have a huge assortment of imported and specialty cheeses.

Hey, it's nice to dream!
 
Grumblebee, I'd be over there all the time!

But there's no place for things like that down here. I think I'd open a little island food type restaurant, a kind of tiki hut overlooking the sea. It would have two or three meal choices that would change everyday. Kind of a bed and breakfast thing. It would be very small and laid back. I was a waitress before and I don't want to put up with that kind of stress again :-p

People would come for my daily fresh seafood and sarong-wearing waitresses :)
 
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Hee hee the train-car diner was my first thought too. Or just a nice, quiet little cafe that serves everyday foods like Soups, Sub-sandwiches, Hamburgers and the like.

Oh! And FRESH DOUGHNUTS ALL DAY!! :D

~ Raven ~
 
I've thought about opening a BBQ shack for years. It wouldn't be very upscale.

The only problem with this is, in the area I now live in, true BBQ places don't last very long, as folks around here have no earthly idea what real southern-style BBQ is about. One of these shacks (literally named "The BBQ Shack") just opened up a couple months ago. I tried their brisket a few weeks ago. While it's good, I felt they didn't smoke the meat long enough, as it didn't have a strongly pronounced smoke flavor, and the meat wasn't as tender as I like it.

I could probably open a place and smoke circles around them, but with lack of a big enough customer base, I wouldn't be in business very long.
 
I'm with grumblebee. Here in my small, tourist-oriented town, I'd add a little cafe to the already existant gourmet cheese & wine shop, where people could have a glass of wine and a cheese/cold meats platter on summer days.
 
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