I love hamburgers, though I rarely eat them because I only eat livestock (beef, pork, lamb, chicken, etc) from organic, humane operations, which is hard to get in the US. I have always wanted to start my own burger place, but I want to follow this same rule in what I serve to others, so I never thought I would be able to do it. I have some friends who are interested in starting up an organic, free range ranch, producing both meat and dairy products. If I can arrange regular supplies of meat cheese, etc from them I might be able to get started after all...... The idea behind my restaurant is simple.....A sit down, family style restaurants which serves really good burgers...... The menu itself is quite simple...... We start with the simple things... Customers would choose from one of four types of patties.... 1; 100% Black Angus (a mixture of chuck, sirloin, ground beef, and brisket), with my special spice blend. 2; Turkey 3; House made Veggie Patty 4; House made Southwestern Black Bean Patty Then they choose their cheese... We will have a large selection of cheese for the burgers. Customers will simply choose one for their burger. Cheese Then we will have toppings.... This is when it gets interested. We will have even more toppings than we do cheese.... Everything from the traditional bacon, tomato, lettuce, pickles, and onion....to things like fried egg, avacado, and a number of other things..... This "build your own burger" style menu would be the heart of the restaurant, but we would also have pre-designed "Specialty" burgers....I would create these burgers and put them on the menu, changing them seasonally.....I would typically have the same ones you might see at other gourmet burger places....A few idea I've had are... PB&J Burger (an angus patty, topped with a mixture of peanut butter, grape jelly, and maple syrup, and bacon) Eden's Delight Garden Burger (veggie patty, topped with garden vegetables) The Five-0 Burger (topped with cheddar cheese, sauteed pineapples, Bacon, and a pina colada sauce) Brunch Burger (Topped with a fried egg, bacon, hash brown potatoes, and sausage gravy, and served on a large buttermilk biscuit) Our sides would be simple..... House cut fries House cut sweet potatoe fries House Made Cole Slaw 3 Cheese Macaroni (the customers gets to choose what type of cheese goes into it) Chili Garden Salad Caesar Salad Cottage Cheese House Made Tater Tots House Made onion rings We will make all condiments in house.....ketchup, mustard, mayo....... If I do start this restaurant, I may see about getting an alcohol permit, to allow me to have a bar as well.......If we do, we will have a few national brands, but we will try to get deals with several local craft breweries. For non-alcoholic beverages, we would have iced tea (sweetened or unsweetened), and soda. We would most likely carry Coca Cola branded soda (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Pibb, Fanta, etc......But we might consider selling our own craft sodas as well.
that's the strangest combination of food I've ever encountered... Peanut butter on a burger with grape jelly and maple syrup.... incredible,
Try it. It's amazing. It's very popular in the Midwest. PB&J Burgers have become a staple of most gourmet burger places in Indiana.
@Daggdag , that sounds awesome, and delicious! The 'local farm to table' movement in food service is hot, and the 'all organic' theme is a huge plus as well. The one thing that would concern me if I were involved in this, would be your supply chain. You are making your business largely dependent upon the success of a single farm, run by someone else. Both the failure of the supply farm, OR the wild success of it, should concern you. Your supply becoming unavailable, or priced beyond your ability to pay and maintain profitability, should be a powerful concern. I wish you luck in your endeavor to join the ranks of the hated and vilified 1%.
Sounds like it should be a hit! There will never be a time when people don't love burgers, and will always pay more for GOOD burgers. Please keep us posted with your adventure!
I would most likely buy the dairy, meat, and vegetables though a major grocery chain. Kroger for example, has a huge dairy and farming operation in the Midwest. A lot of their produce sold in Indiana is locally grown on farms they have contracts with. Farms contracted through a major retailer are more likely to have secure futures, and the prices through Kroger are apparently not too high. They have special deals for bulk sales to businesses.
I wouldn't buy your meat from Kroger. Kroger is not exactly known for their high quality. That's the dilemma, isn't it? You want high quality and fresh, but how to scale that up while keeping prices low. The meat quality and freshness will be the most important part of your burger. You'll also have really good success if you actually grill all your burgers. Either over charcoal, or using gas but adding a few wood chips above the flames to add just a little smoke aroma in there.
That sounds interesting. Your idea sounds good- would it be very expensive? Organic is normally 10-30% more expensive to start with.
Free range cattle would be the best way to guarantee quality. These days large corporations are still holding cattle in filthy disgusting conditions and finding ways to label their product 'organic'. Some say you can taste the emotions of the cows in the meat.
I have decided that i'm gonna get the cheese throught Jacobs and Brichford, a artisan cheese maker in Indiana. Their cows are all pasture raised. I've also decided to make a deal with a local free range beef operation, instead of through a grocery company. The slaughterhouse they use is near the location where I want to build my company, so I will be able to get fresh beef everyday. If the resturant is starts getting successful, I have plans to build a warehouse to keep excess meet and other products, so I can have a steady supply. This would also allow me to have a centralized distribution center if I decide to build other locations.
Just remember that the success of your business will require YOU be there all the time. We have been self-employed for over 35 years. It isn't easy.
A couple of my favorite shows are restaurant impossible and whatever the one with Gordon Ramsay is called.. A very common problem is too big of a menu .. be careful if you want a burger place have a burger place. Offer a standard burger and a lower fat burger a Turkey sausage burger and s veggie burger cooked on it's own griddle. Keep the sides simple. Fries Sweet potato fries Cole slaw made fresh daily And a 4 bean salad.