It looks like the landscaping engineer has cleared us and we will be getting our business license, which has been holding up everything. If there are no more complications, we’ll be open about mid-Sept. and have a grand opening with a tournament in early Oct.
It’s certainly financially tramatic on an ol’ warrior like me to face modern day costs of a business. When I opened my best prior room in 1975 in Colorado Springs, fifty bucks a day was what I needed to break even. This one will need to do about $500 a day to start and raises in most areas down the road. I think everything’ll be all right but it’s worrisome.
As a family, we’ve all been working very hard to make this work and frankly, we’re tired and cranky. We are making extra effort not to raise our voices and to think before speaking. Probably not a bad idea for times when we’re not tired, I guess.
Any ideas you may have will surely be appreciated. For example, we’d like to provide something for folks to eat, but we don’t want to deal with a restaurant licensing board and we can’t afford extra help right off the bat.
So I’ll be posting further details as we move along. Thanks for your interest.
Grady
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“…For example, we’d like to provide something for folks to eat, but we don’t want to deal with a restaurant licensing board and we can’t afford extra help right off the bat.”
If there is a Sam’s Club or Costco in the area, I’m sure they have all sorts of prepared packaged sandwiches, or frozen ditties which can be microwaved.
I’m delighted the project is finally coming to fruition! Will look forward to the October event announcement!
Doc
Hello Grady. You remember that exhibition you put on in my room, The Rack, in Jackson Tn. about 1995? We had a pizza oven that cost about 50 bucks and you could do those small frozen pizza in about 10 minutes. I also would make a pot of chili and do chili dogs. Want my Chili recepie? Send me a sawbuck! LOL.
Keith Hamilton.
Grady, glad to hear about the progress being made. But I have to admit, that is some kind of nut you have to make. In my opinion I don’t see really any way around dealing with the restaurant licensing board. In all reality you won’t even be able to sell a microwaved hot dog without a license, or anything else but potato chips and peanuts for that matter. If you do then some restaurant up the road will surely catch wind of it and turn it into a fiasco for you.
I am going to appoligize for my long long post beforehand as I am about to rattle on here.
I have expeirence in this area and would like to offer you my opinion based on my expeirence, take it for what its worth.
In my opnion I think you should address the food issue before you open, and I really think you should offer somewhat of a quality but “light menu” to your operation. It will bring customers back and keep your customers staying longer, and if you get corporate/business groups coming in for get togethers and some pool you will most certainly need some “quality” food to offer. Nobody cares about hot dogs, freezer burnt little frozen pizzas that taste like cardboard and coffee that isn’t suited for field soldiers. Think QUALITY and it will work for you.
Integrate your offerings into your business but give it a seperate name, people remember this name, anything they can remember and bring to mind is a key business strategy. This seperate name should also be used in all advertising efforts. Just implying in your advertising that you have finger food doesn’t cut it, give them something to remember with a name.
‘Homemade Delights from Grady’s Kitchen’
I kind of have to agree with Kevin on this. Our entire kitchen here at Strokerz is supplied by Sams Club and we have a great selection on our menu. The Health Board issue is kind of one of those hoops you need to jump through as a business owner these days, lord knows I deal with them a great deal. I have a few questions and suggestions for you. Will you have a bar and if so a full time bartender? They way we do it here at Strokerz we have a bartender/cook who runs the bar and our kitchen, We have one peson usually me running the pool room/ pro shop. You could do something similar have a bartender/ cook and when they get busy your pool room attendant can pich in and help run the bar or kitchen. This eliminates the need for a full time cook on the pay roll untill business picks up enough to warrant it. Aloso will you have a pro shop that features repairs? This is a nice little income generator. Cue repair can be quite profitable and I’m sure you know. Any thing I can do to help Grady just let me know. I can send you a copy of our menu if you like. Good luck I hope to make it down some time
Brian King
I know of one pool hall and a couple of bar in the area that serve food by hooking up with local restaurants. For example, one pool hall has a deal with a pizza joint close by, they offer a nice selection of pizza, subs and wings. Your customers order from you, you call the pizza joint and have it delivered to you, you server the customer, the customer pays you, you pay the pizza tab once a week. The pool hall worked out a deal with the pizza joint so that they pay 75% of the normal price, so they are making 25% of the food bill for simply placing a phone call.
My friend, I ain’t braggin’, ,yes I am,, I make a pork butt that will make your tongue beat your nose black and blue. I’ll fix us’ins one next time I’m up yer way. Show y’all how to do it. BBQ sandwiches on them BIG buns. Five bucks each. Yas-suh.
Wonderful article:D Will come back soon…
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.