am I insane? (fast food world)

I have lived in Lincoln Park my whole life and have been able to watch the neighborhood grow. Technically I live in the Depaul neighborhood and have also wathed the school turn into a real deal university that has lots of appeal for prospective college students.

Its always been a sick dream of mine to open some sort of fast food emporium (food court) somewhere in Chicagoland that features many of the regional chains not available anywhere else in the city. I imagine having a large space with outlets of a combination of places like Chick-fil-a, Raising cane's, Biscuitville, Maid-Rite, L&L drive-In, Wahoo's, five guy's, Pollo tropical, Krystal, del taco, Bojangles' etc... As well as an "International" outlet with a few spots popular in other countries like New York fries, Tim Horton's and other places I may not know about. I would want the right combination of variety with all types of cuisine covered including some dessert places.

By now you already know that yes I am crazy. Right along fullerton at 1730 W. where Blockbuster and a medical practice used to sit is a an empty spot that I have been trying to figure out what the hell could open there. With that strecth of fullerton being so bad for food for a few blocks east and west I thought it might make a damn good location with all the college kids, bus traffic and the fact that the red line is just a block away and there are numerous office buildings including the hospital and all other sorts of reasons that it may actually work and become a success.

No im not going to open this behemoth montrocity that O'Bama would shame me for anytime soon and it probably wouldnt be there if I did...could you imagine the anticipation on the opening of this place in Aurora? they would break in and start frying things themselves. Sorry for wasting your time but could something like this work somewhere in the world and become the reason America doesn't place on the medal board at all in 2016? seriously it may sound like a stoner's dream come but im just curious what others thought.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fa ... estaurants

I think you have either the geography or the address wrong. 1730 is not a block from the red line.

I think they are talking about the NW corner of Sheffield and Fullerton.

Hi,

Do you have restaurant or fastfood experience?

Regards,

I love the idea. My brother lives in Denver and his dream strip mall is , Potbelly's, Wahoo Fish Taco's, Cafe Intelligentsia, Donato's Pizza (Columbus), Garrett's Popcorn or Nuts on Clark, Portillo's, and Trader Joe's as the anchor.

Da Beef wrote:I imagine having a large space with outlets of a combination of places like Chick-fil-a, Raising cane's, Biscuitville, Maid-Rite, L&L drive-In, Wahoo's, five guy's, Pollo tropical, Krystal, del taco, Bojangles' etc...

I'm not familiar with a number of those chains but 5 or 10 years ago there was a Pollo Tropical on Addison (it was called TropiGrill; the company has used both names). I thought it wasn't bad but it closed quickly. Much longer ago we had a Maid-Rite in town. Do you think Chicago would go for loose meat sandwiches these days?

Da Beef wrote: I imagine having a large space with outlets of a combination of places like Chick-fil-a, Raising cane's, Biscuitville, Maid-Rite, L&L drive-In, Wahoo's, five guy's, Pollo tropical, Krystal, del taco, Bojangles' etc... As well as an "International" outlet with a few spots popular in other countries like New York fries, Tim Horton's and other places I may not know about.

You are going to run into the following issues:

First, a lot of those chains do NOT have supply lines into Chicago and will not work to start one for a single store.

Second, a lot of chains will not franchise a store in a mall or a group of restaurants back to back.

Third marketing the concept in a college area, while attractive is problematic. You will need a lot of space to handle the lunch rush. However, if the space is attractive, you will attract pigeons, I mean students who will stay in teh food court area ALL DAY long nursing a soda (been there, done that).

To pull this off, you'd have to have at $2M in working capital and have a tremendous amount of experience in managing multi-unit operations.

jlawrence01 wrote:

Da Beef wrote: I imagine having a large space with outlets of a combination of places like Chick-fil-a, Raising cane's, Biscuitville, Maid-Rite, L&L drive-In, Wahoo's, five guy's, Pollo tropical, Krystal, del taco, Bojangles' etc... As well as an "International" outlet with a few spots popular in other countries like New York fries, Tim Horton's and other places I may not know about.

You are going to run into the following issues:

First, a lot of those chains do NOT have supply lines into Chicago and will not work to start one for a single store.

Second, a lot of chains will not franchise a store in a mall or a group of restaurants back to back.

Third marketing the concept in a college area, while attractive is problematic. You will need a lot of space to handle the lunch rush. However, if the space is attractive, you will attract pigeons, I mean students who will stay in teh food court area ALL DAY long nursing a soda (been there, done that).

To pull this off, you'd have to have at $2M in working capital and have a tremendous amount of experience in managing multi-unit operations.

Well put, I'd agree with most of what you said.

And to the creator of this topic...good luck, I'd gladly come check it out if were able to open it.

Obviously there are going to be a million problems and obstacles to overcome. Again its kind of just a dream, but with the possible arrival of the Olympics and the media frenzy and buzz over Sonic and fatburger coming to town, it has started to resurface in my mind.

I have never actually worked in a FF place but I do have experience in the corporate part of it and possible backing from a certain man who's sammy's are not well liked here on the board, its ok, he knows I dont eat there either. Again its just something im thinking about putting together.

As far places that dont have a supply line, well then they would be out of the picture but again I received lots of interest from places mentioned above. As far as FF joints that couldn't want to open by others, since I would be aiming for places that arent anywhere else in the area and new to people, you could sell the fact to them that its going to be an "eating destination" where your brand can be discovered by people living in Chicago and tourists alike.

Would Chicago go for loose meats these days? thats a good question. Its my belief that with all the transplants from big 10 schools that there are enough people in Chicago that would know of and enjoy a loosemeat. They just opened one in Madison since I left and I hear its doin good. We shall see. thanks though, I enjoy hearing other peoples thoughts/ideas, especially those on here.

Hi,

There is a loose meat sandwich available in our region if you don't mind going to Hammond, Indiana. There was one a Maid-Rite nearby, which influenced their location and how they came to be. We did learn there was once a former Maid-Rite employee who opened a loose meat emporium in the same area, he was sued and closed by Maid-Rite. The independent I linked to here did not have any direct lineage to Maid-Rite beyond imitation.

Regards,

I have heard Maid-Rite is opening a location in Dekalb in the fall, and perhaps Ottawa, or Morris spring/summer of 2009.

there is already one in Peru, IL. I believe.

Da Beef, if you're genuinely interested, my suggestion would be to apply for a management position in your choice of fast-food restaurant and work in it for a month or two. You can get a much better idea of what you're up against from within, and whether or not it would be worth the lost evenings, weekends and possible capital (and get somewhere upwards of minimum wage to boot! )

At a minimum, most chains provide training during the first month, which will give you a better idea of what it's really like.

i think that sounds like a great idea... talk to some people who run those businesses maybe try and get investors

i know a chikfila and a wahoos would do really well

where Blockbuster and a medical practice used to sit is a an empty spot

To the best of my knowledge, that site is owned by DePaul. They may have plans to grow into it, although in many of their new buildings they offer the first floor as retail and build on top. If that's the site you're truly interested in, I'd start with them. Also, when I attended DePaul as a business student one of my professors had an extensive background in fast food franchises (now, if I could remember his name...).

I'm always up for dreams, especially if they involve food. Obviously you are semi-aware of the pitfalls, obstacles and pain involved with a venture like this. I'd start by talking to people who have done this before and I think DePaul could be a valuable resource.

I just wrote an article about buying a franchise business. The downside to being a franchisee (the one who buys the franchise) is that the franchisor (the company that owns the brand) usually structures things in a way that guarantees the franchisor makes a profit long before the franchisee does. You're paying for their brand name and reputation, but you may also be forced to buy supplies from their suppliers at their prices (even if identical product is available elsewhere for less), you're paying them a portion of your revenues, you're paying for marketing that may not even benefit your specific location and you run the risk that, if your location is successful, the franchisor will open additional locations close by that cannibalize your revenues.

As the OP originally points out, he's interested in brands that don't exist in this market. While the brands may have a large loyal following in other markets, the loyal following in Chicago is probably much smaller. So you lose a lot of the benefits of buying a brand with a stellar reputation.

OP, if you have access to the capital needed to open such restaurants, why not consider creating your own fantastic brand? Better to make money for yourself (and your investors) than for other companies.

chgoeditor wrote: The downside to being a franchisee (the one who buys the franchise) is that the franchisor (the company that owns the brand) usually structures things in a way that guarantees the franchisor makes a profit long before the franchisee does. You're paying for their brand name and reputation, but you may also be forced to buy supplies from their suppliers at their prices (even if identical product is available elsewhere for less),

Read some of the various websites put up by unhappy Quizno's and Subway franchisees. Also, look at some of the lawsuits against Marriott from some of their franchisees.