korean food renders all other food tasteless.

[fish2plus2]

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BTW, Korean BBQ's seem like a very simple restaurant to run. You dont need much in terms of utilities in the kitcheen. Most of the side dishes can be kept over night. I dont know how popular these are outside of California and NYC???

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What you say would be 100% true if all they served was bbq, but instead what you say is like 50% true because korean bbq restaurants often serve a good number of dishes that are not bbq. So, this makes running it more similar to a regular restaurant.

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Here is my game plan. You have the BBQ, Bibimbob(sp?), Kimchi-Jigae, and a few other soups. That is all.

I dont think the lack of these other dishes would really keep other people away would it?

Whenever I order BBQ, we will usually order one soup to go with it. I find it impossible to eat BBQ and a dish together.

[fish2plus2]

Please post a video of you doing Ta-Chi to confirm who is the most Korean.

[fish2plus2]

The model I described would be a small restaurant with maybe 8-10 booths. If youve been to Seoul, these are all over the place.

[bigbootch]

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BTW, Korean BBQ's seem like a very simple restaurant to run. You dont need much in terms of utilities in the kitcheen. Most of the side dishes can be kept over night. I dont know how popular these are outside of California and NYC???

[/ QUOTE ]

What you say would be 100% true if all they served was bbq, but instead what you say is like 50% true because korean bbq restaurants often serve a good number of dishes that are not bbq. So, this makes running it more similar to a regular restaurant.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is my game plan. You have the BBQ, Bibimbob(sp?), Kimchi-Jigae, and a few other soups. That is all.

I dont think the lack of these other dishes would really keep other people away would it?

Whenever I order BBQ, we will usually order one soup to go with it. I find it impossible to eat BBQ and a dish together.

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If you could successfully run such a restaurant, i.e. get enough business, then yes that would be a very simple and profitable business to run. And, in some areas, running such a restaurant successfully is very very possible.

The thing is, in many other areas, that restaurant would be way too specialized. People who specifically want to have bbq would go there, sure, but you would lose the business of everyone else who just want [other korean food]. And in Korean culture, bbq is a small minority, e.g. maybe 1 out of every 7 or 8 times I go out to eat korean do I go for bbq.

It would be kind of like having a restaurant that ONLY serves hamburgers - they exist and some do very well (red robin comes to mind), but in general you are going to have a harder time succeeding as a restaurant than say TGIF or Chili's.

Just my thoughts based on my personal experiences and preferences - I've never tried to run a restaurant so I might not know what I'm talking about here.

[Spanaway Vin]

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BTW, Korean BBQ's seem like a very simple restaurant to run. You dont need much in terms of utilities in the kitcheen. Most of the side dishes can be kept over night. I dont know how popular these are outside of California and NYC???

[/ QUOTE ]

What you say would be 100% true if all they served was bbq, but instead what you say is like 50% true because korean bbq restaurants often serve a good number of dishes that are not bbq. So, this makes running it more similar to a regular restaurant.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is my game plan. You have the BBQ, Bibimbob(sp?), Kimchi-Jigae, and a few other soups. That is all.

I dont think the lack of these other dishes would really keep other people away would it?

Whenever I order BBQ, we will usually order one soup to go with it. I find it impossible to eat BBQ and a dish together.

[/ QUOTE ]

Please keep in mind that I am speaking from mostly a Seattle-centric perspective:

I've written about this before, but I'll say it here: The problem is that while Korean food is the most delicious thing on Earth, the American public is not quite ready for it. Over the last 20 years, certain types of Asian food has become en vogue and accepted into American culture. Thai food is one example. People eat "Chinese" food (in a wide range of authenticity) and "Japanese" as well. Unfortunately, Korean food isn't quite there yet, but I feel like its on the verge of breaking through.

FORTUNATELY, Koreans are resourceful. If you go to any teriyaki place in the entire Puget Sound region, you'll likely find that it is owned by a Korean person. Not just that, if you look at the menu, you'll find several Korean items. In many places, you can even buy kimchee if you ask for it (not always on the menu) and bibimbap. Recipes for "teriyaki beef" are often just bulgogi. The result is that a person who has shied away from Korean food as a general concept has been eating Korean food for years!

Korean food has gone unnoticed for many years by pop culture, but I see it mentioned more and more often. For example, the last season of the O.C. there were many references to it. I wrote about it here in my blog if you are remotely interested.

I figure that when the time is right, the secret society of Koreans will execute order 66 and all of the teriyaki joints will transform into full-fledged Korean restaurants.

[fish2plus2]

The restaurant biz in USA seems to be different than in Asia. For one thing, restaurants in USA seem to be much more expensive. Singapore/S.Korea are not a cheap countries, but the food you buy over there in a restaurant is like 1/2 of the cost in the USA (with the exception of American fast food chains). T-shirts and cameras cost the same. Buying food in a grocery store is similarly priced to America.

I suppose this might because Asian people eat out more often? Does Mcdonalds take away from the business of these places? I guess that many of the very delicous restaurants I eat in Asia that would pass for non-fast food in USA, are actually fsat-food in Asia, only its not disgusting if that makes any sense? For instance, food courts in shopping malls in Asia serve very delicous food that most Americans would describe as "home cooked", as opposed to a more institutionalized preparation methods.

What are the hidden costs in running a restaurant in America?

[DonkeyKongSr]

That does it...I'm off to the Korean grocery store at lunch. I'm having bibimbop for lunch in the little restaurant they have then I'm picking up some uncooked bulgogi and kalbi to make for my meals this weekend. Oh, and some Hite beer to go with it. Good stuff.