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Where got good buffets to eat?

Do you think this is a good idea, would you eat at my restaurant?

  • I want to open my own restaurant! For the past few months I've been working my first job in the restaurant industry & there are so many things I wish I could change that would attract more customers/bring in more money. Which ultimately got me wanting to open my own restaurant! It would be all Swedish food, & it would be a buffet. I'm Swedish & Swedish food is DELICIOUS. I would get the ingredients specially shipped from Sweden so they actually taste authentic, not just an Americanized version. There would be tons of things on the buffet, from Swedish meatballs, to Kåldolmar (Swedish minced pork meat rolled in cabbage) to Budapest (a Swedish dessert). I think it would work because the idea is so original. Where else in the US do they have a Swedish buffet? Plus buffets rock because you can eat all you want! I bet tons of people would stop by just to try Swedish food because it's different. Usually people are like, what do you want tonight, Mexican, Chinese, Italian? But what about adding Swedish to the mix!? And once they try it & find that it's freaking DELICIOUS, they'll come back! So it will be amazing, delicious Swedish food, for an affordable price! The name of my restaurant would be Smörgåsbord (basically means buffet in Swedish). & Smörgåsbord is a pretty well-known term, even for Americans. & I could decorate the entire restaurant really Swedishy, like make it look like a cottage or something, & put up tons of pictures of Sweden. & The uniforms could be Swedish colors, & I could hire all Swedish girls, which would bring in a ton of guys! Sooo, what do you think? Do you think I have a good idea here? Opinions? Thanks!!

  • Answer:

    You love Swedish food because you ARE Swedish. The reason why many non-American foods have been Americanized is because Americans like a certain type of flavor. I'm in China right now and KFC has been "Chinese-ized" It's not incredibly different but it is a little different. The McDonald's Big Mac tastes the same, but the chicken sandwiches are not what I remember in America! You should test your Swedish food on other Americans before you decide that going all Swedish is a good idea. By the way, I think it's great idea, but you've got to sell food EVERYDAY not just once in awhile. By the way, how would you find enough Swedish girls to run a restaurant? Do you have a lot of Swedes living in your area? Just curious.

Esme at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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I think you need to rethink your business plan. "Importing" all the ingredients is absolutely ridiculous. You can get great ingredients here it is the recipe that you need to have. What is different about a head of cabbage grown here than a head of cabbage grown in Sweden? I think hiring all Swedish "girls" will set you up for several law suits. The Swedish Smorgasbord is a good idea but you will also have to have other food items on the buffet. If you go into a buffet for example a Chinese, Polish or "American" they all have a variety of other foods, they may not be truly authentic but the option it there. Keep in mind that about 90% of all restaurants that open will fail in the first year.

Nikki P

You will have problems, but they wouldn't be insurmountable if you do your research. The first thing that strikes my mind is the cost of importing genuine Swedish ingredients. That could just price your foods off the market, or for only the elite. You should be able to use local products that don't matter much as it is what you do with them. Beef is beef worldwide, and as long as you get quality product locally there would be no need to import that. (as an example) What makes it as good foods is the tastes, and how they are used and you may need to import some of the ingredients that you can't get locally. Therein is another problem. You will need to check with customs what you are allowed to import. Finally it will be the taste and acceptance by the masses. Americans are a nation that adapts foreign foods to suit their palates. If you think of Asian foods, often what you may call a "Chinese or an Indian etc" taste nothing like what you would buy and eat in Chine or India etc Good luck to you and do your research well. You don't want a menu that people will try once and never return, or that you are selling to so few people that it is economically viable. Don't see my negativism as something to ignore and dismiss, but take them as a challenge to prove me wrong. There is nothing to gain from them if in 6 months to a year these things arise. Good Luck

H-man

Sound good to me and hiring all sweden girls seems like no problem either. In chinese stores all you see is asian people so why can't you do it. You never see a black guy working in a chinese store lol. But don't put in the window looking for only sweden girls, that will get you in trouble but then again saw in newspaper them asking for specific races so....

Bonitalilmama

i don't agree with the previous person - i think you can import your ingredients (if you absolutely need to - you may be better sourcing locally though). I do think you should spend a bit more time in the industry first and make sure you talk to as many people as you can. I think it is a brilliant idea the only thing close to that in the UK is Ikea (do you have Ikea in the USA - i think you do but it isn't buffet style really - more set menu's and not just a restaurant - maybe you could use them as a supplier?). Restaurants are hard work they take a lot of commitment and you would be working really long hours even once you are fully established (usually between 3-5 years for a new business). My family have long been in the industry and most work 80+ hours a week with few holidays - not all of them actually own a business so think about what it is you are getting into. I still think it is a great idea, and I wish you all the best - whatever decision you make. x x

truelylo

you just started in the industry and already you think you can change everything where you are to make it better. Why don't you put your ideas on paper and present it to the owners if you are so sure. You will be restricted as to what foods you can import from overseas, and will be obliged to deal with a supplier, who may find it is not cost effective. You definitely have to go to college to take hospitality management courses, and of course, it will cost from 750K to 1.5 Million depending on if you take a stand alone building or in a mall. Your ides are not based on sound business sense but on emotion. And where are you going to get only swedish women, do you think they will actually move from another city to work in a buffet restaurant? If you think guys are going to flock to your buffet restaurant, where they serve themselves, to see some girls, you are so wrong

Bruce K

Open a Mexican restaurant!

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