jamiemaw

Ouch. I can only be candid in my silence about your prospective landlord except to say that they owed my family a good deal of money for excavation services rendered. They were painfully slow to pay. So we sent in our collection team. There's just something about the prospect of a D-9 in your lobby that sharpens the senses. A cheque was forthcoming. Thanks for sharing, now would you care to let us know a little more about Century? Concept, budgets, revenue expectations? J.

Coincidentally, Neil, I was editing my last post to reflect exactly that. I don't know how many of the original LP's are left, however I believe that repurchased LP Units have allowed fractional ownership to be reallocated to the restaurant's senior managers.

Most restaurants with a start-up budget exceeding $500,000 carry the weight of partners, or more directly put, the opium of OPM: Other Peoples' Money. One of the earliest models of the Limited Partnership that I'm aware of locally is Joe Fortes. Quite a few Limited Partners, each of whom bought a unit/units in the LP. It's my understanding that the General Partner has endeavoured to buy back LP units from investors and their estates. Of course, once equity has been returned (with its requisite interest), the ROI becomes an infinite return on the 'phantom' equity. In other words, in the case of a financially viable restaurant, sometime after Year Four of Ops or so, it's a very pleasant way for the investors to passively clip their coupons -- and show up for the annual Christmas shivaree. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jamie

I remember discussing this formula with you when you were still involved at Sienna, Gerald. As I recall you took careful notes on the back of a napkin. I'm glad that it is serving you well; as you say, for an expanding chain such as your own, it allows financial firewalls to be introduced in the event of an underperforming location. And as you say, it allows for you to focus: Build a better burger and a better business is more likely to follow.

Thanks for your valuable post on this topic, Sean. Yes, i was describing a Limited Partnership approach to financing, although the formula works for less formal arrangements as well. With any luck, we'll hear from other proprietors as to their business models and M.O.'s for getting started. I think that you are the DIY exception that proves the LP rule. Would you care to share with us the details of the pitfalls that you encountered at Whistler? Cheers, Jamie

In totality, weren't New York restaurants awarded approximately half the stars as those of Paris? It sounds as if you come from the 'flawed methodology' school, oakapple.

1. Some time away yet. 2. After Gianni's went dark reportedly due to non-payment of taxes, Gianni Picchi moved to The Stump Lake Ranch, Beachside Cafe, Plaza of Nations, and was, at last report, looking for work.

It was hard to miss the outcry in this forum and elsewhere when Michelin was so parsimonious in its validation of New York dining. In your opinion was it due to a flawed methodology, a different style of dining, ignorance, the fact that New York is a media centre that over-promotes its own, or is Paris – if you’re to believe Michelin’s math – really twice as good?

On the upside, the fact that so many chefs are now concerning themselves with the way children are eating, especially in schools. It's a huge movement that goes way beyond Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver, and may be the most encouraging sign that things could change in a good way. And the wonderful generosity of the food community after Hurricane Katrina was extremely heartening. And I'm happy that transfats are now being seen as the villains that they are. On top of that, I think the fact that so much serious food news is now starting to be reported on an ongoing basis is truly exciting. But on the downside, there is so much terrible news to report. For starters this includes the draining of species in the ocean. The fact that 90% of the big fish have been gobbled up and our appetite continues unabated. The overuse of antibiotics in animal farming of all kinds. The horrors of animal farming. The way our use of fertilizer is creating a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The way big companies are now going after gene patents on plants and animals (Monsanto's attempt to patent pigs). The way industrialized food is starting to take over the world. (If you haven't seen the new book "Hungry Planet," I heartily recommend it. It gives an astonishing global view of the way we are eating, and it's not a pretty picture.) The weakening of the organic food laws... I'm sorry, this is probably not the answer you were looking for. But if you're looking for important stories, there is surely no lack of them. ← On the contrary, these are very much the types of answers I was looking for. I feel reassured that you are so cognizant of them. I can assure you, that on this coast, each of these concerns is very near and dear, most especially that of sustainability within the local and global fisheries, which are of vital ethical interest as well as economic importance. Locally, we found it more than curious that the recent awarding of the Cosmos Prize (the 'Nobel Prize for Environmentalism) in Japan (it carried a cash award of CDN $415,000) to Dr. Daniel Pauly, went largely unreported in the general media. It was he, after all, who originally gained so much attention for this issue by asserting that 90% of the animals in the ocean over six feet long have now vanished. So my follow-up question is this: Do you think food publications should be taking leadership stances on issues such as sustainability in the global fishery, the DuPont fast food packaging scandal, et al? And, for that matter, on the other issues -- school food et al --that you mention in your response? Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us this week.

BC Restaurant Financing 201 -- Why Do Restaurants Fail? What do you think are the most common reasons restaurants in BC fail? To begin the list: 1. Underestimation of money required to complete the restaurant, inventory up etc. 2. Underestimation of time required; i.e. construction, permitting, licensing delays. Your thoughts . . . ?

BC Restaurant Financing 101 This thread is a FAQ of life for me. Not everyone is familiar with how the formula works for restaurant financing, and I thought it might be interesting to shed a little light on the dark science. Just suppose that you are a chef or FOH manager with some sound experience of the hard knocks variety. And perhaps even the credentials that arrive with recognition for your work. And during the ingestion of innappropriate quantities of malt liquor you realize that you can do everything your simpering, cheapskate boss can do. And then you sober up. But the feeling just won't go away. You’re a realist though, and your ambitions are based in the pragmatics of an absolute dedication to operating a successful restaurant. Of course that will mean delaying having a family for at least five years. Hell, it may even mean delaying having sex for at least five years. But you have a good idea, some modest savings and may have even ferreted out a location (increasingly difficult by the way: Senova’s landlord received 48 applicants when Coco Pazzo went dark). But if your credentials are strong enough to attract private capital, here’s the general formula: Budget: $1m (for the sake of a round number), to include all hard costs (renovation/construction etc.), soft costs (legal, permits, professional fees), pre-opening (training etc.) and opening (food and wine inventory, glassware, supplies etc.). You have: $50,000, or 5% of the budget - the minimum. In other jurisdictions such as the UK, that quotient can be significantly higher. You need: $950,000 You locate: A group of investors willing to participate. In exchange for their $950,000, they will expect you to: 1. Vest your own $50,000 first, but extract it last (FILO); 2. Charge the partnership between 3.0% and 4.0% of sales for your professional services (i.e. your salary for development, opening and management) for operating the business; 3. Pay from cash flow all expenses associated with operating the business; 4. From the after-tax profits pay 100% of residual cash flow (return of capital) to the investment group, plus a current interest rate of about 7% to 8%; 5. Once the investor group has received 100% of their investment plus interest back, the sharing formula converts to 50% of net C/F to you and 50% to the investor group. 6. Many restaurant partnerships allow for the operating partner (you) to repurchase increments of ownership/cash flow at pre-designated intervals. 7. This formula does not provide for but can accomodate bank debt which may be subordinated to the equity capital once an operating record (credit history) has been established. The rule of thumb is that a restaurant that is performing strongly can hit point 5. above, in about 4 to 4.5 years. In other words, about a 20% to 25% ROI. Beneath 20%, it's more difficult to attract capital to such a risk-prone business because the financial model will appear flawed, epecially in a time of such dramatically increasing hard costs.

Yes, for a big room, it exudes the stuff, Memo. But here's the question. Given . . . What type of large-scale restaurants (i.e., that can overcome the challenges above), do you think the city is going to get? And by large scale I mean 150 + seats. Saltlik, by the way, is 210 seats, not including their roof garden, which will not be opened for some time. Let's say that, in order to return 107% (7% being the cost of private capital right now) of equity in about four years they have to produce about a 125% sales:development cost ratio (including pre-opening and opening expenses) in year one of operations (i.e. $4 million in sales), escalating fairly briskly after that. So what do you think the target market for these big rooms looks like? I have absolutely no opinion on the subject, although I do know one thing for sure: You'd better make a great bowl of clam chowder.

Count the rooms with design impact that opened in Vancouver over the past year or so, and you might require only one hand: Chambar, Lift, Watermark, Nu, Earls Paramount Place and . . . ? Well, perhaps that's about it. There are reasons why we are a restaurant design-challenged city. I think those reasons collide at the intersection of high real estate costs, competition, lack of historic buildings (condo podia are compromised), insufficient financial covenants and a lack of knowledge regarding private capital formation. So it was interesting to revisit a room in the Alberni and Thurlow area today that I've been monitoring since the beginning of the summer, when construction began to convert it from the retail space called Bruce. Some $3.4 million later, Saltlik is a beauty, with sleek wooden walls soaring past the huge windows that pour light in off Alberni Street, woven leather walls in the elegant mezzanine, and no stacked rock, that ubiquity that trickled down even into Moxie's stores. There's a big demonstration kitchen, glass-walled wine refrigerators (accessible from a spiral staircase) above the back bar (bringing a new meaning to Earls' fetching staff), and a general feeling that this is a place for grown-ups. Overall, the feel is contemporary and much less old school-clubby than many steakhouses. Saltlik's owners snagged an uncommonly good lease for this space, a factor that will benefit them mightily as the nexus of downtown dining reballasts towards Alberni and Thurlow, especially once the Shangri-La opens. I think that Alberni may, in time, become the chi chi sib to the increasing homogeneity of Robson. It's going to be an interesting time in this cluster around Thurlow and Alberni, where several of the highest grossing rooms in the province are centred. In the long term, I expect that the area will likely benefit from the critical mass. The menu has been developed by Stewart Fuller and Karen Lyons (adapted from their Banff/Calgary restaurants), and features lots of seafood to supplement the steaks, which are priced on the dinner menu from $18 for the skirt steak, $24.50 for a sirloin, $27.50 for a bone-in ribeye all the way up the chain to the most expensive cut, a Porterhouse at $38. Lamb shank ($24) and ribs ($24), amongst others, round out the meaty portion of the menu. Lots of big soups, salads and sides, although potatoes are included with mains. One thing I found refreshing: no vulcanized Thai prawn cocktail. In its place, a crab and shrimp salad with green goddess dressing. Today I watched the pre-opening training drill downs, with 20 chefs, grillmen and prep and line cooks spinning through a good deal of the menu, then eating and critiquing it. FOH training is also well advanced. Unlike many restaurant pre-openings that I've looked in on, I was fascinated by the aura of calm that pervaded the proceedings. These were professionals going through their paces under EC Ryan Best and GM Michael Frigon, everyone in clean whites, the walk-ins, prep kitchens and dry storage rooms fully loaded, labelled and spotless. I'll look forward to your opinions on its design and food. Saltlik opens December 9th at 1038 Alberni.

This (press release) just in . . . NB: See Yagger's Website for complete menu, wine and cocktails list. (Vancouver, BC) – Vancouver’s lively bar scene just got livelier with the addition of Yagger’s at 433 West Pender. The brainchild of brothers Tom and Trevor Poirier, Yagger’s is an unpretentious place serving fun food and serious drinks. The brothers Poirier have impeccable credentials for creating such an establishment. Older brother Tom is still co-owner with Andrew Wong in the very successful Wild Rice two blocks to the east. Prior to that he held managerial positions at popular clubs such as Au Bar, Stone Temple and Sand Bar. Trevor, the former GM of Wild Rice, also has a bar background having worked with Tom at Stone Temple amongst others. Joining Tom and Trevor as partners are friends Dan Wood and Wade Quinney, both of whom boast impressive resumes in the bar and club scene. "We wanted a casual place where people could drop by for a quick pre or post show/game bite, an after work pick-me-up or end of evening nightcap," says Tom. "It’s our intention to create a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere where people feel they can drop by and spend the evening. A place that becomes their regular hangout." What sets Yagger’s apart from many of its clubby competitors is its innovative menu of sophisticated takes on bar-food standards. Designed by Wild Rice’s award-winning chef, Stuart Irving, Yagger’s menu offers comfort food at prices that won’t break the bank. Some of the "slightly twisted" classics include: Three Tomato Soup with Italian parsley pesto and crème fraîche ($6), Mac and Not So Blue Cheese with white cheddar and Gorgonzola ($10), Gourmet BBQ Pork Sloppy Joe in a sweet sesame glaze ($10), Free Run Chicken Wings with baha spice, wasabi dusted or Jagermeister glazed ($8), Warm Spinach Salad with orange segments and candied walnuts ($7) and a Baron of Venison Baguette with pepper roasted onions and pale ale jus ($10). The Pittsburgh Panino ($7) is an item that is sure to become a signature dish. Think of a chicken panino sandwich served with Cole slaw and crisp French fries – only this time, instead of sitting on the side, they are inside the sandwich with the chicken. "Stu tasted these on a recent trip to Pittsburgh and thought they were awesome. The vinegar base of the Cole slaw and the fresh potato of the fries, complement each other so well and give a nice finish what could have been a plain old chicken sandwich," says Trevor. Another innovation is that prices include taxes, what you see, is what you pay. "Because of our experience at Wild Rice, we know how important the food component is," continues Trevor. "We made the decision that the kitchen is always open, so people can have dinner at 11:30 p.m. if they want. We’re all about comfort and convenience." As one would expect with a name like Yagger’s, the inventive drink list boasts many specialty cocktails incorporating the place’s namesake Jagermeister. As with the food menu, the cocktail offerings are reasonably priced and include tax – martinis for $7.50, cocktails at $6 for singles and $8 for doubles, specialty Jagermeister shooters for $4.75 and premium shooters at $7.50. Yagger’s wine list features great value wines from B.C., California, Chile and Australia. Individual glasses range from $6.25 - $8.50 while full bottles start as low as $24 and top out at $65. Located in a heritage building, Yagger’s exudes a homey, retro feel. With a14’ ceiling, the front dining room, anchored by an aged Jagermeister mural, offers a mixture of intimate tables and banquettes as well as a casual seating area with love seat, arm chair and coffee table. A little further down the long space is the bar area you’ll find an L-shaped bar with black leatherette bucket swivel chairs, comfy couches and accent brickwork on the long cement wall. Adorning the whole area are original Jagermeister posters along with retro bar signs and colourful prints. Tucked away at the back you discover another room. Named the Montgomery Room in honour of the building’s original name (The Montgomery Hotel) this area is currently open only on weekends or for private parties. Think of your parents’ Rec Room from 30 years ago. The Montgomery Room features a small home bar in one corner and dark mahogany walls. There’s a large screen for watching the big game as well as dining tables On December 4th, Yagger’s will celebrate its official opening and everyone is invited to drop by. Yagger’s is open seven days a week – Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to midnight and on Saturday’s and Sunday’s from 5 p.m. to midnight. For more information, the public is invited to visit Yagger’s web site at www.yaggers.com or give us a call at 604.288.4297. -end- 433 west pender, vancouver, bc v6b 1v2 t:604.288.4297

Ms. Reichl, With the year drawing to a close, I would be intrigued to know what you consider the most important food stories of 2005.

I've stopped asking and I haven't noticed if the Development Permit sign is still up. Last time we spoke about it, there were still some zonong issues, as the Yellow House is a heritage building and its facade must be preserved.

Umberto sold his Gastown restaurant, Al Porto, a couple of years ago. Circolo manages to hold its own in Yaletown, but is easily bested (food and revenue) by Umberto's former consigliere, Pino Posterero (who will be opening a new restaurant in the Thurlow nexus), at Cioppino's and Enoteca. The Whistler restaurants are largely as you reported. Il Giardino remains wildly popular and a cash cow. Its designer, Werner Forster, who was responsible for those intimate rooms and the wonderful garden, recently died. A couple of meals there over the past few months told me several things: Bobby Copiak remains one of the best hosts in the city; the antipasto platters are savagely overpriced; the food, for the most part, remains quite good, if expensive. They do a lot of event groups in the Yellow House (the original Umberto's) private dining room, which has been attached to Il Giardino for some time. The old Umberto's Fish House now serves as his ops offices. Find a partial list of Umberto's restaurant CV here. Note that it does not mention his Creekside restaurant at Whistler, his two Seattle restaurants, or his San Francisco restaurant in the Embarcadero. In our recent Eating + Drinking Guide to BC, we rated Il Giardino with two out of three stars and awarded it icons for its wine list, patio and bar. Here's what we said: "The city's longtime Tuscan standard-bearer is beautiful and not a little wise. Owner Umberto Menghi pulls pretty crowds, many tongue in chic, to the city's prettiest garden patio for salmon carpaccio mediorente and a rack of lamb with onion confit, but hell, it's all good--and highly seductive--here.GM Bobby Copiak is one of the city's most gracious hosts. ** $$$$"

First, let me reiterate that I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill; nobody died, as they say, but I do share feedbag's concern: When it was all said and done, the incident was silly and amateurishly handled. I'm glad it happened to me and my friends and not to some hapless tourists. If I'd been visiting Vancouver I really would have shaken my head. But believe me, at my advanced age I've seen much worse. Coincidentally, one of the folks exiting the Lieutenant-Governor's wine dinner at Lumière that night was the publicist who represents Watermark - an exquisite chap whom I respect. I took him aside quietly and told him this rather amusing story. He grimaced, rolled his eyes and assured me that he'd mention it. He did. David Richards called me within a day or two. The message on my voice mail began, "I understand we screwed up again . . ." Now that I've reported the incident, I'll be sure to return his call.

I was in disguise: party dress. Actually, it was a night off for us and as you allude, I certainly don't want, expect or encourage treatment any different from the next guy. Especially if he's a Saudi prince. I've spent (or tried to spend) quite a lot of money trying to find something nice to say about Watermark. Thus far I've been largely unsuccessful. By the way, over the past five months I've eaten (or not) at Watermark five times now. Only once was I recognized. The black velvet number with the empire waist really throws them off. Needless to say though, I save my tiara for serious restaurants.

The lungs. When making haggis from lamb, you ask for 'the pluck': liver, heart and lights. From a non-smoking sheep.

I don't think so. I say that because I'd forgotten they had started taking them, but the hotel GM (who is a fastidious guy) may have had his concierge call ahead. That was our ambition too. Truth be known, I usually would have taken the manager quietly aside. But I was (morbidly) fascinated by just how huffy he could get (from afar) and how far he would let things deteriorate. Not once did he approach us, but he did noisily chastise his staff for seating us in the bar. In fairness, if (GM) David Richards had been there I believe things would have been handled much differently. And I should mention that our waiter, who was also the barman, was a cheery guy. Agreed. And although many Vancouverites eat dinner at an hour that's more suggestive of a late lunch, this isn't a restaurant that you can easily access. You pay the meter for the night, walk in from the tennis court lots, and go up a long flight of stairs, only to be informed that they've (arbitrarily) altered their service hours. But I've been around long enough to know that stiuff happens, especially on weekday autumn nights. And I dislike tempests in stock pots. So why not put a sign on the door? Or be gracious? And not eat dinner in front of us? Agreed. Most retail establisments post their hours and live by them. Sometimes it hurts a little to build your business. Some adjust their hours accordingly and make it clear - especially if they run a website. This, as you well know, is a very competitive restaurant city. If meals are the hinges of our day, surely good manners can lubricate them.

I was brought up to believe that you shouldn't eat in front of people who are not. This is especially true for restaurant staff. If the first statement suggests poor manners, the second, I believe, is compounded by being highly unprofessional. Not incidentally, we spent about $750 that night at Feenie's.

I hope I look as good as her when I turn 29.

Hissy Fête? Because there was media dogpile on Watermark (it also received a gulleting here) when it opened last summer, and because I said that I thought that it would only be fair to re-evaluate the room and cooking. I was further reminded of this by a PR communiqué that arrived on November 20th from their publicist, which seemingly announced new autumn menu items: Our party of seven, celebrating a birthday, arrived around nine o'clock, suitable timing, we thought, to come in on the heels of the first sitting. And in the interests of full disclosure, it wasn't rainy, it was foggy. We sat down in the attractive bar area. Earlier, I had studied Watermark's website, which, although it has not been updated to reference the new menu items, says that the restaurant is open seven days a week, from 11 am until 11 pm. (Further curiousities on the website are the unattributed 'media' reports - mark that 'Incomplete' ). There were six tables occupied in the dining room. Thay seemed fairly contented. Caveat emptor alert though: We were rather surprised to be summarily instructed that 'the kitchen is closed!' and that we would not be dining tonight. Nothing, nada, nyet - no shrimp and crab cakes for you! Truth in advertising aside, we would have been more accepting of that message if it had been graciously delivered. But we were made to feel entirely uncomfortable - with no explanation. This was further rubbed in our faces when the surly manager trolled his laden dinner plate past us to eat it - rather ostentasiously we agreed - at the bar. He sat with his back turned to us. At any rate, he was the butt (quite literally - he must have been a plumber in a former career) - of several off-colour but I'm sure helpful suggestions. So there we sat in our suits and ties and party dresses. We finished our drinks. If I felt rather badly (and a little embarrassed for recommending we go there) that we wouldn't have the opprtunity to sample Lynda's new menu items (if not riveting, they look like they belong to her rertoire), I felt worse for our birthday girl. To rescue the the birthday celebrations from this enervating experience (this is the first non-review I've written in a while), we called Feenie's on West Broadway. Although by this time they had also closed their kitchen, they offered to keep a couple of chefs back for half an hour: in short order we were well fed and our birthday girl felt properly fêted. We had a jolly evening which jumped a further notch when attendees of the Lieutenant-Governor's party disgorged from Lumière for a nightcap. Postscript: Our party included the general manager of a major downtown hotel and an incentive travel/event planner who books a lot of restaurants. Although the GM had already long since relegated Watermark from his concierges' 'Recommend' to their 'Don't Go' lists owing to poor feedback, he too went with an open mind. Suffice to say that they weren't impressed. We discussed how a professional manager might have handled the situation: 1. A simple "Sorry, I let the kitchen go early tonight because of the weather." 2. "May I call a nearby restaurant for you?" 3. "May I buy you a drink while I call a nearby restaurant for you?" 4. "Would you like to eat my dinner while I call a nearby restaurant for you?" How would you have handled it?

Recent reports indicate that - in order to delay their trip to the Thanksgiving slaughter - last week brighter US turkeys affected a cough. Several flocks even took up saying 'eh'.