TheStarvingArtist

Wow, some great tips! The real estate lawyer is a huge bonus. I've got a space in mind, offered to me for a song, but if that doesn't work I'll definitely talk to my lawyer. jrshaul, thanks for the great info: I'm definitely set to be open until at least an hour after bar-time, with a fresh bake on the schedule just before then. I'll need to figure out how the fudge shops can rig their exhaust to the front sidewalk.... I think my day-olds will be donated. I talked to a great bakery several states away that donates all their day-olds to a rotating assortment of local charities, from women's shelters to homeless shelters to after-school programs, etc. I think I'm going to aim for this (plus the side-stack of bread pudding, donut-chunk gelato, and donut-ice cream-sandwiches)

As a follow-up question, my preliminary numbers are looking like the whole project is going to be about $42,000, which includes an estimated 5 months of payroll and rent, pre-considered. Having never done anything like this before, does that sound average? Way too much? A deal? I'd just like to contextualize things before I start asking for money and applying for loans... haha.

Holly: that's exactly something I'll be working with: farmers-market filled donuts. We get great seasonal produce, so all filled sweets will have homemade jams in them! I can't imagine why your old bosses didn't see how great of an idea that is!

The pro-side of the coffee issue is that we've got one of the nationally top-ranked roasters/baristas downtown, and they're going to be working with me. I'm not planning to offer anything special coffee-wise, but the roastery is going to blend me my own coffee formulated for the doughnuts, and they're going to sell the doughnuts at the coffeeshop. I don't need to overcomplicate things with coffee-drinks-- I'm doing it good ol' fashioned diner-style. I have the bonus of a lot of community-support-- farmers, other food-businesses, etc., so that will definitely help on some of the ends. Good point on how much heat all that equipment puts out...I often forget about how warm the gelaterie were in Italy.... unfortunately, finding an old restaurant won't really be an option. Our food-scene isn't old enough to have any sort of glut of those (and considering I want to keep this small and fast (not a cafe), if I DID find an old restaurant, it'd be way too expensive and way too big, assumedly).

Doughnut-gelato. Genius. When I open, it's on the house if you can make it up to Michigan!

Hello EGulleters! I'm finally launching a brick-and-mortar after years as a private chef. This spring I'm opening a local-focused gourmet doughnut shop and gelateria-- small-med production, short list of constantly rotating, exquisitely made doughnuts and gelati (about 8-10 types of doughnut a day, and 6 gelato flavors, all based on the local farmer's market). As an added fun bonus, I'll be open bar-hours, so the stumbling crowds can be tempted in at 3am for fresh doughnuts and ice cream. When I make 10 billion dollars off of satisfying the local crowd of drunks, I'll be sure to donate some to eGullet... That said, I'd love some advice from people in this or similar business. I'm in the midst of mountains of research, and lots of it seems pretty obvious. I'm a businessowner now, and relatively balanced left- and right-brain. The basics of opening a business aren't what I need more of. What I need to hear are tips, tricks, and pitfalls that you wish someone would have told you ahead of time. Plans you'd made that didn't work out, and things you should have planned for but didn't. The stuff that one can only learn through "doing" rather than another "start your own business" manual. Any help/information/discussion will be most helpful, as I'm moving headlong into this at a smart but steady pace! Cheers!

Wow...sous-vide stabilization sounds like a godsend! Do you keep it in the fridge? Or is it even shelf-stable?

So, I over-ordered, and wound up with MASSES of beautiful fresh rosemary from a local herb farm. Anyone have any stellar ideas on preservation/batch usage/etc. so it doesn't have to go to waste? I'll probably do a vinegar, and maybe an olio santo, and might make a wreath....and that only takes care of about a third of it..... help!

I've got a cocktail on my bar's menu right now that's a manhattan of sage-infused rye, honey, and amontillado sherry. It's pretty solid.

I haven't quite decided... probably Kingston on the way home, but we might go through upstate New York en route.

Also, has anyone visited Unibroue? I love their beers, and am planning on swinging by there, but don't know what to expect at all!

I"m so excited! This sounds great! Here's a follow-up/elaboration: I'm driving there from the west side of Michigan... anything en route which would make a fun pit stop? Obviously Toronto isn't a "pit stop", but I'm sure there are more reasonable detours on that trip?

Au Pied is definitely going to be a highlight of the tour, as is the Jean-Talon! Thanks, Matthew-- I'll check out your fromagerie, and I'll probably find myself wandering the signature store, too... hah.

I'm spending Sunday-through-Tuesday in Montreal, and need some recommendations! Hidden gem restaurants, the best bakeries/cheese shops/charcutiers, cool places to buy liquor I can't get at home (Michigan), etc. I'm on a budget, so the bargain-finds are most useful! Thanks!

I'd say it's good enough to take the 30mins to make it yourself. It's not good enough to spend a lot of money in buying it.

The dorky english-major in me tends to make literary jokes that are totally inappropriate, but only to people that "get" them, which usually earns me points with the patrons. My favorite special-of-the-night was the "Medea," a potent riff on a Communard with Metaxa, which, in the menu subtitle it said simply: "What to drink when the kids are gone." I had about two people laugh out loud in a really twisted way...