MovieChat Forums > Kitchen Nightmares (2007) Discussion > Places that are open just a few hours pe...

Places that are open just a few hours per week

posted 10 years ago by GraceFromSoCal
12 replies | jump to latest

I think I posted something about this a while ago, but I'm watching "Bazzini" again right now and it struck me again.

How do places, like Bazzini and Capri, expect to stay in business--and PAY their employees, and earn a living--when they're only open a few hours per week? When Ramsay arrives at Bazzini, their hours are Monday-Thursday from 5:00-9:30pm, or 4-1/2 hours per day, four days a week, which is a total of 18-1/2 hours per week. How can servers be expected to earn a living with so few hours? How can the owners expect to earn enough to support not only the business, but their homes and families, too, on so little revenue? I'm guessing the servers and sous chefs would have to have second jobs to make a go of it. But what about the owners? It's just simple math that being open so few hours CANNOT yield sufficient revenue to support them.

WTF are they thinking?! 

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] ResidentECVX 10 years ago

Well one of them said they wanted to watch football. They thought they were one of these fine dining places, where people would line up for their food and they didn't have to work full-time.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 10 years ago

Yeah, but the twins [Capri] certainly didn't have any delusions about their place being fine dining! They chose not to open for lunch because they were just lazy--and preferred to watch TV or be online. 

Bazzini, I could kind of understand that the chef/owner saw it as fine dining. But even so, I don't see how he thought 18-1/2 hours per week could result in enough revenue to actually make a good living. It was a VERY small space, and with so few hours there was no way to have enough turnover to make the money work out.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] ResidentECVX 10 years ago

It's easy to be lazy when you're spending someone else's money.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 10 years ago

It's easy to be lazy when you're spending someone else's money.

I'm not sure I'm following your reasoning, ResidentECVX. Whose money do you think the owners are spending?  They're the ones LOSING money...which is why they've sought help from Gordon Ramsay.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] ResidentECVX 10 years ago

The same people that equate credit cards as gift cards

[–] GraceFromSoCal 10 years ago

Oh, okay. You're probably right. The impression I get from pretty much all of the owners is that they're up to their eyeballs in debt, many are facing foreclosure on their homes because they're tied in to the business somehow, and will probably end up in bankruptcy. So there you go. I just hadn't looked at it like you are, because they're not frivolously spending money on luxuries while having no intention of paying back the money. Well, there are some exceptions, like Peter--the brother of the owner of Peter's restaurant--who spent money on expensive suits, cars, fake tans and teeth while the restaurant made do with broken kitchen equipment. 

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] ranran-001 10 years ago

The only restaurant that I think could make money and have as few hours as the ones you posted is the one featured in Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Of course that restaurant is fully booked every night, and the only way to get a seat is to book at least 3 months in advance.

Its possible only for the most elite restaurants, but for everyone else, no way I can see it happening.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 10 years ago

Bazzini wasn't even open on weekends! That's mind-boggling to me. I can't imagine how they thought being open 4-1/2 hours a day, Monday-Thursday would yield success. Aren't Friday and Saturday nights, as well as Sundays, the busiest restaurant days?

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] BoingFwip 10 years ago

We have a barbecue joint down here that's only open Thursday through Saturday 11-8 and it does just fine. They've been in business over 30 years so they must be doing something right. There's 2 other restaurants in town that are only open for lunch (6 days a week) and they both have been in business for a very long time - one of them has been featured in a few magazines.

A buddy of mine owned a pizza place that was only open 4-10 and he managed to make money. He only had one employee (besides delivery drivers) so his payroll wasn't too high. When he first opened he tried for the lunch crowd but he said it wasn't even worth turning on the ovens because he only made about 5 pies during the day, and running the ovens those extra hours cost more than the pizzas so he changed his hours.

It's not the amount of time the place is open for business. It's the overhead cost of running the business. If they make most of their money during dinner then why shouldn't they only be open for dinner? Most wait and kitchen staff are paid hourly (plus tips for wait staff) so why pay someone to stand around if there are no orders to fill? Not only that, why does being open for a few hours per day limit the staff to only 18 hours per week? It does if the staff relies solely on that one restaurant to support their lifestyle. Surely they can find another part-time job to fill in the remainder of the week. I wouldn't rely on that kind of schedule to pay my monthly bills.

I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 10 years ago

We have a barbecue joint down here that's only open Thursday through Saturday 11-8 and it does just fine.

Yes, but they're open nine hours a day, three days a week, and the three days happen to be the three (or at least two, Friday and Saturday) busiest for restaurants.

If you look back at my OP, you'll see:

When Ramsay arrives at Bazzini, their hours are Monday-Thursday from 5:00-9:30pm, or 4-1/2 hours per day, four days a week, which is a total of 18-1/2 hours per week. How can servers be expected to earn a living with so few hours? How can the owners expect to earn enough to support not only the business, but their homes and families, too, on so little revenue? I'm guessing the servers and sous chefs would have to have second jobs to make a go of it. But what about the owners? It's just simple math that being open so few hours CANNOT yield sufficient revenue to support them.

And I stand by that. Eighteen hours a week--none of which included the busiest days, weekend days--doesn't cut it.

It's not the amount of time the place is open for business. It's the overhead cost of running the business. If they make most of their money during dinner then why shouldn't they only be open for dinner? Most wait and kitchen staff are paid hourly (plus tips for wait staff) so why pay someone to stand around if there are no orders to fill? Not only that, why does being open for a few hours per day limit the staff to only 18 hours per week? It does if the staff relies solely on that one restaurant to support their lifestyle. Surely they can find another part-time job to fill in the remainder of the week. I wouldn't rely on that kind of schedule to pay my monthly bills.

See above. 

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] clytamnestra 10 years ago

@boingfwip
That would also be my reasoning: why bother staying open for lunch if most of your customers come in the evening? Better to only be open when you can reasonably expect a proper turnover and let the staff be free to take on a second job when you are closed (maybe at a place that sells most of it wares at lunchtime?).

Of course this bussiness model does require that your rent is low enough to not need a packed restaurant 2 times a day (at lunch and diner).
And i would expect 'busiest time' to typically be in the weekend and not on weekdays, though that might depend a bit on location (f.e. a restaurant in a bussines-district might be busiest at lunchtime during the week)

[–] jefgg 8 years ago

You are absolutely right.

I think there are a few rare exceptions. I know a place that serves only lunch and they seem to be doing very well. It isn't exactly fine dining. It is just a local hot dog place.