Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am the chef and owner of Main Street Manor Restaurant and banquet facility www.mainstreetmanor.ca of London Ontario. My facility consists of 4 components. 60 seat fine dining restaurant in an old century home on the main street, 30 seat lounge, beautiful 175 seat banquet and wedding hall, and one of the most private and unique outdoor wedding facilities in South western Ontario, seating for 250.  After 4.5 years of operation and the first year of profitability  I am seeking growth funding that will help increase profitability by an estimated 100% to 150%. To this point my very large operation has been handcuffed by under financing but I still made it happen through sheer determination, hard work, and performing what ever tasks necessary to succeed. My business is quite complicted and the above description is a simplistic synopsis. The business is not even close to acheiving its full potential. 

Is there anyone out there that can help me take my venture to the next stage? 

 

Thank You for any consideration

 

Brian Long, Chef/Owner Main Street Manor Restaurant and Banquet Facility

Western grad, Stratford Chef`s school grad, Former Culinary Professor Fanshawe College

 

First of all you need to give yourself a lot of credit for what you have accomplished. You have a beautiful restaurant/wedding hall/ lounge/etc. And you are finally profitable.

My first question is what makes you think more funding would increase profitability by 100%.

Would you put the money into marketing, equipment, vacation or what? What do you really have in mind for the next step? Why don`t you think the business is not close to its full potential?

You are right your operation is very complicated but you have managed so far. As an owner of a operation similar to yours I admire all you have done, I went broke. I would love to talk to you more about your future ideas. Message me if you are interested.

Winston

Thank You Winston for your intersest. There are 4 basic reasons that my business has not reached near its potential. 1.) When I do a wedding of 140 people or more I must close the restaurant because I don`t have enough washrooms. 2.) I have recently received zoning approval for a 100 seat patio, Londoners love their patios especially after the winter we are having. The patio will create a completely new clientele for 5 months of the year. The restaurant attracts an older clientele that is special occasion driven (fine dining). The patio will bring in a much more casual diner and more often. 3.) I have always right from opening day been under financed. I am not able to spend near the dollars on marketing that I should. 4.) The restaurant is in an old house which is very nice, however when cars drive by the ficade appears nothing like a restaurant. 30,000 cars drive by the house each day and nobody knows there is a great restaurant inside. I am missing out on incredible exposure!

 

My wedding business makes me a great margin and is very easy to market. Then the restaurant snatches about half of that margin away. If my restaurant would simply break even (should not be an impossible task) I would double my profit. Growth financing to take care of the above 4 issues would create the ability to, in the worst case, make the restaurant break even.

 

There is even more potential, ie. outdoor facility but you have my situation in a nut shell. 

I look forward to your thoughts

 

Thanks again for the interest

Chef Brian Long 

Well... I think you have 4 very good reasons to expand, If you really want to. Are you ready to take on a lot of new debt and spend another 4 or 5 years to break even. And what if the added changes do not translate to more profit.

I know what you are going through. I have owned restaurants and other businesses that I have worked myself to death and never seemed to be able to see and end to the struggle, but I feel you do have some options. I found when I finally got tired of the business I could always sell it, especially a restaurant. I have sold 5 restaurants of my own and several more for clients. Another option is to take on a partner that would put up the money for the remodel. Another option is to sell the restaurant and open a wedding center some where else. What ever there are options.

I forgot to ask how much money do you think you will need to make the changes you want?

 

Winston, I really appreciate the arms length thoughts that you offer and obvious experience in my field I want to continue to correspond with you. I think you miss understood me. I am making money now finally and am proud as hell of my determination and that won`t end. My facility is quite amazing. When I am done with the patio, the facade of the restaurant, I will officially have claim to a fine dining restaurant that seats 60 people, a lounge that serves a dual purpose with weddings that seats 30 people, a beautiful banquet hall that seats 175 people, an outdoor facility that I developed (everyone thought I was nuts) and free of rent because the septic bed makes it impossible for the landlord to build, and a 110 seat patio. You seem to want to let me know about failures that make you sell. I am not going to let this venture fail because there is no real reason to let it fail (you need to taste my food). That is why I am looking for growth financing. I am also willing to tell you in this open forum that my monthly rent for everything that I described is $7000 /month. Peanuts.

 

Here is something else I have been working on (like I said this situation has many more complexities but i want your thoughts because of your experience). The entire plaza that I am in is under power of sale (you can see it through agents) and I am the reason it has become valueable. The plaza is selling for about $1.2 million and worth about 1.6 million. I have been trying to find local investores to help buy my portion of the building which the landlord has agreed to do. I have also set up my wife Yvonne in the same plaza (www.photographybyyvonne.com) so we lease 65% of the plaza. I am dealing with people who want to buy the building so the facade of the house has been made clear to them. I hold all the cards.

 

By the way, I am doing all this while I do menus, cook, and everything else. 

 

To answer your question, I am looking for an aggressive $60,000 for the business growth, AND OR $200,000 down payment and $400,000 mortgage to let my rent ($5000/month) go into equity. No different than buying your first home!...I did that too!

 

Thank you again, still very interested in your thoughts.

 

Chef Long

I have no doubt that your establishment is first class, I can tell by the wonderful design of the restaurant and the fine detail shown on your web page. And anyone that has make it in the restaurant business 5 years should be able to take it forward to the next step. We have a government program here in the US called the Small Business Administration that will lend small businesses money for projects like yours,especially when buying property. Through this program I was able to borrow $250.000 to purchase a building and equitment. Have you looked into any programs like that in your area? You have a profitable business, a valuable piece of property I hope you are able to buy the property before someone else does.

I  am sure you have already tried to get money from several sources, why do they not want to lend money on your project? I know here if it concerns a restaurant it is a lot harder to find financing. I am not an investor but I council business looking for money and I will see if I can find a source that will lend you money. It is harder when it is out of the country. Maybe someone here on Start up nation can help.

Winston...PS I loved your wife`s photographs.

Thanks for your inclusion in our conversation. I do know most of what there is to know about lending in Canada. I am a business grad from UWO and got talking to Winston who has had some bad experiences in the restaurant business.

 

Is a disaster loan a ticket to Tahiti?