A fusion cafe that combines tex-mex with asian.
Ginger chicken burrito, anyone?
Chitople sushi?
A friend of mine says he always wanted to run his own restaurant, and we came up with this idea, which we thought might actually work here in Ohio: The State Fair Restaurant. All fair food: corn dogs, steak-on-a-stick, sausage sandwiches, roasted corn, lemon shake-ups, cotton candy, etc. Fast-food set up for ordering, but the counters would look like trailers, and picnic table seating. Normally you can only eat like this during the summer, but now you would be able to clog your arteries year-round.
How about a really hi-tech restaurant? Everything would be sleek and metalic looking. Ordering would be done by touch-screens on every table. You could also print your own bills and pay via credit card if you want. There would be human servers that bring out most of the food but some stuff like drinks could be brought out by robots. Food would be typical yuppie fare and there would be a wide selection of drinks.
I’m mildly (in)famous among my friends for making huge amounts of popcorn with unusual toppings, and I’ve occasionally daydreamed of opening a popcorn restaurant.
There’s one of these near me - Bert’s 50’s Diner. The food is so-so, but it’s a fun place to visit.
Moo Goo Gai Flan? 
Not really a restaurant but I’ve always wanted to open a combination laundromat / strip club. $50 gets you a lap dance AND a chick in a g-string folds your clothes!
AC’s vision…
First and foremost, all severs and hostesses will be attractive young females (HOOTERS® can do this so I should be able to do so this as well).
The attire for these ladies’ will vary depending on day of the week as follows:
Mondays: Catholic school girl uniforms but with shorter skirts.
Tuesdays: French maid outfits.
**Wednesdays: ** S&M gear including black leather bra & undies and probably spiked collars and bracelets.
Thursdays: Skimpy nurse uniforms.
**Fridays: ** Cheerleader uniforms.
Saturdays: Devil costumes similar to those two-piece outfits worn by Liz Hurley in Bedazzled but with devilish horns adorned on the crown.
Sundays: will vary with the season…skimpy Santa Clause style during Christmas Season…then Mardi Gras themed unis…skimpy white unis with bunny ears for when Easter approaches…etc. Some custom designed uniforms specific to the restaurant would be worn on Sundays during times not in the vicinty of a holiday.
Foodwise: Gotta have chicken wings (w/ much assorted sauce selection), pizza, burgers, steaks, shrimp, salads, and other American casual dining standard items but also with many vegetarian choices. Drinks will include a large variety of beer, liquor, soft drinks, juices, water, and homemade milkshakes.
The interior decor and layout will be like that of a sports bar with big screen televisions, beer ad signs, and so forth.
The exterior architecture will be profound in some way but those designs have not yet been finalized.
I think I will combine the words ‘fetish’ and ‘dishes’ and form the name of the restaurant: Fedishes
I realize this restaurant idea may promote sexism, but HOOTERS set a precendent that this idea simply follows.
A grilled cheese sandwich joint.
I’d offer several different kinds of bread - white, wheat, sourdough, rye, crusty French bread, you name it - and every kind of cheese under the sun. There would also be a list of meats, like ham, bacon, roast, chicken, salami, anything you could think of. The customer would choose his bread, cheese, and meat (veggies like lettuce and tomato $.50 extra), the chef would grill it up, and I’d offer salads and chips and fries and stuff on the side. Cheesecake, of course, for dessert, or my great-grandmother’s heavenly cream cheese 'n butter cookies, or apple pie with cheese or ice cream.
I’d also have chili (cheese optional), cheesedogs, fried mozzarella sticks, nachos with cheese, you name it.
Decor, of course, would be as cheesy as possible. I’d call it “Cheese Eaters” and the dartboard in the corner would have a big picture of Chuck E. Cheese on it.
I don’t know if it is still there after Katrina but there used to be a bar/laundromat in New Orleans called Igors. It was really strange because it was a hard-core bar with music and dark lighting and everything open 24 hours. It had a bunch of washers and dryers in the back. You could be partying away and rocking out and people would come walking through with their laundry baskets.
There was a guy in New Hampshire that tried to bring strippers to the garbage dump he owned. It got shot down by the town.
I think there’s a bar/laundromat combo in the Quad Cities.
Ok, I don’t think this would get by the Health Department, but…
sort of a Viking motiff.
Long wooden tables and benches. There would be a central fire over which is roasting an animal of some sort. You’re given a wooden plate and mug, you go up to the fire and a guy with a huge scraggly beard slices you off a hunk of meat.
You go to the kegs and fill your mug with beer.
No napkins, however you may use one of the house tunics. However, these are never washed and are coated with the grease of many a customer.
As an alternative, dogs would be allowed to run around and you can wipe your hands on them.
Singing is mandatory.
I’d like to see a wine bar where you could order a variety of tasty snacks, like crackers and varietal cheeses. I suppose these already exist in the form of tapas bars, but there aren’t nearly enough of them.
There’s a place in the Wisconsin Dells that’s similar to this called Paul Bunyan’s. It has the northern lodge motif with long heavy wood tables and benches. It’s all you can eat so you basically sit at a table with everyone else and they bring huge platters of french toast, pancakes, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, etc. and pitchers of milk and juices. We use to go there to carb-up before hitting water parks all day long.
I just checked and Igors isn’t just still there, it has opened two other locations in New Orleans as a bar/restaurant/laundromat/video poker/and pool joint. That may be an untapped market for those of you in other cities.
http://cityguide.aol.com/neworleans/entertainment/venue.adp?vid=65206
For years, the Bus Kid’s dream has been to open a restaurant. She loves food, finding new foods and recipes and she’d be a good businessperson, so I think she’d do fine. I have made her promise to hire me as the dirty old man that greets people at the door and flirts with all the women.
She wants a place that serves Mexican food. She also hates all seafood.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to** No Pescado Aqui**!
I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Is it too soon to talk about franchise opportunities?
It is called Miss-Matches or some thing like that.
All the tables and chairs and silverware will be mismatched.
The menu will be tacos, burgers, sushi, spaghetti, duck and prime rib. Well, and any thing that happens to be on sale from the distributors.
That’s the whole idea. I will buy up all the overstock of supplies, materials and food and beverage at huge discounts.
In the dining room you might be seated at a picnic table or a booth or a table. You might sit on a box, a swing or a throne. Your dinner knife might be hatchet or a sword or a ?. When you order a drink it might come in a glass, a cup or a bowl.
It will take all problems with inconsistence and turn them into unique positives.
There is a little cafe in Carbondale, Illinois which has mismatched tables, chairs, silverware and dishes. Not quite to the extent that you describe, but you might be seated at a 1960’s kitchen table on a carved wooden chair or at a raised contemporary-looking table on a barstool or a traditional restaurant booth. It’s a little coffee shop/cafe place and it works for them.
<sigh> If only I were a wealthy entrepreneur rather than a broke college student…