There’s a lot that I didn’t like, but hardest on me was probably the unpredictability of business. I never knew from one day to the next if we were going to have a $400.00 day or a $200.00 day. That made it difficult to know what my labor needs were. If I guessed wrong, I was paying my help to do homework or I was trying to serve too many people on my own. I’d get so nervous.
I salute you for walking away rationally instead of trying to go down with the ship if it wasn’t for you. Like others said, if you never lost any serious assets or ended up on “Kitchen Nightmares” you’re well ahead of most people who start a food business.
The breakup of a joint business (or a dispute about the breakup) can place an incredible strain on a marriage. Take care.
if its not too raw, would you mind sharing what in the original thread was spot on (in your opinion) and what ended up being irrelevant? What issues did you expect, and what issues surprised you?
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out. Food service is a tough business and companies sometimes go under even though the owners did everything right.
At least you can say you took the chance rather than spending the rest of your life wondering “what if?”
As others have said, now you know. Much better than always wondering “what if?”
In the mid-90’s, I opened a business with my ex-boss. It was mildly successful for about a year, but then started to cost more than it made and we had to shut it down. (It was a marketing business - selling advertising and doing special events.)
I learned a lot, met some great people, and while it was profitable, it was great! But we tried too much on our own, learned some hard lessons the hard way, and in the end it was just too much for two people - and yet not quite profitable enough to hire more. Much more to the story, but we both parted friends and moved on.
One suggestion for you now - perhaps try to find some other small business starting up (another couple trying to do what you did) and offer to be their bookkeeper or manager…you might think you were a “failure”, but in reality, you now know all of the pitfalls and things to be wary of that newbies won’t know. If I were starting a new business, trust me - I would want someone like you to watch my books and give a few suggestions here and there. I would figure you had been there, done that, and knows what did and didn’t work.
Just a thought.
I can do that. I’ll go find the original thread. It will be a good learning lesson for the next foodie.
I don’t really feel like a failure. My husband does, so that’s an issue. I just feel…a little bit stupid, I guess. Our lease said we could serve beer and wine and so it never occurred to me to research that issue more in depth.
I’m going to take a couple of months off before I start my job search. It could be fun to be a mentor to someone else. But at my age, I may have to take whatever I can get!
Thanks everyone.
I’m so sorry to hear this! It sounded like exactly the sort of place I’d like to have close by! Join me in with the admirers of your wisdom. Reading the writing on the wall is one of the hardest things to do, in any business.
My advice? Start writing! Make it a combination memoir and how-to (or not-to) for people thinking of starting a restaurant. Start at the beginning and put as much of your feelings as you can into each chapter. Just brainstorm each phase as much as possible, you can edit later.
Maybe invite your spouse to do the same. It might be even better with a he-said-she-said aspect to it, and you can each then read the others version. even if it never sells, it will be a great help in binding up the threads.
One last idea - write a short book and sell it online.
“Why Our Restaurant Failed - 50 Tips Of Do’s And Don’t’s From A Couple Who Have Been There, Done That”
I can imagine many people thinking of investing in/starting a new restaurant business would gladly plunk down $10 to read that before jumping in! If nothing else, many friends and relatives will buy it before investing with their friends and relatives!
Sounds like you could write that in short order.
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work out. I didn’t post in your threads about the restaurant, but I did read them all.
I think the book idea is a good one.
No pun intended? 
I don’t think either of you are stupid or failures; you tried something you really wanted to try, and that sounds like a huge success to me. So you didn’t know everything or cover all your bases; who does?
I’m sorry to hear that you couldn’t work out a deal about the courtyard - I remember you posting about it, and how it was a sticking point that you worried about.
I think of you and your deli every time I see one of those blackboard easels on the sidewalk advertising cuban sandwiches.
I know it’s rough now, but I really do think this is a good choice for you to realize it wasn’t going to fly, and get out while the getting was good. Bravo for trying in the first place, and even more Bravo for being honest with yourself about reality.
I’m sorry that your husband is taking it so hard - I know with my husband, he’s really particular about anything related to his ability to be a “good provider” so he’s very touchy about things that I’m able to shrug off as a learning experience. Just try to be kind to him, and give him a chance to process it in his own time.
I think it’s very brave and giving of you to post an update in the original thread so that people in the future can see how it went. I ALSO think that the posters earlier had a great idea about writing down (or audio-recording for transcripts) your impressions of how it all went, and your individual lessons learned and things you wish you’d known going in. It could be a great closure/therapy session, and if it seemed coherent, it could also be a somewhat profitable book! Double win!
I bought a book on Amazon in their 20p sales thing that was exactly that. Or maybe it was a rental, since I can’t find it now. The writing was only OK, but the topic was interesting - I’d never envisioned how difficult it would be to run a deli that seemed to be successful.
But that was set in the UK; a bit of research would show if there’s something in the US already, and, if not, that could be something to salvage from the business.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out. It’s one thing when you pull the plug because you’re just not bringing in customers, but it’s completely different animal (and a frustrating one at that) when landlords are unreasonable. My beloved 2nd Ave. Deli in NYC closed because of a greedy landlord (fortunately, it reopened elsewhere in the city while retaining the name).
I wish you and your husband best of luck on whatever new enterprise you take on and you have my admiration for having the chutzpah to dive into seriously unknown territory.
This. Lots of people open businesses that don’t work out. Most of those people lose their shirts trying to make them work by sheer force of will.
Yeah, I’m reminded of a restaurant in my suburb that closed within the past year, after being open for several years, apparently due to a rent cost dispute. Storefront rent in this town has gotten crazy but there just isn’t the customer traffic to justify it (due to location and lack of major thoroughfares bringing in outside customers). The owner of the restaurant said that his other restaurant in Chicago (still going) has a cheaper per-square-foot rent charge. The really wild thing is that this location had a restaurant in it for years previously, also closed due to rent costs (they reopened elsewhere), and then the space was vacant for several years! How does a property owner just let a space go vacant again like that?
I’d totally buy and read that.
Thank you.
We would still be open if they would have come down a bit on the rent, but even then, we were never going to make a decent living without the ability to serve wine in the courtyard.
I really don’t think I have the talent to write a book. You guys should know that from reading my posts!
There’s a developer in our town that similarly has a ton of vacant space due to high rent. Some folks suggest that he’s trying to mold the downtown into a high rent district, which maybe will pay dividends for him in future, but right now it seems like a lot of deadweight loss.