The Book Kitchen Versus The World.

I won’t eat at a restaurant chain (give or take the odd emergency when travelling with the kids). Not because I am arrogant. Because they are uninspiring and predictable. I can not see the appeal. Sure I can see the value proposition. But I cant see the value.

Way too much time, passion and hard work goes into creating a great business from scratch and there are too many around to waste my time in a Burger King or Lone Star.

The world is full of amazing food. Why are so many people visiting familiar chain restaurants, chain coffee shops or chain fast food haunts. There is something about familiar that I don’t need and that is a fast food or mass produced version of familiar. You know what I mean, dropping into Lone Star instead of walking around the corner to The BBQ King or The Book Kitchen.

I understand it is a personal choice. That’s fine.

The romance of someone creating a small business (or tribe) from an idea into a venue with queues of people waiting to try their creation is inspiring. They do not always get it right. But who does?

I recently walked into a small Chinese BBQ place in Chatswood. It is small, looks OK, the food was amazing. The owner made his way over to thank us for dining and took the time to ask our names, where we came from and if we “enjoyed” our meal.

The architecture of a business or project has four elements:

1. What compelling reason exists for people to give you money?
2. How do you acquire what you’re selling for less than it costs to sell it?
3. What structural insulation do you have from relentless commoditization and a price war?
4. How will strangers find out about the business and decide to become customers?

I like the restaurateur prepared to get their hands dirty and create something inspiring and “original”. The term “originality” is often applied as a compliment to the creativity of artists, writers, and thinkers. Add to that entrepreneurs.

The best restaurants are the restaurants who create there own tribes. Not through TV. Through good food, good people and honesty. As my dad would say, “not afraid to get their hands dirty”.

In New York, there is a movement happening and it is guerrilla restaurants and dinner clubs. Boycotting restaurants for meals at home with strangers. It is happening everywhere, from London to Cuba. Maybe you should start one?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 10:55 am and is filed under STRATEGY, THE WHITE ROOM and tagged with BBQ, BUSINESS, Fod, MARKETING, STRATEGY. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.