| By Flora Chang on Friday, July 07, 2000 - 04:18 pm: Edit |
Hello to everybody at the Great Hall:
My name is Flora Chang. I am a graphic design student in the graduate program at the Academy of Art College, San Francisco. I reallyt need your help.
I am doing my master thesis and I have a question regarding this type of restaurant that I am doing for my master thesis. My business is a burger restaurant where customers come in, order at the counter, take a number, go to their table, and wait for the waiter/waitress to serve their food. It's not like Mcdonald that kind of fast food burger restaurant, but it's not fine dinning either. How would you call this kind of restaurant? Is there any generic term/terms can be used to define this kind of restaurant? Or if you have any other professional suggestion? Please e mail your answer to me. Your help will be really really appreciated.
Thank you very much. I am looking forward to hear from you as soon as possible.
Best wishes,
Flora Chang
| By Elesia (Elesia) on Friday, July 07, 2000 - 07:53 pm: Edit |
I would call this Bonanza!
| By Dpconsu (Dpconsu) on Friday, July 07, 2000 - 09:17 pm: Edit |
Dear Ms. Chang,
First, think of a theme, you already have a base menu of burgers in mind. So give the place a decore theme or ambience and derive a name from that.
But take into account the following critera.
Who are your targeted clientel? how much would you hope to get from each person dining?(this will determin the average type of client) will this place be children friendly? will you serve beer? will it be a lunch spot or predominatly a dinner location?
Are the burgers "gourmet"? or extra special in another way? Where is the location? after all, the clientel in San Fransico will be different to those in Sacramento, Fresno or LA.
Many things have to taken into account prior to naming a restaurant, "if you wish the name to be part of the draw" or you could simply call it "Chang's Feed Bag"(as an example only my dear)!
Give up some more details on the project for us to get the juices flowing and I'm sure that you or one of us here on the net will twig a name that scratches the spot.
| By Dpconsu (Dpconsu) on Friday, July 07, 2000 - 09:41 pm: Edit |
By the way, my partner and I read over your question again and have thought deeply about what exactly is the term for this kind of service is actually called.And although we can name a dozen or more chains that use this system of service, we cannot actually place a term for this service.
But there were many well known chains that did and still do offer this type of service, The Western Sizzlers" "Colters B B Q" "La Casa Bonita" "Bonaza" to name but a few.
Have you thought about what kind of service the client will get, will some goober just drop off the tray at the table or will the servers have a more talented approach similar to a "Joes Crab Shack"? will there be an ambience and/or activities going on around the restaurant and tables while the client waits for the meal to arrive, like at a "Casa Bonita"?
Feel free to e-mail me or post it as you prefer with any thing that we can help with.
| By Hohoflora (Hohoflora) on Saturday, July 08, 2000 - 06:33 am: Edit |
Thank you for your suggestion and your questions for me. I will think about them throughly and discuss them with my director.
The product I plan to sell in the store is "riceburger". (Mos Burger in Japan has this product.) The restaurant provides different kinds of Asian flavored riceburgers to its customers. This is a student project which is my master thesis, means it's not a real world restaurant. So far I am still at the process of doing research but not design. I won't do any design until I got the positioning and marketing strategies clear. This is a new product for the American fast food market, and the cornerstone of this project will be developing some brand new way to promote the business.
Near-term focus of the business is on developing one highly successful retail location with long-term goals to develop company owned multiple retail outlets. So the first store (which is also my focus) will be opened at the San Francisco financial district, providing quick service and casual dinning for young active professional working people at this area. So basically the business will be better opened in metropolitan areas.
I went to interview the manager of one restaurant (Boudin, serving sourdough and freshly made sandwiches) which has the same ordering process in SF finalcial district, and he told me he would call his restaurant "upscale fast food restaurant".
Hope this can help you understand my idea more, and please keep giving me your precious opinion.
| By Dpconsu (Dpconsu) on Saturday, July 08, 2000 - 09:07 am: Edit |
We thank you and are flattered that you would consider any opinions or ideas of ours to be precious.
Ms. Chang, you have a good brain, USE IT !
As you already achieved the menu concept, the type of service and a targeted location and clintel. We would not term the concept as "a upscale fast food restaurant" that makes us think of a "Luby's Cafeteria or one of the new "designer McDonalds". You have something new in mind. So give the service and the restaurant a NEW name. Maybe... "Nip into a Nipuger" ? yes it is a play on the words Nippon (Japan) and Burger
But it does keep the name short, easy to remember and for the average American to pronounce. As for the service type term !!! How about " Rapidcity Service" or FlashLunches" or "GOPAD" (give order-pay-and-dine)
Just remember that not too many years ago there were many tofu and soja burger joints, how many are still in operations???
They nearly all died the slow death of poor idea for poor location, too high food prices, and under capitalisation. If You do a long term marketability and potential client survey, it will go a long way to the overall score for your final paper.
I WAS TRAINED AS A CHEF and got a BS but went on to do a Masters in civil enginiering, my thesis was on a mechanical method to preserve produce by increasing the CO2 levels in coolers to prolong the shelf life of fragile vegetables and fruits.
Keep in touch, and good luck to you.