After years of talking (years and years.....) it looks like I will be opening a bar.  I am meeting with architect tomorrow and I am engineering a menu right now.  I know I want to have a stellar beer selection, but food intimidates me.  I would be happy serving hot dogs with optional cheese whiz, but my business partner, who owns the park grill in Chicago probably wants to go a little more upscale

 

So, I need to learn all about gatropubs.

 

Secondly, the theme and name of the place will be Motor Row, an area of Chicago where all the wealthy went to shop for cars back at the turn of last century.  So if anyone is an expert on the culture of 1920's/1930's America, please direct me to a resource to life at that time.  What did people eat, drink, read, do, etc.  Even if you could suggest a novel that captures the feeling of the time.

 

THANKS IN ADVANCE, I will buy you a beer next spring

 

BTW, Motor Row 2333 S. Michigan Ave.

Congratulations!!! :clap:

 

Gastropubs are one of the latest buzzwords in the foodie world. Honestly I'd be leery of bringing in too much foo-foo food. I say that because Great Lakes Brewing has tried on and off to bring in chefs who create great food - but who the h#ll wants risotto with salmon mousse with BEER?!? As their chef said "we ended up selling 60K burgers". I'm not saying it can't be done but let's face it - most people want casual (not necessarily crappy bar food) food with beer. If you're going to focus on a great beer list, keep the food simpler - quality, but simple comfort food. If you are the day-to-day operations guy, you'll have a lot more passion for a place that you can relate to, rather than a place that you've developed based on the latest trend - be true to yourself and keep it real. The very name "Motor Row" sounds really cool but not the kind of place that should have an uppity menu.

 

I'd say focus on building the menu around something simple - burgers for example, but offer a few twists (something as simple as offering gouda in addition to the usual cheese suspects) to appease the foo-foo crowd. Heck, how about hot dogs? Offer kobe beef dogs, veggie dogs, toppings of every kind out the wazoo... you're close to Soldier Field for god's sake, run with it!

How about burritos?!

Thanks,

  That is the way I am leaning, but I want to learn more before I dismiss it completely.  What will probably wind up happening is that I offer some appetizers or small dishes to compliment the beer, such as pretzels, sausage, cheese and other such stuff, then have a pub grub menu.

  A little back story...This opportunity came to me because my business partner has acquired several storefronts in the area, he has about a third of the real estate on Michigan Ave next to the McCormick place expansion.  The city of Chicago has planned for this to be an entertainment district. I am going to rent one of the storefronts from Matt and open the first bar there, but Matt wants a hand in the look and the style of the place.  I really don't have a problem with that because I have worked for him off and on over the years, so we have kind of the same vision.

I just want a successful business, he just wants a way to introduce the district.  So what will hopefully happen is a beautiful bar opens with an exceptional beer and whiskey list along with a menu that compliments it.  But place, for all of the beauty and quality is run like a corner bar.  Think Treehouse in Tremont. 

 

Anywho, I've gots lots to learn in a short period of time.

Please continue to make suggestions.  I think I will change the name of the tread to "Suggestions to make a new bar successful"

I love the idea of comfort food - a thick, meaty chili can be made five or ten gallons at a time, keeps for a week, tastes great, and definitely could go well with beer.  You could bring some Columbus with you and make some Johnny Marzetti - the ultimate comfort food.  A good quality meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes, maybe with gravy?  Another low-impact-on-the-kitchen food where quantity does not make the quality suffer in the least...maybe I've just got fall and winter foods on my mind...

 

A hearty beef stew?  Maybe a nice vegetarian black bean soup - definitely can accompany beer well.  All of this is heavy winter stuff, but Chicago definitely has its share of cold weather!  And maybe moving to grill-type stuff in the summer?

 

I have no experience in the restaurant industry (outside of being a dishwasher for a while), and no idea if other folks would find this stuff appealing, but the only place I've found with a menu like this and a good selection of bourbon is my house!

 

Read the Great Gatsby, although it's 1920s New York not Chicago. It may be helpful. You should have a mint julep on the drinks menu for sure.

Make people say "Joe sent me" to get in.

I love the idea of comfort food - a thick, meaty chili can be made five or ten gallons at a time, keeps for a week, tastes great, and definitely could go well with beer.  You could bring some Columbus with you and make some Johnny Marzetti - the ultimate comfort food.  A good quality meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes, maybe with gravy?  Another low-impact-on-the-kitchen food where quantity does not make the quality suffer in the least...maybe I've just got fall and winter foods on my mind...

 

You are cracking me up! Johnny Marzetti? :lol:   Certainly would be unique.

 

I wonder if the health department allows you to keep chili for a week.

You'd sell so much of it you wouldn't need to!

 

(...or next time you'd just make less!)

 

Maybe the answer is complimentary chili. Beats pretzels.

Pizza. The material costs are minscule and the markup is huge. The only difference between a sucessful pizza place and the other kind is good drivers. Without those to worry about, you're golden. Kitchen staff is also easier to manage. No high-maintenance chefs to deal with.

 

Seriously: good luck! You're about to enter the single most frustrating/rewarding enterprise in the world. I was never more alive than when I had a cafe (and never more tired).

 

Cheers!

Well, for my Columbus friends, the Bier Stube Pizza and Mac's Cafe Nacho's and Chili might be plagiarized, as well as the drink list from the St. James.....all places that helped me pay for my engineering degree from THE

 

I was wondering about the Great Gatsby, thanks.  I will pick it up tonight. 

Thanks mods for letting me use the forum!  (I am going to start one more thread looking for info on Chicago's 1932 (33?) Worlds fair)

You'll need to have a speakeasy atmosphere!  bathtub gin and all!  Elliot Ness on tap would fit in nicely!!

^That is a nice tie in!  I plan on having the entire GLBC offerings either on tap or in the bottle.  As well as some of thier inovative sustainablity practices.

 

I forgot to mention.  Perpetual 25% off for all urban ohio members (with at least 200 posts...cant have people joining just to get the discount :))

 

You need a drink named for Anton Cermak-one that hits you right in the gut!

Right now, the drinks will be classic drinks named after classic cars, for instance the Singapore Sling might be called the Lincoln Zepher.  I was thinking to have a little more fun with the food names, for instance if I had a large sandwich I would call it the pile up, a veggie sandwich I would call the Hybrid or Prius, etc.

 

The singature drink will be the old fashioned, a drink I have always liked making and I guess it is popular in New York right now.

From my two days in Portland, I am going to steal the idea for fresh fruit juice squeezed in front of you as you order.

I forgot to mention.  Perpetual 25% off for all urban ohio members (with at least 200 posts...cant have people joining just to get the discount :))

 

Hot damn!

^That is a nice tie in!  I plan on having the entire GLBC offerings either on tap or in the bottle.  As well as some of thier inovative sustainablity practices.

 

I forgot to mention.  Perpetual 25% off for all urban ohio members (with at least 200 posts...cant have people joining just to get the discount :))

 

 

Great!  Daughter is moving to Lincoln Park this weekend!  I'll need a "local" place to stop in!!!

Wow- very exciting Punch.  Best of luck to you.  And I wouldn't give up on the gastro pub theme so quickly.  There are plenty of folks happy to enjoy good beer with food a few notches up from pub grub- I guess it depends on your target audience and who you think will be trolling this nabe for food and drink.

 

If your concept takes off, we'll help you scout sites in Cleveland...

If your concept takes off, we'll help you scout sites in Cleveland...

 

It's a great concept and if successful something that could expand/franchise later down the road. Sorry I don't have an answer to the question at hand but good luck!  :drunk:

The next bar is either Westport Inn, a music venue named after my Dad's hometown in Ireland, or Punchin' Pat's, a boxing themed sports bar.  (I have been thinking about this for years)

 

I am hoping that either one of those bars I can establish in Cleveland, Columbus, Chicago and maybe New Orleans. 

(cities where I lived, no disrespect for my Ohio neighbors to the south)

 

But, I still have to open the doors on the first bar before I plan on cornering the market on the hospitality industry

I'll tell all of my Ohio friends at IIT about it and it'll be where we all hang out to watch CLE teams and the Buckeyes! 

"There are plenty of folks happy to enjoy good beer with food a few notches up from pub grub-"

 

Absolutely, and I'm usually one of them. However, I think there's a limit - it's one thing to have a menu a few notches above pub grub (like The Southside http://www.southsidecleveland.com/ssmenu.htm or Prosperity http://www.prosperitysocialclub.com/menu.html; it's another to try to get someone to have something along the lines of "salmon mousse with vinagrette-drizzle frissee" with beer. See what I mean? :-)

You were really traumatized by that salmon mousse weren't you?  Is there a bad story with the styling product of the same name.  ;)

 

THANKS FOR THE LINKS.  I really like what Sherman did with Southside, so I will steal all of his good ideas :)

 

EDIT: Oh man, that southside menu is intimidating for me.  I may have to hit up some of my Lola connections to help me with the menu.  I need simple, but with a little character.  Crap I am screwed.  Y'all are a great sounding board, thanks again

Pizza. The material costs are minscule and the markup is huge. The only difference between a sucessful pizza place and the other kind is good drivers. Without those to worry about, you're golden. Kitchen staff is also easier to manage. No high-maintenance chefs to deal with.

 

 

go find the pizza chef at a restaurant with a fuller menu (make sure you love the pizza). Offer him to run the kitchen, he'll walk in a second.

^An offer of blow works wonders, too.

hey thats exciting news. good luck to ya!

 

i like everyones ideas and would also suggest you keep it simple and not overreach out of the gate. maybe you can offer a few interestiing twists, like say simple japanese drinking apps like yakitori, edamame and takoyaki along with the nachos and pretzels and stuff and keep everybody happy.

 

here's a few things i thought of to look over:

 

i like my fav craft beer bar's menu (check out that rotating brew ha ha selection too):

http://blindtigeralehouse.com/

 

here is the menu for the gastropub that started the craze here in the usa

http://thespottedpig.com/food.php

 

from my old neck of the woods, here is the clevo version of a gastropub menu:

http://www.grovewoodtavern.com/food%20menu.htm

 

and lastly re punchin pat's if you are ever in nyc make a beeline straight to

jimmy's corner....its about the only place i can stand to have a beer at in times square.

its a tiny boxing memorabilia bar (no food):

http://nymag.com/listings/bar/jimmys_corner/

 

Will the decor of the restaurant have an auto theme?  I'm thinking you could have a lot of fun serving appetizers from hubcaps, converting old tires into some kind of seating, etc.  Maybe your wait staff could be on roller skates like the old time drive-in restaurants... just brainstorming different possibilities for making the place unique...

Maybe your wait staff could be on roller skates like the old time drive-in restaurants...

 

Or have them deliver food on Power Wheels!

 

Seriously though, don't forget service.  It's as important as the food.  Nobody is happy with the food if they had to wait forever to be greeting, order, or get their food.

 

Think about some programming.  This could be live music, trivia night, before game activities, league night, whatever might appeal to the crowd you are interested in bringing in.  Which is probably the most important point- know who you are trying to appeal to and what appeals to them.  That applies to food, decor, service and marketing too.

 

And don't force it.  Leave some ends open, and let them tie up as you figure out your crowd.  Start out with a small, simple menu, and a good selection of rotating specials on both the drink and food side.  As you figure out what sells, put it on the regular menu.  Keep decor simple, and if pieces come along that you want to add, add them.

 

To sum up, I'd say "know and define your audience" but "give it some room to evolve". 

 

And "Power Wheels riding servers".  Definitely that.

Will the decor of the restaurant have an auto theme?  I'm thinking you could have a lot of fun serving appetizers from hubcaps, converting old tires into some kind of seating, etc.  Maybe your wait staff could be on roller skates like the old time drive-in restaurants... just brainstorming different possibilities for making the place unique...

 

this is a complete rip off of another bar in detroit (which could have ripped it off from somebody else), but.....their menus are two license plates held together by o-rings at holes, then the actual menu in between.

this is a complete rip off of another bar in detroit (which could have ripped it off from somebody else), but.....their menus are two license plates held together by o-rings at holes, then the actual menu in between.

 

Woodward Avenue Brewery, or "The WAB." Incidentally, their "Half-Price Food Mondays" have become an institutionod sorts. A lot of cheap bastards in Detroit. Or Ferndale, at least.

this is a complete rip off of another bar in detroit (which could have ripped it off from somebody else), but.....their menus are two license plates held together by o-rings at holes, then the actual menu in between.

 

Woodward Avenue Brewery, or "The WAB." Incidentally, their "Half-Price Food Mondays" have become an institutionod sorts. A lot of cheap bastards in Detroit. Or Ferndale, at least.

 

I didn't know your mom let you north of the davidson......

 

Sure. Now if only your mom would let me north of her waist.

Cograts. you had me at good beer. what about upscale grilled cheese in the mix ala Melt? what is your crowd going to be locals, tourists,business ect? I always through Halite had a good thing going on...but they sold it

Will the decor of the restaurant have an auto theme?  I'm thinking you could have a lot of fun serving appetizers from hubcaps, converting old tires into some kind of seating, etc.  Maybe your wait staff could be on roller skates like the old time drive-in restaurants... just brainstorming different possibilities for making the place unique...

 

this is a complete rip off of another bar in detroit (which could have ripped it off from somebody else), but.....their menus are two license plates held together by o-rings at holes, then the actual menu in between.

 

yeah, they ripped it off street scene in columbus!

 

ooh, which came first?

i dk, but street scene in columbus (on high right next to the newport) lasted from at least the early 1970's if not the 1960's into the late 90's. i dk what it is now, i saw it once but i forget, some chain.

 

Any cool things you see on a menu, especially if they are not hard to copy, please let me know here.

 

I have decided to "imitate" the Lollita burger at my place, and maybe do a fried egg sandwich, as part of the "old style" theme

 

BTW, thanks mrnyc, I really like the blind tiger menu.  I could probably "imitate" a bunch from that menu.  The cheap bastard in me likes the idea of selling a small olive plate especially for those people who come in and eat dozens of my cocktail olives. :)

cheap hudy delight

When is your place projected to open?

Spring of '08.  (I hope :) )

What night is gay night?

Oh vomit.

Why??  its a business you want to appeal to the largest audience.

Yeah, we call that a bar where everyone feels welcome on whatever night.

Why??  its a business you want to appeal to the largest audience.

 

So you'd make a day that visually excludes the straight population?

 

You're having a pattern of self-segregation today MTS

Why??  its a business you want to appeal to the largest audience.

 

So you'd make a day that visually excludes the straight population?

 

You're having a pattern of self-segregation today MTS

 

NO...Just a gay friend day.  There are lots of bars, clubs, restaurants that have a designated day/night where the gay crowd is the dominate population of the crowd.

Sorry, I just see that as a throwback and the typical life cycle for bar owners who are only out to make a buck. Open as a super-trendy joint; once the novelty wears off, offer "nights" for the marginalized populations; when that fails, it's college ID time. Besides, given the location I'd say it'll be a mixed place anyway.

assuming this is a pub and not a nightclub, I think it is awesome of have some drink and food specials available on slower nights. I always like to try new places that way and every one that has been good, I have been back too (on no special nights).

Absolutely - Prosperity has a $5 burger on Tuesdays and $4 quesadillas on Wednesdays. Neither of those are the world's best but they're pretty good and at that price (along with happy hour drink prices) it makes going out for dinner that much easier to justify. Any business on a slow night is good business, even if it's not the big spenders.