My business partner is headed to LA for business and I am going to tag along to check out concepts.  We are going to hit Fathers office.  Does anyone know any cool places to check out in LA?

 

Maybe it is a midwestern chip on my shoulder, but genuine and LA don't seem to go together.

 

Other stops on the stealing good ideas tour...Portland, CLE, CMH, NYC.

 

 

For better or worst, it is hard to get more genuine the Cle

What kind of bars would you like to visit?  Give us a little more to go on.

Gastropub-esqe

 

High quality beer, food that compliments the beer in an upscale pub atmosphere.  Creative, memorable themes are what I am on the lookout for.

What kind of bars would you like to visit?  Give us a little more to go on.

 

Or you could have read the first post of the thread.

Ba-ZING!

What kind of bars would you like to visit?  Give us a little more to go on.

 

Or you could have read the first post of the thread.

Pope K.M.A, OK!  The request - to me - doesn't say if there is a particular age or the patron; only that they are divided on what type of establishment.  One seems to be interested in "comfort"  and "pub" and the other towards "upscale" and "niche".  I just wanted more information so I could give the best suggestion as I would like to see Punch suceed.

 

Excuse the f$&k out of me for trying to be helpful.  :x

Oh go have some coff... oh... that's right ;-)

 

But you do not EVER tell a Mod or Admin to "KMA" - am I understood?

Especially when you are one of the quickest people yell at people for not reading 10+ pages of posts.

Gastropub-esqe

 

High quality beer, food that compliments the beer in an upscale pub atmosphere.  Creative, memorable themes are what I am on the lookout for.

Bier MArkt now has Bar Centro which fits the bill well. Check it out if you are  in town. I was impressed. maybe a couple things need to be tweaked but I went opening week.  Is there such a thing a  beer/tapas bar? I am talking pairing tapas with beer rather than wine.  Ie gourmet Belgian, German, British, Latin American snacks paired with appropriate beer styles. And if you but something good on cask, I will make the trip (check out the Beer Engine in lakewood for that)

edit: you could also do regional micro brews with their local cuisine-

^ i was very impressed by bier markt. its right up there with every nyc or other rare belgium focused bar i've ever been to (with only one exception - spuyten duyvil in bklyn).

 

thinking along those belgian food lines if punch is going to crank up a fry-o-later i would suggest he offer a fries menu, ie.: micky d's thin style, fat steak fries, shoestring and the double-cooked belgian frites style. have a range of dips and toppings for'em too like mayo, curry, etc.

 

another belgian fav that goes with beer like ham&eggs are steamed mussels. best of all with that is if you can get a good reliable source for the mussels they are easy to make.

 

there is nothing like a strong beer or three, hot belgian frites and a steaming bowl of mussels when its freezing outside!

 

Punch-

When you get a chance, check out the menu at Matchbox in D.C.  Their food is excellent

(2004 winner of the best new restaurant, Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington), and I think it would work well with top shelf beer.  http://www.matchboxdc.com/

 

I also always liked the stuff at Schoolyard on Southport.  Their beer selection always left much to be desired, at least in my opinion.  Also, you should look into carrying Abita beers from Louisiana.  Amber is an excellent beer.  Good luck!

Thanks, the first bar I worked at in Chicago was the schoolyard, under the previous owner.  That owner is going to be my partner in the bar.

 

FYI, Schubas has agreed to purchase the building one door down from my place, so a quality music venue will open up a stones throw away.

 

Thanks for all the input people, keep it coming :)

 

 

Thanks for all the input people, keep it coming :)

 

uhh......all pope's should be allowed to drink for free.

Benedict from Rome or the pontiff from Ferndale?

Benedict from Rome or the pontiff from Ferndale?

 

the latter, most definitely the latter.

Last call for LA bar recomondations.  One definite spot is fathers office.

www.fathersoffice.com

punch some associates of mine run a combo art gallery/bar called the mandrake. highly rec'd if you are into the arty thing:

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/rFdT6GykXCua-U340EEznA

 

also, i suggest you stop in musso & frank's. it's fancied up these days, but its old school and was a charles bukowski hangout:

 

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/54405/los_angeles_ca/musso_frank_grill.html

 

A friend of mine owns a place that is a bar first but has great food, though it's probably too "sports bar" to be considered a "gastropub", what with 36 TVs and a dance floor.

 

One thing that's gunna determine your character:  are you staying open late?  In particular, are you keeping the bar open more than one hour after the kitchen closes?

 

There's some margin there if you do:  same or lower overhead, higher profit margin.

 

If you do, there's two groups of people you want to make comfortable:

 

1)  Younger women.  They'll bring in the younger guys.  Have at least one male bartender, particularly one who can deal with idiots.  (The kind of younger women you want are very uncomfortable with brawlers).

 

2)  Smokers.  The new law aside, a majority of bar patrons are either smokers or smoker-sympathetic.  Build the deck.

Although you're unable to dress yourself appropriately, what did you decide?

Well, I am not a bar owner in Chicago right now.  I am a Welding Engineer for a military contractor in New Orleans.  My evil plans, along with the global automotive industry meltdown and the credit crunch have “shelved” the plans for now.

 

I was set to work as a contract engineer at a GM plant in Shanghai for at least 6 months making some good cash, $40/hr plus overtime.  I was working 7days a week, 12 hours a day.  Well the company I was working for was shut down by its German parent after one month there.  Not long after, GM stopped work on the factory in Shanghai.

 

So, I went back to bartending.  I negotiated buying a smaller share of the bar, while increasing my share over time. 

 

That was the plan, until the credit markets seized up.  My partner, along with his other partners, have been purchasing all of the properties in the area around the bar.  It is a bit like the E. 4th development in Cleveland.  Well, the price right now is great, because there is nothing going on down there.  Since he can no longer get credit, he can not buy the few remaining parcels at this time.  Opening the bar would increase the value of those properties.  So basically, investing and opening the bar would cost him more money than sitting on it for another year.  So, no bar.

 

I tried finding a manufacturing engineering job, or a kick ass full time bartending gig in Chicago.  That did not work.  Then I added Ohio to the job search.  No luck.  Then the entire Great Lakes region.  Nada.  Then a company offered me a job in New Orleans, and I said sure.

 

Now I am looking at flipping properties down here, because the city is growing.  How ironic that this week they were looking to Cleveland for smart growth solutions.

 

 

…To be continued.

 

Well, I am not a bar owner in Chicago right now.  I am a Welding Engineer for a military contractor in New Orleans.  My evil plans, along with the global automotive industry meltdown and the credit crunch have “shelved” the plans for now.

 

I was set to work as a contract engineer at a GM plant in Shanghai for at least 6 months making some good cash, $40/hr plus overtime.  I was working 7days a week, 12 hours a day.  Well the company I was working for was shut down by its German parent after one month there.  Not long after, GM stopped work on the factory in Shanghai.

 

So, I went back to bartending.  I negotiated buying a smaller share of the bar, while increasing my share over time. 

 

That was the plan, until the credit markets seized up.  My partner, along with his other partners, have been purchasing all of the properties in the area around the bar.  It is a bit like the E. 4th development in Cleveland.  Well, the price right now is great, because there is nothing going on down there.  Since he can no longer get credit, he can not buy the few remaining parcels at this time.  Opening the bar would increase the value of those properties.  So basically, investing and opening the bar would cost him more money than sitting on it for another year.  So, no bar.

 

I tried finding a manufacturing engineering job, or a kick ass full time bartending gig in Chicago.  That did not work.  Then I added Ohio to the job search.  No luck.  Then the entire Great Lakes region.  Nada.  Then a company offered me a job in New Orleans, and I said sure.

 

Now I am looking at flipping properties down here, because the city is growing.  How ironic that this week they were looking to Cleveland for smart growth solutions.

 

 

…To be continued.

 

 

Growing?  NOLA?  Flipping a house is tough and in a niche market like NoLa you're going to have a difficult time.  Have you ever flipped before?

Well, I am not a bar owner in Chicago right now.  I am a Welding Engineer for a military contractor in New Orleans.  My evil plans, along with the global automotive industry meltdown and the credit crunch have shelved the plans for now.

 

I was set to work as a contract engineer at a GM plant in Shanghai for at least 6 months making some good cash, $40/hr plus overtime.  I was working 7days a week, 12 hours a day.  Well the company I was working for was shut down by its German parent after one month there.  Not long after, GM stopped work on the factory in Shanghai.

 

So, I went back to bartending.  I negotiated buying a smaller share of the bar, while increasing my share over time. 

 

That was the plan, until the credit markets seized up.  My partner, along with his other partners, have been purchasing all of the properties in the area around the bar.  It is a bit like the E. 4th development in Cleveland.  Well, the price right now is great, because there is nothing going on down there.  Since he can no longer get credit, he can not buy the few remaining parcels at this time.  Opening the bar would increase the value of those properties.  So basically, investing and opening the bar would cost him more money than sitting on it for another year.  So, no bar.

 

I tried finding a manufacturing engineering job, or a kick ass full time bartending gig in Chicago.  That did not work.  Then I added Ohio to the job search.  No luck.  Then the entire Great Lakes region.  Nada.  Then a company offered me a job in New Orleans, and I said sure.

 

Now I am looking at flipping properties down here, because the city is growing.  How ironic that this week they were looking to Cleveland for smart growth solutions.

 

 

To be continued.

 

 

Growing?  NOLA?  Flipping a house is tough and in a niche market like NoLa you're going to have a difficult time.  Have you ever flipped before?

 

Hateful @ss  :roll:

 

New Orleans is the fastest growing city in 2008. After the hurricane, they've had nowhere to go but up.

 

Growing?  NOLA?  Flipping a house is tough and in a niche market like NoLa you're going to have a difficult time.  Have you ever flipped before?

 

Hateful @ss  ::)

 

New Orleans is the fastest growing city in 2008. After the hurricane, they've had nowhere to go but up.

 

 

Flipping is a gross exaggeration of what I am planning.  I am renting right now, but I want to find a house that needs extensive renovation that I can get cheap, but that has no Katrina damage.  There are lots of houses right now that fit the bill.

Once I get it ready to move in, I will put it on the market, asking a lot more than I think it is worth.  I’ll do that just to gauge interest.  If I think there is enough demand, and I can find another place, then I will sell it and start the process over again.  If not, I have a nice place to live until I move.

 

As for market conditions in New Orleans, the core city itself has rebounded quite well.  A lot of property in the French Quarter has been bought by out of towners, who want a cute little weekend place.  That has moved many of the Quarter residents to the adjacent Marigny district, where I am renting and looking to buy.

The opportunity that Katrina brought is the fact that it has thrown historic boundaries of “good” neighborhoods and “bad” neighborhoods into flux.  Many people have told me that everyone used to know what streets were safe to walk down and which ones were not, but since the storm that is not true anymore.  That is why there are non flood homes available for purchase at a very cheap price.

 

Ill start another thread once (or if) I buy a house.

 

Flipping is a gross exaggeration of what I am planning.  I am renting right now, but I want to find a house that needs extensive renovation that I can get cheap, but that has no Katrina damage.  There are lots of houses right now that fit the bill.

Once I get it ready to move in, I will put it on the market, asking a lot more than I think it is worth.  I’ll do that just to gauge interest.  If I think there is enough demand, and I can find another place, then I will sell it and start the process over again.  If not, I have a nice place to live until I move.

 

As for market conditions in New Orleans, the core city itself has rebounded quite well.  A lot of property in the French Quarter has been bought by out of towners, who want a cute little weekend place.  That has moved many of the Quarter residents to the adjacent Marigny district, where I am renting and looking to buy.

The opportunity that Katrina brought is the fact that it has thrown historic boundaries of “good” neighborhoods and “bad” neighborhoods into flux.  Many people have told me that everyone used to know what streets were safe to walk down and which ones were not, but since the storm that is not true anymore.  That is why there are non flood homes available for purchase at a very cheap price.

Ill start another thread once (or if) I buy a house.

 

 

Oh ok, it wasn't clear in your first message if you were "flipping". But exactly what you described is a long term flip.

 

Those boundaries have most definitely moved.

 

OK now get out an dtake pictures.  and be sure to visit the clover grill!  I love that place.  ;D

So, my partner is this failed project today called me up and wants to do this again.  He will be developing the whole area and wants to know if I would like to take one of the storefronts off of his hands.

 

Does anyone here know about Tax Increment Financing?  Can a TIF be used if I do not own the property, but I renovate it as part of a lease?

So, my partner is this failed project today called me up and wants to do this again.  He will be developing the whole area and wants to know if I would like to take one of the storefronts off of his hands.

 

Does anyone here know about Tax Increment Financing?  Can a TIF be used if I do not own the property, but I renovate it as part of a lease?

 

I think you need a local lawyer in the TIF area for complete understanding.  Call the city in that area to discuss.  I would start there.

So, my partner is this failed project today called me up and wants to do this again. He will be developing the whole area and wants to know if I would like to take one of the storefronts off of his hands.

 

Does anyone here know about Tax Increment Financing? Can a TIF be used if I do not own the property, but I renovate it as part of a lease?

 

I don't know about your jurisdiction, but in Ohio my understanding is that TIFs cannot be used to upgrade private property.  They are used to upgrade public property which surrounds and supports the private development.  This would include things like streets, curbs, lighting, other utilities, landscaping, security, public parking, etc.

^that is right, good call.

 

Its a term that has been used so often, that I forget what it was for.

 

I'll look into new business creation, small business incentives to see if there are any tax breaks

^that is right, good call.

 

Its a term that has been used so often, that I forget what it was for.

 

I'll look into new business creation, small business incentives to see if there are any tax breaks

 

Contact that cities SBA.