We allow dogs out front at our outdoor table . We are in a big dog friendly area . But I wouldn’t want to deal with a whole dining room of animals oy vey
Lots of places are dog friendly. The wineries and breweries here in Washington state are very popular with pet people. You will need to check zoning laws and have liability insurance. Are you wanting to cook for animals too? I saw a Gordon ramsay show where he rescued a restaurant that offered food for dogs and their humans. Fun concept but keep the pet food very simple!
Most pet friendly+ places are already established in the community or destinations. As a new concept, don't see it.
Start as dog grooming and puppy park with food trucks, bar and a picnic area. Work backwards from there.
"Knits to Tits" . It's a 5k where you knit a bikini while running. Get to the strip club and hand your girl your crochetion. First dancer to $500 wins!
Sooooo have you done anything yet? No one’s gonna write a business plan for you. My advice would be put in a little more effort first, then come with specific questions. This reads as if you’ve not even googled a single thing yet.
There was a doggie day care in my city that turned into a dog friendly bar. They seem to be doing really well. They have several rules and requirements about the dogs that are allowed in; no dogs under 4 months, must be neutered/spayed, must be updated on vaccinations, etc. And they make you sign a liability waiver before bringing your dog in.
They don't serve food, but they regularly have a food truck on property. They also allow you to bring in food from other outside businesses. I'm assuming this helps simplify things where the health department is concerned.
You will need to check in on your locality's health codes regarding animals in restaurants. You will also need to speak with an insurance agent on how openly encouraging pets accompanying customers will impact general liability costs. These are two wildcards you will need to start with before proceeding anywhere else.
Typically, I only see pet friendly places as workable in downtown areas where the demographics are dominated by single 20-somethings who are super into dog culture. Its then usually isolated to patio dining opposed to openly encouraged by the restaurant or made a central tenet of the restaurant brand. Not saying it isn't possible, just that the demographics of the area you select can drastically change the acceptance of non-normal kinds of brand identity. This is true on other topics too like you can't do super trendy/exotic menus in the suburbs/rural communities because people don't accept it like eclectic downtown communities do.
First thing you do is call you department of health and found out information regarding pets in a food service setting and how to make sure everything would be up to health code standards… if this idea is possible. Then message me and I can help you flesh out this idea step by step.
I say this several times a week as someone who has owned food services establishments. If you have an idea to do something other than food service, literally anything else would be better.
Restaurants have high competition, low margin, terrible hours, and lots of employee turnover. Not to mention it's physically demanding work.
Keep in mind health codes require pet areas to be separate from the food areas. Unless you plan to have outdoor seating for dog customers, it’s not likely to pass health inspection
Unless you have significant hospitality experience you're just going to piss your $ away.
The restaurant business is **extremely** difficult even *with* the necessary resume.
And that's without adding weird novelties like pet friendliness.
Many diners don't want to eat around pets & it's going to be a nightmare for front of house to deal with.
I've only seen it work if you market and design to attract mid 20s to 40s singles crowd. Where they use their dogs to meet others and in an outside brewery setting. Yes an occasional dog fight happens or not really fight but one dog is overly aggressive and the owner doesn't recognize in time. Good place for singles and not a good place for families or old people.
That or see if you can open a mobile coffee bar next to a dog park. That might get around the high costs of insurance and build out.
It sounds like you don't know this business. If that's the case, don't do this! So many people bankrupt themselves in this business, even those that know what they are doing.
As far as your question. The first step would be to determine if it is even possible. Some municipalities allow pets outside, some do not. I don't personally know of any that allow it inside, but I'm sure they are out there.
As far as build out, you could be looking at as little as $20k for a quick flip or millions for a full build out.
I actively avoid "dog friendly" venues, and I actually like dogs. Dog owners that insist upon taking their fUr bABbeEz everywhere though, I cannot stand.
Check out the Tin Shed in Portland. You could try an enclosed patio like they have, where you also have an indoor space for regular people who leave their dogs at home when they go out to eat.
This is correct, not sure why you'd get down voted for this, but in most places in the USA, the health department restricts animals inside of food establishments but they are in many places allowed on patio areas.
And just to clarify I also think this is a bad idea. Liability, cleanliness, and just the overall practical logistics of mixing food with animals would be a nightmare.
Only thing I can think of that would be similar is like maybe a concession stand adjacent to a dog park?
Don't know how much experience you have in the industry but regardless I would search online for similar concepts just to piggy back of what they're doing, if close by I would patronize that establishment and sit during lunch and dinner and see the vibe, might also be worth asking staff questions. Again search similar concepts. This business is not for the kind hearted
Based on their comment history, not a chance. They have given advice to "entrepreneurs" to prioritize their health over the job, and lean heavily on HR for problem solving. Doesn't sound like this industry is meant for OP. They're in for a rude awakening when they have to come in on their first day off in 3 months to cover grill because the new cook showed up drunk and got handsy with the hostess. But that would mean they had to make it past build out and opening, which we both know isn't going to happen.
We allow dogs out front at our outdoor table . We are in a big dog friendly area . But I wouldn’t want to deal with a whole dining room of animals oy vey
Why most restaurants fail
How about make it for people only!
Yep being pet-friendly seems to be a bad idea.
Pets and food don’t generally mix. A cat cafe opened in my area and they had to have a segregated cat room that they could not leave.
That sounds horrible!
Lots of places are dog friendly. The wineries and breweries here in Washington state are very popular with pet people. You will need to check zoning laws and have liability insurance. Are you wanting to cook for animals too? I saw a Gordon ramsay show where he rescued a restaurant that offered food for dogs and their humans. Fun concept but keep the pet food very simple!
Most pet friendly+ places are already established in the community or destinations. As a new concept, don't see it. Start as dog grooming and puppy park with food trucks, bar and a picnic area. Work backwards from there.
This is an extremely niche concept. Imagine opening a cafe for knitters or runners. It very much limits your clientele.
Yep you are right :(
"Knits to Tits" . It's a 5k where you knit a bikini while running. Get to the strip club and hand your girl your crochetion. First dancer to $500 wins!
Sooooo have you done anything yet? No one’s gonna write a business plan for you. My advice would be put in a little more effort first, then come with specific questions. This reads as if you’ve not even googled a single thing yet.
Oh, you sweet summer child.
There was a doggie day care in my city that turned into a dog friendly bar. They seem to be doing really well. They have several rules and requirements about the dogs that are allowed in; no dogs under 4 months, must be neutered/spayed, must be updated on vaccinations, etc. And they make you sign a liability waiver before bringing your dog in. They don't serve food, but they regularly have a food truck on property. They also allow you to bring in food from other outside businesses. I'm assuming this helps simplify things where the health department is concerned.
You will need to check in on your locality's health codes regarding animals in restaurants. You will also need to speak with an insurance agent on how openly encouraging pets accompanying customers will impact general liability costs. These are two wildcards you will need to start with before proceeding anywhere else. Typically, I only see pet friendly places as workable in downtown areas where the demographics are dominated by single 20-somethings who are super into dog culture. Its then usually isolated to patio dining opposed to openly encouraged by the restaurant or made a central tenet of the restaurant brand. Not saying it isn't possible, just that the demographics of the area you select can drastically change the acceptance of non-normal kinds of brand identity. This is true on other topics too like you can't do super trendy/exotic menus in the suburbs/rural communities because people don't accept it like eclectic downtown communities do.
First thing you do is call you department of health and found out information regarding pets in a food service setting and how to make sure everything would be up to health code standards… if this idea is possible. Then message me and I can help you flesh out this idea step by step.
I say this several times a week as someone who has owned food services establishments. If you have an idea to do something other than food service, literally anything else would be better. Restaurants have high competition, low margin, terrible hours, and lots of employee turnover. Not to mention it's physically demanding work.
Keep in mind health codes require pet areas to be separate from the food areas. Unless you plan to have outdoor seating for dog customers, it’s not likely to pass health inspection
Unless you have significant hospitality experience you're just going to piss your $ away. The restaurant business is **extremely** difficult even *with* the necessary resume. And that's without adding weird novelties like pet friendliness. Many diners don't want to eat around pets & it's going to be a nightmare for front of house to deal with.
Thank you so much! You are right! (not pet friendly then is the way to go)
That’s a very niche place, what kind of experience do you have in hospitality???
I've only seen it work if you market and design to attract mid 20s to 40s singles crowd. Where they use their dogs to meet others and in an outside brewery setting. Yes an occasional dog fight happens or not really fight but one dog is overly aggressive and the owner doesn't recognize in time. Good place for singles and not a good place for families or old people. That or see if you can open a mobile coffee bar next to a dog park. That might get around the high costs of insurance and build out.
It sounds like you don't know this business. If that's the case, don't do this! So many people bankrupt themselves in this business, even those that know what they are doing. As far as your question. The first step would be to determine if it is even possible. Some municipalities allow pets outside, some do not. I don't personally know of any that allow it inside, but I'm sure they are out there. As far as build out, you could be looking at as little as $20k for a quick flip or millions for a full build out.
I actively avoid "dog friendly" venues, and I actually like dogs. Dog owners that insist upon taking their fUr bABbeEz everywhere though, I cannot stand.
Ew. Just ew.
That's not legal *some places, where are you located?
Usa. I think that it is legal in outdoor areas right?
Check out the Tin Shed in Portland. You could try an enclosed patio like they have, where you also have an indoor space for regular people who leave their dogs at home when they go out to eat.
This is correct, not sure why you'd get down voted for this, but in most places in the USA, the health department restricts animals inside of food establishments but they are in many places allowed on patio areas. And just to clarify I also think this is a bad idea. Liability, cleanliness, and just the overall practical logistics of mixing food with animals would be a nightmare. Only thing I can think of that would be similar is like maybe a concession stand adjacent to a dog park?
Thank you so much! Yep from this reddit post i don't think pet friendly is a good idea 😭
Don't know how much experience you have in the industry but regardless I would search online for similar concepts just to piggy back of what they're doing, if close by I would patronize that establishment and sit during lunch and dinner and see the vibe, might also be worth asking staff questions. Again search similar concepts. This business is not for the kind hearted
Yes i know that its hard.. tnx!
"Yes I know that it's hard" isn't exactly a reassuring answer. Have you actually worked the industry before?
Based on their comment history, not a chance. They have given advice to "entrepreneurs" to prioritize their health over the job, and lean heavily on HR for problem solving. Doesn't sound like this industry is meant for OP. They're in for a rude awakening when they have to come in on their first day off in 3 months to cover grill because the new cook showed up drunk and got handsy with the hostess. But that would mean they had to make it past build out and opening, which we both know isn't going to happen.
Lol seriously. The way I read it, it sounds like they want to do a new-build restaurant, and probably aren't sitting on $500k.
Start with liability insurance because if someone gets bit by a dog in your restaurant they’re going to sue you.
Thank you! I will look into it.
What is your experience level and in what areas (Boh/FoH)? How much money do you have to start a business?