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Origin Bento

Yeah I really haven't the slightest idea was Bento is either. Can't say the pictures look too appetizing, looks more like what I feed my cat :gohan:
 
Well, the pictures aren't your typical bento. Bento is just a term for a box lunch, and what's included varies as much as people's tastes. They range from simple: http://www.coop.osaka-u.ac.jp/bumonbetu/jigyoukikaku/contents/jyuhaku/imagies/bento.jpg
to kiddie: http://www.urumadelvi.co.jp/shop/images/bentoimg/bento-catch.jpg
to extravagant: http://www.momotaro-hotel.co.jp/aji/images/bento.jpg
Parents pack them for their kids, you can buy them in restaurants or supermarkets. The reason this Origin Bento place is so different is that they don't sell pre-packaged lunches like you would find in a convenience store; rather, they let you pick what you want. That's definitely a plus, because there's always people who don't want the veggies or the kind of meat that's included. I'd always take out an umeboshi if I could. Usually a solid meal, though. :gohan:
 
Oh those are neat! :)

I used to make lunches sometimes for a very important person half a year ago. Wish I knew about those little boxes back then.
 
They are neat, but I say they still look like what I feed my cat, only on a tray or in a container of some kind.
 
Origin bento's advantage is that it is open 24h, 7 days. Otherwise, I also like Hokka Hokka bento (especially their makunouchi bento :gohan: )
 
Dreams are goals that cannot be attained窶ヲ

So, hurry up and get that food preparation certificate from the Health Department!

I am not familiar with the restaurant business AT ALL, but from what I see, it is a very good start for entrepreneurs because most customers pay (by cash or credit cards) right after they finished their meals. You don窶冲 need to worry about default accounts and most restaurants businesses have a free cash flow. Most importantly, you also don窶冲 need to worry about being burdened with a bunch of unwanted inventories. Maybe just several hundred dollars of rotten meats and vegetables.

The set up costs mostly made up by rent, kitchen appliances and renovation of the dinning room. You only pay your wholesalers at the end of the month and many are willing to give credits. So, this is a low risk industry.

There are only two departments to be aware of (1) the Health Department; you have to get some kind of certificate (Food? Hygiene? I don窶冲 remember.) (2) Fire Department will send someone to inspect for safety.

Why are Chinese restaurants more popular than Japanese restaurants? It窶冱 because Chinese food in the states are pretty Americanized. Look, Americans eat American food, particularly the ones who live in suburbs. That explains why Japanese food in the States is so expensive. Of course they have to charge their customers a high price because there aren窶冲 that many!
Profits = (Price x number of customers) 窶 (Variable Costs x number of customers) 窶 Fixed costs.
It窶冱 good that fixed costs, which mainly composed of set-up costs aren窶冲 that high. Except you decorate the place like a Golden Pavilion.

So, from what I know many restaurant owners break even very soon, even compared to other retailers. And don窶冲 forget you can always sell your business, assumed that business is healthy, (don窶冲 necessarily to be good because the people [especially the men] who buy will think they are smarter than you and they can turn around your business. If they don窶冲 think like that, make them do!) and make a profit out of it. ^-^

It is a Japan Forum, the people here is not a very good sample to indicate how well received your restaurant will be. But you are in luck if your town meets most of the following requirements:

(1) Rich 窶 What the use if only the 13-year-old animation fans like your restaurant? They don窶冲 have money to buy frequently no matter how much they want to. Your customers will be the ones who have the money and who are willing to pay. Besides, a lot of rich people love their life and want to live forever. Japanese food can help them to achieve that goal.


(2) Well-educated 窶 Statistics show that there is a positive relationship between a person窶冱 education level and his or her interests in foreign cuisine. I.e. The more educated a person, the more willingness to try/like foreign cuisine.

(3) Densely populated 窶 more people, larger customer flow.

(4) Have a lot of single people - Japanese food is still too expensive to feed the whole family. Many Chinese food and Diners fall into the family restaurant category. Look at the long lines at their cash registers on Sunday night, particularly the ones located next to the Blockbusters. But Chinese food is cheap and their target market is different from J-food. So is C-food is targeted at family, then J-food should be targeted at singles, except you are willing to charge a lower price and give larger portions. Actually, I noticed many American men would eat Teppanyaki, teriyaki and pork chop rice, but not sushi, sashimi, veggies and those seaweed stuffs.

Hee hee, when whenever I went into a J-restaurant, I saw many of their customers were single white skinny females with their boyfriends. Maybe after these people get married, the wife can no longer force the husband to go? Look, Japanese food is delicious but for less than thirty dollars, they can order a thick juicy steak at a Le Biftek and most men would go for the meat窶ヲ Or maybe these women don窶冲 want their husband digging for food in the fridge after they come back from a J-restaurant half an hour?

(5) Health clubs - actually many of my Caucasian girlfriends don窶 like sushi at first but they want to look young and slim like Oriental women so they gave it a try and now they like it. Coincidently, these are the same people who would visit a gym at least once a week.

(6) Strip clubs 窶 I know this restaurant in Scarborough has very good business because it is located next to a strip club. Those strippers not only have a lot of cash to pay but also NEED a low fat diet!

If you are risk averse, you can start from your own kitchen. Have you ever tried catering to other restaurants, company events or household parties? Just put an ad on your local newspaper to see how many people respond. It might start slowly, but at least it gives you an idea. This was exactly how Martha Steward started. (Note: She lived in a rich town)
People live in the suburbs rely on words of mouth. It doesn窶冲 hurt to ask your friends to put in a few good words for you.
But to do catering, you still need to take that course from the Health department.

Or you can go to your community center to see if there are any events coming up. Any flee market for you to rent a booth for try out?


Oh man, this is getting too long and why am I talking like an expert? Don窶冲 take my words too seriously. I don窶冲 really know anything about the restaurant business.
 
starting something is easy...keeping it going for 10-20-30 years or longer is hard.
keeping the food quality consistent is hard.
most restaurants will fail within the first year to two years because the food quality changes...
bento shops in America are nothing more than wannabe yakitori shops that haven't got it quite right...
really hard to get the food quality and taste down right... :(
 
Jean-Francois said:
So, hurry up and get that food preparation certificate from the Health Department!

I am not familiar with the restaurant business AT ALL

Getting that 料理師 license is no picnic.
 
finding decent help can also be a challenge... :D
keeping any businesses going for years and years is a challenge... :D
 
Running a restaurant isn't hard, just time-consumming.

Getting that 料理師 license is no picnic.

Taking that test to get the 料理師 license is a piece of cake when compared with taking the CPA, LSAT, GMAT, PCAT or MCAT exams.

finding decent help can also be a challenge...
That depends how she treats her employees.

keeping any businesses going for years and years is a challenge...
I've seen capital venturers only set up businesses and sell them to other proprietors. The selling price are multiples of the set-up costs. Most people think too much to start anything on their own. That's why these passive people need to pay that extra profit margin for someone else to set up a business for them.
 
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