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It's all for the Love of the Game

publication date: Feb 4, 2008
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author/source: Robert Bickell
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Bickell's Blog
February 4, 2008

I really enjoy talking with people who own restaurants. There are lots of them and forget about the failures that everyone talks about. Restaurants just keep opening and there is no end in sight. Restaurant owners are a special breed and there are a myriad of reasons that drives someone to get involved in this wild, crazy and risky business.

 

I break it down to just three categories - it's all about ego, money or the love of the game. The ego sector is gigantic and most certainly the most dangerous. May I remind you that Britney Spears recently owned a restaurant named Nyla in Manhattan? The grand opening was sensational, as was the closing a few weeks later. It's not totally surprising that this venture went belly-up so quickly. Restaurants founded on ego so often experience the same fate.
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Then we have the owners who are looking for the money. I actually spoke with one just last week. The guy had a career in water treatment and was searching for a more lucrative and exciting business opportunity. He went the franchise route and opened a concept that doesn't involve actual chefs and has locations all over the country. If you carefully follow the instructions and are willing to put in the hours, the financial success is almost guaranteed (at least some of the time).

People in the restaurant business want to make money and there's nothing wrong with that. Some sell hamburgers for fifteen dollars and others sell them for eighty-nine cents. It doesn't matter what the concept happens to be, this is a business where one can make some serious money.

My third category is understandably my favorite. It's the people who love to cook. It's in their blood and they are pursuing a dream. It's their passion and the love of the game that drives them, and the ego and the money are secondary. They are busy running the best restaurants in America, and they are the real success stories. Some of them are easily identified because they win the awards and they garner the publicity. Most of them we never hear about. They might be the 35-seat BYOB's or the joints so appreciated by their loyal following. It doesn't matter because it's their genuine love of the business that motivates them.

It all comes down to the love of the game, and invariably, it's something very special.


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Comments

Anonymous
We are a small neighborhood wine/bistro. We give handfull of corks to children to keep them occupied.
As owner I try to HUG everyone that comes in and out, (guests remember that more than anything). We also let guests try/tasted any wine we serve by the glass, (100). I'm head busser/host, means I talk to everyone. Do wine tastings by invite at no cost to guest.
I thank all, for being a part of my DREAM.
Do I deal w/ other restauranteurs, that constantly take my hard work and ideas
to there business, which may be only 5 miles away. It's flattering but, drives
me crazy.
www.bistroalvino.com
 

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