October 23, 2020
Listen to the full episode here.
1. Test your restaurant with a pop up.
There is no real way to know that your restaurant will work until you try it. Why a pop up is a great way to try it out. Use your contacts, get creative with your space and don’t spend more money than you have.
2. The benefits of a pop up.
Dame has learned a lot from their pop up and its success. They have been able to test their concept, build a customer base, and show their profitability. So when they open their restaurant they can be confident going in.
3. Collaboration.
On Sunday nights Dame hosts a pop up in their space for other chefs. The benefits being that everytime they do this that chef shares it with their network. Thus spreading the word, bringing in another audience, and creating press.
4. A restaurant benefiting the community long term.
A large part of Dame’s pop up was donating some of their profits to charity. Moving forward they will keep that as a part of their business plan in the permanent restaurant.
5. Treat your restaurant like a set.
The team at Dame believes sticking to your budget is key. The restaurant isn’t your home and so treat it more like a set, not everything has to be perfect and at the end of the day this space won’t be yours forever.
Opening Soon Announcements: Mel the Bakery in New York, NY. Bodegón in Cliffside Park, NJ and all the chefs who took part in Dame’s Sunday Series.