Before You Go Out To Eat In Atlanta Tonight, Read This News by "Gayot.com'

 Openings

Villains has opened at Eighth and Peachtree St. in Midtown. The rather odd name denotes the "Wicked Heroes" 

and "Evil Potions" that constitute the menu. Owners Alex Brounstein, who also owns Grind House Killer Burgers; 

Jared Lee Pyles (previously chef at FLIP burger boutique and HD1); and Jason McClure (formerly at FLIP burger 

boutique) are the minds and talents behind the operation. Villains is open Sunday through 

Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to midnight on weekends. Lunch & Dinner daily. 

Villains, 903 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, 404-347-3335.
 

BurgerFi International, LLC, has two locations in the metro Atlanta area, one in the Emory Point development off 

Clifton Road and the other to launch in Alpharetta. The menu features all-natural, farm-raised beef, specialty 

hot dogs, fresh-cut french fries, desserts and craft beer and wine. BurgerFi cares about the environment, 

incorporating eco-friendly and sustainable practices into each store's construction. All locations feature recycled

 furniture, such as chairs made from recycled Coca-Cola bottles, and energy-efficient fans as part of their design,

 but the Emory Point location is the first to incorporate EarthCraft design, meaning that it has met a number of 

stringent criteria. Joe Tuma owns this franchise, while Ron and Terrie Altman own the franchise that will open in 

Alpharetta on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 5475 Windward Pkwy. Lunch & Dinner daily. BurgerFi, Emory Point, 

1520 Avenue Pl., Ste. B-140, Atlanta, GA 30329, 404-665-4400.
 

As much as we enjoyed Bruce Logue's personally styled Italian cooking at La Pietra Cucina and lamented his 

departure from that scene, we look forward to his new enterprise, BoccaLupo, which debuted Monday, April 15, 2013, 

in Inman Park. Initially open only for dinner Monday through Saturday, the restaurant likely will add lunch and 

late-night eventually. Divided into four sections, the menu offers both fresh and extruded pastas, a section called

 "Not Noodles" and selections under "After Pasta." We can't wait to try the bruschetta "banh mi"

 (it contains both pork and chicken livers). The restaurant replaced Ria Pell's (Bluebird) establishment called Sauced,

 when Pell sold the space to Logue. His attention to freshness and detail at La Pietra Cucina makes us eager to 

experience this concept. Dinner Mon.-Sat. BoccaLupo, 753 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, 404-577-2332.
 

Roswell restaurateurs Hicham Azhari and Fikret Kovac (F&H Food Trading Group) will launch their third venture in 

downtown Historic Roswell and fourth "OTP" endeavor: OPULENT, set to open early April. The group's culinary director 

Bob McDonough and executive chef Andrew Long will direct a globally inspired kitchen serving classic favorites with a 

modern twist. Recalling the Roaring Twenties' speakeasy style, OPULENT's interior will boast globe lighting and walls

 lined with antique mirrors and crystal accents. Dark brown woods and leather banquettes contrast diamond-shaped 

white tiles beneath suspended light pendants hung above the bar and dining areas. OPULENT, 948 Canton St., 

Roswell, GA 30075, no phone.
 

Opening in May, King + Duke is the first of two new planned concepts for 2013 by chef Ford Fry 

of JCT. Kitchen & Bar, The Optimist, and No 246 Restaurant. Taking its name from a duo of characters in Mark 

Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," King + Duke comes into being from the interior design team at Meyer 

Davis Studio Inc. A heavily planted exterior garden will lead to the main dining room, a feature that should attract lots

 of the botanical enthusiasts. An open kitchen will allow diners an unobstructed view of the chef and kitchen staff.

 "Colonial American" is how the team describes the cooking, much of which will take place on a 24-foot wood-burning 

hearth, and include lots of roasted meats. Currently chef de cuisine at JCT. Kitchen & Bar, Joe Schafer will helm the 

kitchen at King + Duke. King + Duke, One Buckhead Plaza, 3060 Peachtree Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30305, no phone.
 

Chef Kevin Gillespie's Gunshow is slated to open in May in Atlanta's Glenwood Park area. Gillespie and ai3, Inc., an

 Atlanta-based design firm that has done several local restaurants, formed a creative partnership to establish the 

venture. Challenging every notion of the traditional dining experience, Gunshow starts with a format-free menu and 

an evolving design that eliminates the show and formality associated with fine cuisine. Gillespie is the author of a 

newly released cookbook, Fire in My Belly, and has appeared as a finalist on Bravo's Top Chef Season Six. Formerly 

executive chef at Woodfire Grill, Gillespie was one of GAYOT.com's Top 5 Rising Chefs in the U.S. in 2010. Gunshow,

 924 Garrett St., Ste. C, Atlanta, GA 30316, no phone.
 

Kevin Rathbun, whose restaurants in Atlanta already include Kevin Rathbun Steak, opened KR SteakBar in the Atlanta

 Decorative Arts Center (ADAC) on February 21. Located in the Peachtree Hills area, the center is a trade-only 

showcase for high-end home fashions. Chris McDade will serve as chef de cuisine. The menu focuses on small steak 

plates and Italian fare, while the design embodies the clean, casual, contemporary look that the city has come to 

favor in its restaurants as of late. Dinner nightly. KR SteakBar, Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, 349 Peachtree Hills Ave.

 NE, Atlanta, GA 30305, 404-841-8820.
 

Scott and Randy McCray have opened The Mill Kitchen & Bar in Roswell, with Marc Taft as general manager and 

executive chef. Taft also owns and operates Chicken and the Egg in Marietta. The team describes the concept as

 "modernized" Southern comfort food, meaning interpretations of such standards as pimento cheese, fritters, greens,

 fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and occasional game dishes. Locally sourced ingredients are a focus. A raft of fine 

bourbons, craft brews and hand-crafted cocktails supplement the wine list. Lunch Mon.-Sat., Dinner nightly. The Mill

 Kitchen & Bar, 590 Mimosa Blvd., Roswell, GA 30075, 770-817-9345.
 

Todd Ginsberg, formerly of Bocado, has joined Jennifer and Ben Johnson, the owners of West Egg Cafe in Atlanta's 

Westside district, and West Egg's general manager Shelley Sweet, to open a Jewish deli in the new Emory Point 

development. Hand-rolled kettle-boiled bagels and smoked meat sandwiches will be on the menu at The General Muir, 

but there will also be small sharing plates of the sort that Ginsberg made famous at Bocado. The General Muir, Emory 

Point, 1540 Avenue Pl., Ste. B-230, Atlanta, GA 30329, 678-927-9131.
 

Marietta residents Kevin and Kammie Sakprasit, a brother-sister team, own Irvington Seafood in Mobile, Ala. Now, 

they've opened a seafood restaurant, Pier 213 Seafood, in Marietta. The menu focuses on freshly-caught seafood

 from the Gulf Coast. A variety of fried, grilled and steamed plates, as well as po' boys and sandwiches ($6.99-$15.99)

, shape the menu, which also offers shareable appetizers, sides and homemade desserts. The family-friendly 

restaurant also has a special menu for children. Lunch & Dinner daily. Pier 213 Seafood, 35 S. Marietta Pkwy., 

Marietta, GA 30064, 678-290-8170. 

 

Founded in 1985, Joli Kobe, known for breads and pastries, is rebranding the popular bakery into a full-service, 

seasonally driven restaurant. Naming as executive chef Mihoko Obunai, former co-owner of Repast, the rebranded 

Joli Kobe Kitchen will field a menu influenced by Japanese and French cooking techniques and using local ingredients.

 Classically trained at the French Culinary Institute, Obunai sought to "create a menu that will speak to many palates

." She will feature a variety of New American dishes, but infused with French and Japanese touches. Joli Kobe Kitchen

 will serve lunch and dinner daily. The bakery will continue to operate as a bakery, and the café is located at 

1545 Peachtree St. NE, 404-870-0640. Lunch Mon.-Sat., Dinner Tues.-Sat., Brunch Sun. Joli Kobe Kitchen, The Prado,

 5600 Roswell Rd., Atlanta, GA 30342, 404-843-3257.
 

Moving from its Brookwood location, Cafe Intermezzo will reopen on Monday, February 25, at its new home in Midtown

 at 1065 Peachtree St. NE, at its intersection with 11th Street. The café specializes in Viennese-style desserts, opulent 

creations with abundant cream and butter. It also serves savory dishes, such as pastas and crêpes. Cafe Intermezzo 

has outposts in Dunwoody and on Concourse B in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, too. Lunch & Dinner 

daily. Cafe Intermezzo, 1845 Peachtree Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, 404-355-0411.

Read more at http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/atlantanews.html#IAiXbHbuuhCSp9Hz.99 

How You Can Open Your Own Bar Or Nightclub

How to Start a Bar/Club

Be the toast of the town, the life of the party--and a successful entrepreneur? Yep. You can have it all when you open a bar.

BY ENTREPRENEUR STAFF |

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Image credit: Shutterstock

Editor's note: This article was excerpted from our Bar & Club startup guide, available from the Entrepreneur Bookstore.

Friends, laughter, celebrations, entertainment--fun! These are the things that might come to your mind when you think about owning your own bar as you imagine rooms filled with friendly conversation, music and people enjoying themselves. If you're thinking of opening a sports bar, you might envision an exciting game on big-screen TVs with everyone cheering and having a great time. Owning a bar sounds like the perfect life to many potential entrepreneurs, but it's not always fun and games behind the scenes.

What's Inside

• Introduction
• Target Market
• Planning
• Strategy

More Articles on Bars/Clubs »

Owning your own bar/club can mean long hours, meticulous attention to detail, giving up vacations and weekends, and sometimes dealing with unruly customers. But if you have a clear vision, do your homework and learn the ins and outs of the business, it can also translate into a rewarding and financially successful enterprise.

The Stats

Although people still gather to socialize in bars, just as they have for hundreds of years, other factors have come into play for the industry as well. Problems with driving while intoxicated have changed the drinking patterns of people in United States. The growing concern with health and fitness toward the end of the 20th century took its toll on the bar industry. Keeping tabs on this industry requires a look at the alcoholic beverage industry as a whole--what people buy in the store doesn't differ much from what they buy in a bar. The distilled spirits industry generates around $100 billion in U.S. economic activity annually, according to the Distilled Spirits Council, a national trade association. 

You have some pretty tough competition out there. But you're not just competing with the other bars in your area these days. You're competing with every entertainment option from which your customers can choose.

What You Can Expect

Successful new bars can be in the black within the first six months, and they can go on to recover their initial investment within three to five years. However, like many new businesses, the statistics for bars aren't in favor of the startup. Why do they fail? The first reason is they didn't have enough capital to keep the business going. The second reason is a lack of knowledge about the business.

From a personal perspective, you need to ask yourself if you're really the type of person who wants to own and run a bar. Of course, you don't have to run it if you own it, but you'd better make sure you have a team of good, trustworthy managers working for you if you plan to be "hands off." In the beginning, you will probably have to be greatly involved whether you plan to be an active owner or not. If you're the kind of person who would rather deal with paperwork or sit in an office where you don't have to talk to people, this business is not for you. You will need to be out there talking to people and shaking hands. Getting to know your patrons, even if it's just to say "Hi," can go a long way for your customer service.

Another thing you should consider is the time commitment and hours of operation. If you're an early riser, you might not enjoy having to work until 3 or 4 a.m. at your bar. If you have a family, you need to discuss how owning a bar will affect them. Many days you will have to be at your bar from the time you wake up--say, around 10 or 11 a.m.--to the time you go to sleep--say, around 4 or 5 a.m. As you can see, this could take its toll on your family life. Eventually, you'll probably be able to have a saner schedule, once your managers and staff are well-trained, but it may take six months to a year to reach that point. If this could cause problems for you or your family, you may want to reconsider the idea of owning a bar.

If we haven't scared you away yet and you're ready to go for the bottle-in-the-sky dream, read on!

What's Your Bar Type?

Before you get started on the actual nuts and bolts of creating your dream bar, you have to decide what kind of establishment you'd like to own. Let's take a trip through the various kinds of bars--from neighborhood bar to large-scale club--and see which one is right for you.

• Neighborhood bar. Conceptually, the neighborhood bar is still an American version of the English pub. You'll find them everywhere in the United States. If you own this kind of place, you can expect to know many of your regular customers. As on the TV show "Cheers," you may find yourself taking phone messages for customers or cashing their paychecks. It's because of the friendly "home away from home" atmosphere that neighborhood bars are successful. Some of these pubs open as early as 6 a.m., and they sometimes close earlier than other bars--depending on the clientele. This type of bar is perfect for small-scale entertainment options, such as darts, pool tables, video games and jukeboxes.
• Across the country, this is probably the most popular type of bar you'll find. There are a lot of neighborhoods out there, but you might find that there is room for one more in your area. According to the experts we interviewed, the startup cost for this kind of bar ranges widely, depending on the size and concept, but mostly on location. You can buy an existing neighborhood bar in a small town for $20,000, or you can spend a million dollars building a brand-new one in a big city. Not coincidentally, the amount of revenue these businesses produce varies greatly, depending on your bar's location and capacity.
• Sports bar. Depending on the establishment's capacity, sports bars can be a specific version of the neighborhood tavern, or they can take on a life as big as a club. You may have the latter in mind, but your market research may point to the former. It's important to do your homework!
  Generally, sports bars offer some kind of menu options, such as sandwiches, burgers, pizza, sandwiches and appetizers. Since the main attraction is sporting events, sports bars have televisions in view of every seat, sometimes all tuned to different channels. Audio and video technology comes into play, with some owners spending a large percentage of their revenue on keeping up with the latest in technology--from satellites to big-screen TVs. As with neighborhood bars, startup costs and revenue potential vary widely, depending on the size, concept and location.
• Brewpub or beer bar. Studies have shown that although consumers are drinking less alcohol, their tastes are becoming more discriminating. As a result, microbrews are more and more popular. In a brewpub, you can brew your own beer right on the premises. In a beer bar, you can offer a large selection of different types of beer, including microbrews produced elsewhere. It's often easier to get a liquor license for a brewpub or beer bar than a full-scale liquor license, since you don't need a fully stocked liquor bar.
  Most brewpubs only sell their own beer options on tap (draft beer), with a few selections of bottled beer options, too. Since you're creating your own product in a brewpub, you also have the ability to control what you make and sell--from quality to quantity. The startup costs of a brewpub can be quite high--from $100,000 to $1 million--because of the brewing equipment you need to have. If you produce a popular beer, you have the opportunity to grow into a very successful operation.
  Beer bars tend to have lower startup costs, which can often mean obtaining a less expensive, fixed-price license from your state government. Beer bar startup costs range from about $20,000 to $100,000, depending on size and location. The revenue potential depends on the geographical location and drinking trends in the community.
• Specialty bar. Specialty bars, which concentrate on one type of libation, from wine to martinis, or theme, like cigar bars, are gaining popularity. Although some specialty bars focus on only one drink category, there must be a wide variety available within the genre. Take martinis: They have become very popular due to the variety they offer. The traditional martini still has a solid appeal if made with quality vodkas and gins, but other mixes, like sour apple martinis, have expanded the martini-drinking base, especially among women. But even with their increased popularity, martinis are still looking up at wine.
  Beyond the traditional glass or bottle with a nice dinner, for many, wine is the drink of choice. In fact, women order wine more often than any other alcoholic beverage. Wine bars offer guests the opportunity to taste a variety of different kinds of wine and the ability to learn more about their qualities.
  Specialty bars tend to stay small and intimate in size and are located in more sophisticated neighborhoods. The costs and revenues you can expect to find when opening a specialty bar depend mostly on the type of product you serve and your location.
• Club. Like the neighborhood bar, nightclubs can take on a number of different personalities. You can open a small cocktail lounge with a jukebox or a tinkling piano in the corner. A medium-sized club might look like a neighborhood bar during the lunchtime hours, then spring to life with a popular band at night. Or if you have a big enough budget, your club might be a large dance club where the most fashionable people and hippest celebrities hang out every weekend
  Whichever path you take, you must be prepared to spend a great deal of time and money on promotion to create your "buzz." Clubs can make plenty of money if they're managed properly. Most successful clubs draw on a city population of 500,000 or more. If you're in a small town or suburb, you may not have the customer base to open a large dance club. Market research is key.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/41460#ixzz2RzOUcvPv

Bar Owners & Managers, Here Are Ways To Increase Your Sales

Bar Revenue Management: Proven Ways to Increase Your Sales 3% to 5%

Most bars do not operate at peak efficiency during their busiest times. They employ the same method of handling the flow of customers as they do when traffic is slower. This results in additional sales and profits being lost each day due to the failure to follow a few key revenue management strategies.

The good news is that once you have a firm understanding of the opportunities in your bar that can use an improvement in efficiency, you will be able to maximize your sales during your busiest times without turning away or giving improper service to your customers.


Traditional Methods of Revenue Measurement

Industries with perishable inventory such as hotel rooms or airline seats have a precise, time specific way of measuring revenue.
For hotels, it's RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room).
For the airline industry it's RevPSM (Revenue Per Seat Mile).

For bars and restaurants, the traditional way of measuring revenue has been to look at a combination of the following: average check, food and beverage costs, and labor costs.

Unfortunately these measurements in themselves do not give a precise measure of how well your operation is doing, as you could have a high average check, or low labor costs, or low food and beverage costs and still be unprofitable.

Based on the work done by Sheryl Kimes of Cornell University, bars and restaurants now have a more precise, time specific means of measuring revenue - RevPASH (Revenue Per Available Seat Hour).

Let's delve into RevPASH in a little more detail and see how this measurement can help you make your bar more efficient and generate more revenue.


Using RevPASH to Make Your Bar More Efficient

As an example, using figures easy to understand for example clarity, let's take a 100 seat restaurant and bar that generates $500 at full capacity in one hour, giving it a RevPASH of $5.00, or $500/(100 seats x 1 hour).

If during this peak time the restaurant and bar was able to turn the tables over quicker without sacrificing service or experience and handle more customers and increase revenue to $600, its RevPASH jumps up to $6.00, or $600/(100 seats x 1 hour).

Take this same restaurant and bar on the same day, but in a slower hour where capacity is 60% and sales total $300. You still have an average check of $5 as you did when running at full capacity, yet the RevPASH drops to $3.00, or $300/(100 seats x 1 hour).

If you use average check as your basis of measurement, you would conclude that each time frame did equally well. Using RevPASH, you have a more precise revenue measurement that also takes into account total revenue and time duration.

In order to be able to reach any solid conclusions about your RevPASH performance, you need a large sample size of 30 to 60 days of performance broken down by the hour. While it makes sense for the large multi-unit operator to acquire and calculate these numbers, for the small independent operator you likely will not require this level of detail.

Instead, you want to focus on the lessons other operators have learned from those who have run their RevPASH numbers.

If you wish to calculate your own RevPASH numbers, see the RevPASH calculator download which has the formulas already plugged in.


Benefits of Better Bar Revenue Management

Being more precise in how you measure your revenue and the actions you then take allows you to create:

more revenue

run a more efficient operation

offer a more consistent experience for customersBest of all, to get these benefits, you likely will have zero or low out-of-pocket costs.
You can gain an increase in sales of 3% to 5% during peak times through quicker table turns and during slower times by increasing the amount spent per customer simply by implementing some or all of the below strategies.


Specific Revenue Enhancing Strategies You Can Take to Earn More

By plugging different revenue scenarios into the RevPASH calculator, you will see that you make more money during your busiest times by turning seats quicker and handling more customers than by working to increase the average check size per guest.
During your busiest hour(s) when you are close to capacity, your goal is to get your customers to turn over quicker without sacrificing the quality of their experience.
During your slowest hours, your goal is to increase the average check size through suggestive selling.


Peak Time Strategies

If you have a wait during peak times, you need to work on being more time efficient in seating your customers to avoid having some potential customers leaving because they did not want to wait any longer.

Use a Quicker Greeting and Seating
You want to greet and then seat your customers in a quick time frame. Check to see where you have room for improvement in this area.

Suggest Items That Take Less Time to Prepare and Have Higher Margins
Items with longer cook or preparation times should not be the specials your staff suggests during your peak times. Instead have your staff suggest items that can be prepared and served more quickly.

Minimize Trips by Waitstaff by Using the Right Sized Trays
Take a look at the type and size of trays your servers are using and determine if you need to make adjustments here in order to serve orders in one trip. Wasted time going back and forth to the kitchen or bar delays your ability to turn the table quicker.

Better Server Training
Do you have a server who is not as efficient as their co-workers? Determine if more training on working smarter should be done. You may want to have you most efficient servers lead this training and share their tips and techniques.

Faster Bar Service
If there is hold up in getting drinks from the bar, find out why. It could be you are understaffed, or less efficient procedures are being used, or your bartenders don't make it a priority to work fast when needed.

Better Bussing and Table Setting Procedures
Look any ways you can clear and reset tables quicker. This area if often where many bars and restaurants have significant room for improvement. You can't afford to have your least paid and least skilled position determining how many customers you can handle during peak times.

Move Equipment Closer to Job to Reduce Time Wastage
Is your bar optimally organized so that your bartenders have everything they need within one step? Look to see what needs to be moved closer to where your staff needs it to be in order to work more efficiently.

Have Proper Table Sizes for Your Bar's Customer Mix
Run a report from your POS that shows the average table size during your peak times. Be sure to look for any split checks that were closed for the same table about the same time, which can otherwise skew your results.
Run this data over at least a 3 week time frame to see how well your mix compared to what your customers actually use. Based on your results, you may need to change your table mix if your data proves conclusive.

Better Table Management
Analyze your seating procedures. Are parties of two being seated at four tops during peak times, leaving two seats unoccupied for the duration of the stay? You should go over with your staff to insure that small parties are not sat at larger tables during your rush.
Table management is a major determinant in how many customers you can handle during peak time frames. Fix any problems with this area right away.

Schedule Groups For Non-Peak Times
If you accept reservations, schedule groups of six or more for non-peak times. Groups take longer to serve and usually turn-over much slower, affecting how many customers you can handle during your busiest times.


Non-Peak Time Strategies

Your focus during your slower times is to get your customers to spend as much time as possible in your establishment, ordering high margin items.
This requires suggestive selling on the part of your staff to describe and suggest the specials, to recommend specialty drinks, appetizers, desserts, and after dinner drinks.
Try to limit your price promotions to your slower times of the day, when you need business the most.
You can use the RevPASH calculator to help determine the affect on overall revenue during specific time frames if you were to run an earlier or reverse happy hour in order to drive additional traffic.
Plug in the numbers to see how many more customers at a reduced price you need to sell in order to come out ahead of not discounting.


What Are Your Bar's Areas Needing Improvement?

As you can see, rolling out some or all of these strategies will make your bar more efficient and allow you handle more customers during peak times without sacrificing a quality customer experience.
Solicit feedback from your managers and key staff members about every step of how your customers are served. Because they are in front of customers every day and see first hand what's working and can be done better, they are an excellent source of ways to make your bar more efficient.
Once you determine where you can improve, put together an action plan, from the highest leverage task with the most impact to the least and roll out these strategies to make more money as you make your bar more efficient.

Don’t let dining out in the Atlanta area do you in!

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Going out to eat in Atlanta and the surrounding area is one of life’s great pleasures. But too often, all those goodi­es on the menu can leave your waistline feeling a little, uh, “expansive.” The fact that today’s typical restaurant portion in Georgia and across the country is often the size of a Buick doesn’t help. So does this mean you have to stay close to home to maintain your healthy eating habits? Nope – just make smarter choices. Find great local restaurants right now!

The National Restaurant Association has dished out these great tips:

• Take half of your meal home. To avoid temptation, ask your server to wrap half of it in the kitchen before bringing the rest out to the table.

• When ordering pasta dishes, choose tomato-based sauces (like marinara) rather than cream-based sauces (like Alfredo). Tomato-based sauces are way lower in fat and calories.

• Instead of sour cream, butter or cheese, ask for salsa with a baked potato.

• If you have a choice of side dishes, opt for a baked potato or steamed vegetables. Even if those choices are not listed, ask your server anyway; most restaurants are happy to accommodate you whenever they can.

• Plain bread or rolls are relatively low in fat and calories. It's the butter and oil you spread on them that ups the calories.

• Share a single dessert; the same goes for an appetizer.

• Before you leave the house, get the scoop on calorie counts and the best cuisines for healthy eating by logging on to HealthyDiningFinder.com.