HomeFairfax General ForumArrest/Ticket SearchWiki newPictures/VideosChatArticlesLinksAbout
Fairfax County General :  Fairfax Underground fairfax underground logo
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Open a Restarant
Posted by: Nathan H ()
Date: July 18, 2012 03:39PM

I want to open a restarant in Fairfax country. The problem is the taxes are way to high and so is land. does anyone know if Illegals (all the mexican restarants) get a lee-way when it comes to paying taxes? I am 49 year old born in Fairfax ,VA. Attend John C. Wood Elementary School, Lainer Middle school and Fairfax High School. I asked for help in opening a business, and since I don't speak Spanish no one helps me. What can I do? I love living here but since 1990s its getting worst. My Dad is 70 years old and remember when he could go anywhre without getting looked at by Illegals Alliens.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: NRA 75 ()
Date: July 18, 2012 03:52PM

If you were illegal, Gerry Connolly would bend over backwards to make your dream possible. Unfortunately he doesn't do the same for good Americans, who do pay taxes, follow the laws, help their neighbors, etc, etc.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: gerry c ()
Date: July 18, 2012 03:54PM

Step one learn to spell restaurant. Be thankful you havent opened one since over 90% of restaurants fail.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: eesh ()
Date: July 18, 2012 03:58PM

A franchise would be a (slightly) safer way to go.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: flight risk ()
Date: July 18, 2012 04:14PM

All I can say is some of those restaurants opened by immigrants are just covers for whatever illegal activity they are really doing so they can run their cash through it.

IRS can't confirm or deny if you had only 5 customers come in for food that day or 50. All they'd have to do is order enough food to make it look like they had that volume...but I am saying too much already.

Just me rambling, don't listen to anything I just said. ;)

I DO agree with you if you are not an immigrant it is hard to get help in this county.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Congrats ()
Date: July 18, 2012 04:15PM

gerry c Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Step one learn to spell restaurant. Be thankful
> you havent opened one since over 90% of
> restaurants fail.

over 90% of real estate agents fail
over 90% of amateur athletics fail to go pro
Over 90% of musicians fail
over 90% of people who join a gym fail
over 90% of salespeople fail
What's the point?

How do you succeed without failing? To paraphrase Thomas Watson, founder of IBM said, "The key to success is massive failure."

I hope that you are able to open your restaurant and it is a success. We need more people with entrepreneur attitudes like you have than we do people afraid of failure. Lord knows we have too many of those in this area.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Greasy spoon ()
Date: July 18, 2012 04:48PM

That Fatburger location at the corner of 50 and 29 is still available. Why don't you call them up?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Priapus ()
Date: July 18, 2012 04:59PM

a friend rented a community center kitchen on weekend nights and served meals until he could rent a store. A Latino guy I worked with cooks cheap dinners in his home,drives around to work groups. He maintains a regular route and has built up a clientle.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Everybody Wants Some ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:03PM

.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: From the White House ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:07PM

Priapus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> a friend rented a community center kitchen on
> weekend nights and served meals until he could
> rent a store. A Latino guy I worked with cooks
> cheap dinners in his home,drives around to work
> groups. He maintains a regular route and has built
> up a clientle.


If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: obama is my king ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:13PM

Congrats Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> How do you succeed without failing? To paraphrase
> Thomas Watson, founder of IBM said, "The key to
> success is massive failure."
>

I wouldnt compare IBM to a restaurant. The market is flooded with restaurants and we are in a recession. When IBM got started were there thousands of companies already in operation with the same business idea as IBM?

If the tax hikes and DOD layoffs kick in expect even worse conditions. In a bad economy a restaurant is the first to go. People have less money to spend eating out. Unless you have some really great idea you arent going to make it I dont care what you claim. Chilis, Rudy Tuesday and TGIF can put a meal on the tabe for less than it costs you to buy the food from a whole sale distributor.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: NRA 75 ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:15PM

The key with restaurants such as a chain listed above, is the low labor costs, ie. servers at $2 and some change per hour, plus the boil in a bag concept that Applebees and other chains are now known for.


Find a deal on one of the foreclosures, the worst that can happen is you'll join the 90%+.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: out there ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:19PM

The problem is not taxes or the price of land. It's having a good product and setting it to market for sale. "I asked for help in opening a business, and since I don't speak Spanish no one helps me. What can I do?" So who are you asking for help? "My Dad is 70 years old and remember when he could go anywhre without getting looked at by Illegals Alliens." What does this have to do with opening a restaurant? Do you even have two nickels to rub together to open this restaurant?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: dexter ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:23PM

The biggest difference is Chilis can stomach a first year with minimum profits. The mom and pops cannot. Chilis can buy food/supplies in bulk on a contract with distributors at a price the single restaurant cannot ever hope to get. Chilis will get very favorable rent since they are a solid company. The mom and pop will pay an elevated rent and will need guarantors to protect the landlord. Miss your rent and guess who they come after?

A person is a fool if they think they can open a restaurant and not put in a minimum of eighty hours a week. Any less time and your employees will steal you blind or fuck off at every opportunity. I have seen employees steal every bottle of liquor on the shelf over time. So a couple of bottles of Gray Goose find their way into the bartenders car, no big deal you say. Well $180 bucks just walked out the door and now you have to compensate for it on your already razor thin profit margin.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Congrats ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:40PM

obama is my king Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Congrats Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > How do you succeed without failing? To
> paraphrase
> > Thomas Watson, founder of IBM said, "The key to
> > success is massive failure."
> >
>
> I wouldnt compare IBM to a restaurant.

I didn't. I paraphrased a quote about success from the person who started IBM. Do you think Thomas Watson always had success and never failed? His point applies to himself. He failed massively before he started IBM and it made a success. I am sure that when he told his friends thathe was going to build a business machine company, they all told him that he should go into the restaurant business.

So here is my question. Everyone complains about the restaurants in NoVA. Nathan is willing to open one up and bring a new one to this community. Instead everyone is shooting him downand trying to tell him why the restaurant business is a bad business. Why not support and encourage him? He sounds like he knows more about the restaurant business than most people here.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Ito ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:48PM

I don't think the OP really wants to open a restaurant. He just wants to complain about Mexicans and other illegals.

-- And brag about graduating elementary school.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: obama is my king ()
Date: July 18, 2012 05:51PM

I will take your challenge. Let Nathan tell us where he plans to open and what type of venue. How many hours a week is he willing to commit. Most important what experience does he have in the restaurant business.

Is he familiar with the various regulatory agencies he will have to deal with? Zoning, health inspectors, taxation, ABC and building. Insurance, utilities various special use permits, parking, employees both good and bad, vendors and so on. That is just a small amount of what awaits him.

I dont want to see the guy fail I would hope he knows what he is getting himself into.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Congrats ()
Date: July 18, 2012 06:13PM

obama is my king Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I will take your challenge.

Once again you misread what I wrote. I said "support and encourage" him, not evaluate and scrutinize him. He does not have to give us all of that information nor does he have to share his business plan with us. I frankly don't care.

Priapus gave him examples of how people are making their dream of a restaurant work, that is encouraging him. I think he is looking for other ideas. Once he opens his restaurant, we can support him by eating there. If it is a good restaurant it will succeed, if not it will fail. That is how the market works.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: obama is my king ()
Date: July 18, 2012 07:18PM

So you are saying he should go into it blind? I think asking him to be aware of what running a restaurant is all about is encouraging him and most def giving support.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: eesh ()
Date: July 18, 2012 07:20PM


Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Congrats ()
Date: July 18, 2012 08:07PM

obama is my king Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So you are saying he should go into it blind? I
> think asking him to be aware of what running a
> restaurant is all about is encouraging him and
> most def giving support.


Nope, once again, misreading. It is not our job to educate him. If he wants opinions on restaurant operations, I hope that he is smart enough to get that from successful professionals in the industry, not any yahoo who has an opinion on Fairfax Underground. Besides most of the posts here were telling him how he would fail and no one had any ideas for him about how to succeed. If I am going to open a business, any business, I will listen to the 10% who succeeded, not the 90% who failed.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Troyp ()
Date: July 18, 2012 11:15PM

This is exactly why fxco is flooded with bland chain restaurants. They make it impossible to make a living owning a mom and pop type joint.

Unfortunately Nathan, as much as I'd love it if you'd Open your own restaurant here, I'd advise you to look outside of the county if you really want to make a go of it. Franchises seem to be the only places that thrive here. If you decide to be a franchisee, please oh please consider opening up a Sonic.

Finally, if you have lived here all of your life, you might be pleasantly surprised by all of the other wonderful areas outside of Fairfax/NOVA you could call home. It's stifling here for someone who is independent minded with an entrepreneurial spirit. This town is so dependent on the government that it creates a this weird drone like society.

Good luck, Nathan.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: All in! ()
Date: July 18, 2012 11:37PM

Ito Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't think the OP really wants to open a
> restaurant. He just wants to complain about
> Mexicans and other illegals.
>


Wait! I've got it! A restaurant serving Mexicans and illegals!

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Ito ()
Date: July 19, 2012 12:07AM

I'm really surprised at all the serious responses to the OP's original question. He really expressed little desire or thought in his post for actually opening a restaurant beyond the first sentence.

If you are seriously interested in opening a restaurant, you have a vision in mind -- a particular type of cuisine, a style of dining, even a specific location. The OP has not listed any sort of expertise or background that would support the fact that he would have any knowledge of the food industry or being a restaurateur (he can't even spell the word restaurant correctly).

His only concerns are illegals and taxes...

The taxes part is really a non-issue because your single biggest expense for a restaurant is rent unless you are going to buy the property. Unless you have already made a million dollars doing something else with your life, you are not going to buy a piece of commercial real estate within 100 miles of DC to open a restaurant.

Prior to opening a restaurant, the primary concern is raise enough capital to set up the restaurant with the proper equipment, seating, etc. and getting the proper permits and inspections from the local government. Unless you are buying a defunct restaurant, this can be very expensive and take months to complete.

Of course, the OP's biggest "obstacle" to achieving his dream of a new restaurant are Mexicans and illegals (in his mind) because he doesn't speak Spanish? Really?

Is he trying to say that he has gone to the bank to get a loan to only be greeted with the phrase, "¿Habla usted español?" Every real estate office he has visited has said, "Sorry Gringo." Really?

To be honest, one of the nicer things about this area is the availability of various ethnic cuisine. If you go to some of the flyover states, your choices are between Denny's or IHOP for a "sit down" meal or perhaps if you want to live dangerously you might try the local diner.

I have a true recommendation for the OP: If you don't like Mexicans or illegals, don't enter the restaurant business. Unless you are opening a high-end restaurant, not hiring Hispanic help means that you are going to forgo perhaps your best employees you can find for the pay grade. I'm not saying that the Hispanics you hire will be illegal aliens, but some your best prospects for long term, dedicated employees to work in your kitchen will be immigrants.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: kilgore ()
Date: July 19, 2012 12:16AM

^^^^^...So true ito, you must work in the restaurant industry? It does amaze me that so many people have no idea who cooks, preps, and preforms many other small details that the regular stuffy patron does not see.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Ito ()
Date: July 19, 2012 12:28AM

My family owned a restaurant when I was growing up. I worked in it from the time I was 9 years old until I finished college when my father retired. In order to own/run a restaurant you have no idea what kind of dedication you need to make it work. My father, not only a college graduate, but with an MBA and a long career behind him decided to risk everything at age 45 to open his own place. What followed was 15 years of 80 hour/weeks, late nights and weekends, getting up at the crack of dawn to make sure the deliveries were correct.

You have to love food and customer service. The people you hire become part of your family. The people who work in restaurants are not from wealthy families or the smartest people you will ever meet, but the ones who stay at it are nice people who work really hard.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Ito ()
Date: July 19, 2012 12:35AM

Anyway, the troll who started this post is the same guy who started another post about a black teacher who can't teach his retarded daughter here:

http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/2/958189.html

His keyboard skills weren't quite good enough to spell his name on that thread the same way he posted it here -- Nathan H vs. Nattan h



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2012 01:21AM by Ito.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: MD ()
Date: July 19, 2012 02:40PM

What do you mean no one will help you? Where have you gone for "help" and only found illegals? Moron

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: Facts ()
Date: July 19, 2012 08:48PM

obama is my king Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Congrats Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> >
>
> I wouldnt compare IBM to a restaurant. The market
> is flooded with restaurants and we are in a
> recession.

Yeah, the economy sucks but we haven't been in a recession since June '09. WTF are you talking about??

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: old ()
Date: January 27, 2013 12:05AM

so many rednecks

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Open a Restarant
Posted by: what's all this then? ()
Date: January 27, 2013 12:14AM

why do you care about the cost of the land when all you're looking for is space to lease? bad trolls are not good for forums. run along.

Options: ReplyQuote


Your Name: 
Your Email (Optional): 
Subject: 
Attach a file
  • No file can be larger than 75 MB
  • All files together cannot be larger than 300 MB
  • 30 more file(s) can be attached to this message
Spam prevention:
Please, enter the code that you see below in the input field. This is for blocking bots that try to post this form automatically.
 **         ********    *******   ********  **     ** 
 **    **   **     **  **     **  **         **   **  
 **    **   **     **         **  **          ** **   
 **    **   **     **   *******   ******       ***    
 *********  **     **         **  **          ** **   
       **   **     **  **     **  **         **   **  
       **   ********    *******   ********  **     ** 
This forum powered by Phorum.