Food feasabilty

[PoorSon]

My partner and I are in the very beginning stages of brewery planning and we're totally stuck on determining if serving food is a viable option.

Our vision is a tap room with a food counter and a very simple a la carte menu with a few food runners. We imagine this would keep costs down and give us simplicity (since we're not restaurant folk) while giving patrons a food option so they're encouraged to stay longer and consume more beer. Think a brewery with food, not a restaurant that brews beer. But we are concerned about our lack of restaurant experience, additional start up capital, and essentially running two separate businesses. So for the brewery owners out there- how did you determine what option was best for you and what questions do we need to answer?

[beerguy1]

I think you answered your own question "we are not restaurant folk". I have worked at both that do and do not provide food and IMHO I dont care how good your beer is if you cant provide a good food product, people just simply wont come or they will come only for the beer and not support your kitchen. Ask your self this how many places do you go and eat at that " very simple a la carte menu" I am going bet very few so why go thru the hassle of double expenses of food that just is simple al a carte, let the food be provided by those that want to make great food. My suggestion is this, make your place food friendly, let people bring food in (we do this), go talk with food truck owners see what it would take to have a rotating food truck there but, be prepared to make it nice for them say electricty or possibly a sink area, but listen to there suggestions we make fresh popcorn here and have about a dozen shakers with different flavors I cannot imagine how much more $$ that has made us many people will stay to nibble on the popcorn and of course order more beer. Let the food people make there food you stick with your passion and make quality beer

[briangaylor]

My partner and I are in the very beginning stages of brewery planning and we're totally stuck on determining if serving food is a viable option.

Our vision is a tap room with a food counter and a very simple a la carte menu with a few food runners. We imagine this would keep costs down and give us simplicity (since we're not restaurant folk) while giving patrons a food option so they're encouraged to stay longer and consume more beer. Think a brewery with food, not a restaurant that brews beer. But we are concerned about our lack of restaurant experience, additional start up capital, and essentially running two separate businesses. So for the brewery owners out there- how did you determine what option was best for you and what questions do we need to answer?

I wish we had a simple kitchen (like a fired pizza oven). We have food trucks right now and they are super unreliable. I have no food experience so we went against that. If I was going to do it again I would find someone who had food experience (in my case someone who knows pizza inside and out from sourcing stuff, to machinery, to selling it) and give them space in the brewery to make it and let them keep most but not all of the profit on pizza sold.