Get Thee Behind me, Papa John
March 2nd, 2010Cheap Pizzeria
This is what I call temptation.
Pizzeria. Exactly the type I wanted; basically a Domino’s plus a few seats. Cost: $20,000 (asking). Equipment included. Gas, power, phone, web, water, trash, and rent: $1615, max. Located in a busy area near a mall and lots of apartment complexes. And it’s near the county line, so it’s in the direction of AWAY FROM HERE, which I like. In fact, it’s ten minutes from my church, via a major traffic artery.
Arrghh.
Arrrrrrgggghhhh.
I may have to drive by this place.
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:11 AM
I wish you well, but don’t forget these expenses:
Insurance (esp. liability$$$)
Pest Control/Exterminator
City Permits and Inspections (Remediationg issues found during inspections)
Accountant
Lawyer (only a fool represents himself as a client, right…)
Cash register
Computer
Internet access for the store (for you, not your customers)
Office equipment and supplies
Budget for equipment repair, especially refrigeration, that always seems to break before a big holiday weekend.
If you ae going to have even 1 employee that adds another boatload of expenses.
Your a smart guy, I’m just saying please make sure you think through the possibilites so that when things come up, and they will, you won’t be blind sided by them.
I wish you well!
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:15 PM
You’re right. But as local opportunities go, this place is cheap. I’ve seen crappy places with $3400 in rent alone. Here, I have the basics covered for less than a third of that, and the location appears to be pretty much optimal.
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:30 PM
“Exactly the type I wanted;”.
That says so much.
Is it a lease, and if so, what’s the commitment?
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:37 PM
The guy’s English is not great, but I believe he said it was month to month.
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:50 PM
I’ve said my piece. Do it!
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:52 PM
Steve, it sounds really great! The close proximity to the church is a big plus too, since you want to have people from the church to work. I’m really excited for you!!
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:08 PM
Steve, I just told my mom what you were considering and she said, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
March 2nd, 2010 at 5:29 PM
So your buying the equipment for 20k? And the power, gas, rent etc is about 1615? Sounds too good, I know you will get him to produce receipts to back up that. Power and gas alone is more than that for a small restaurant here(35 seats). We are getting killed on the electric because the local power co bought into some nuclear plant output 30 or so years ago, just before three mile island went up. The cost of servicing that debt is almost as much as the power itself.
Good luck, I think you can make money at that kind of overhead.
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:06 PM
I think I putzed up my comment try earlier – the proximity to church might give you a built in leg up on a customer base (and some local positive word of mouth advertising) – “hey, that guy that makes those great pizzas just bought [whatever it is called]”
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:59 PM
I’m a genetic wet blanket. That said, the only concern I’ve ever had about this is what do you lose if it all goes south? If you can absorb that without too much pain, why not go for it? A successful friend of mine uses the measuring stick of:
“If it goes bad, how badly are we hurt? Will I still be able to care for my family, provide them a safe, warm, dry place to sleep, clean clothes and plenty of food? If I can, I’m goin’ for it.”
From what you’ve written here in the past few years, You will be just fine. If you don’t do it, how can you possibly succeed?
God Bless.
Gerry N.
March 2nd, 2010 at 8:05 PM
You could call it “The Pieous Pizzeria” (misspelling intended) 🙂
March 2nd, 2010 at 8:25 PM
Recalling the welder, the milling machine, the air compressor — hey, folks, what’s the over/under on how long it takes Steve to buy a pizzaria?
Regards,
Ric
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 PM
Okay, somebody has to be the naysayer, it might as well be me.
Owning a business is like having a baby, you never get to sleep at night.
But babies do become grown people you can love. I’m not sure what a pizza business might grow into.
There is one good thing I can think of, you will need employees and it is possible you could hire someone from your church who desperately needs a job.
Anyway advice from me is just my opinion, I have no experience in the pizza business. Just books.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:35 AM
Sounds exciting! This country was built on the entrepreneurial spirit, not on hand-wringing and what-if-I-faaaaail?!?1?!111?
LIfe is an adventure, and the world needs more good pizza. God’s blessings can take many forms. If it’s meant to be, He’ll make it happen.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 AM
Domino’s (got it’s start here in Ypsilanti) profits per share rose from 19 cents last year to 43 cents this year based on their new recipe.
Imagine what you can do with your superior recipe.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:46 PM
This reminds me of the story about the guy who was caught in a flood. He sat there on the roof of his house amidst the rising waters, praying for help. A fellow in a boat paddled by and offered his assistance, but the homeowner refused, saying, “The Lord will provide.” Ten minutes later, the man in the boat comes back and once again offers help, with the same response. Half an hour later, he comes back for the third time.
“You sure you wanna stay here?”
“The Lord will provide for me.”
The waters continued to rise, eventually washing away the house and drowning the homeowner. As he approached the gates of Paradise, he looked at Saint Peter reproachfully.
“The Lord never answered my prayer… He let me drown!”
Saint Peter responded, “Well, he sent an angel in a boat three separate times, but you never took advantage of it. What were you waiting for, an engraved invitation?”
Not sure what the point of all this is, but perhaps the Big Guy is sending you a message. And if you ever need to offer more than just pizza, you’ve got a whole cookbook fulla recipes. A chicken-fried ribeye steak on a honkin’ big biscuit sounds good to me!
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:56 PM
Ric
.
May at the latest. End of March earliest.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:17 PM
It’s not actually a Papa John’s is it?
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:26 PM
Somebody else told me that same story last week, but I can’t remember the context.