25A--What's Next

Existing Market

For my chicken restaurant, what's next is potentially growing into the Gainesville market in places other than Midtown.  It's hard to grow as a restaurant so quickly. 

interview #1: I called a friend of mine who was a big fan of my idea at first and asked him what should be next.  He said given our current business the next step is to grow into some new markets, and if we succeed, the next step after that is to franchise.  I then asked him what customers might want next and he said we need a trademark menu item--like the Chick Fil A chicken sandwich.

interview #2:  The next interview is one of my fraternity brothers in this class who helped me come up with my idea in the first place.  I asked him the same two questions as before: He said what's next for the restaurant is partner with people in other states and open new stores.  He then answered the next question by saying the restaurant needs to create a special beverage so we can be recognized for something other than just chicken.

interview #3: My next interview is to a different friend who was in ENT3003 last spring.  I asked him the same questions as before.  His answer surprised me the most. He said our next step needs to be expanding our menu to eventually be better than our competitors at Midtown.  I feel as though this claim is too ambitious.  As for a new product/menu item, he said he would like to see burgers, possibly other sandwiches.

     Given this feedback, the best course of action is to try to grow around the state of Florida first.  By doing this, the original restaurant staff and managers are able to monitor the progress of the new restaurants.  I truly believe there is a lot to learn from the story of McDonalds.  McDonalds grew too quickly in my opinion and there franchising got off to some turmoil before becoming what we know it as today.  As a restaurant aspiring to potentially enter the market in as many areas as possible, expanding to only a few closeby areas is probably the best course of action before opening branches that the original managers cannot oversee.
     I previously mentioned in another assignment that I would be reluctant to opening another restaurant if it did not have an opportunity similar to the one that the one at midtown had.  I think this is  good mindset but the next step of the restaurant would be to expand one way or the other, so growing nearby and monitoring their revenues and management is a good way to test whether or not the restaurant would succeed without the need that Midtown has.

New Market

To go with the idea of the assignment, let's say my new venture is opening up a chicken food truck, same name and menu, in New York City.

I think there is plenty of value in this market.  People in New York are busy, working a lot, riding the subway, living in apartments, etc.  People in New York might appreciate southern style chicken and be able to get it to-go quickly.  I believe a chicken truck could do very well in New York, the concept is not all that different from the thousands of pizza places that are simply wait in line and buy a slice and go. 

Interview #1: I interviewed a friend of mine who is a UF student and from NYC.  He said the concept of a food truck or stand could work because workers are very busy and look to eat quick lunches.  He also said tourists enjoy getting quick bites for lunch so as to not miss out on time seeing the city. He thinks I need to feel out the best spots for our truck by first setting up stands in different parts of the city.

Interview #2: I interviewed my uncle who has worked in the city for many years.  He said for lunch when he chooses to go get something to eat it's all about how long lines are.  This makes me think that growing in this market would be going in a place where there are long lines and setting up to get the attention of customers who are now looking for a new place because the line was too long.

     I was right in the fact that New York is all about convenience.  Both interviewees talked about a convenient location for people to get quick food.  I was wrong about a food truck because traffic in the city is so severe a food truck would be less effective than a truck.  With all the information from my two interviewees about having multiple stands and going in places with lots of lines I've discovered that this will be more difficult than I thought.
     My current plan if I follow this venture is to bring a limited menu to multiple stands around the city with a limited menu.  Based on revenue I will then decide if it's worth bringing the full menu to the stand.  This opportunity is definitely more difficult than the one in Gainesville.