So, You Want to Open a Restaurant?

What comes first, the concept or the space?

Starr compares the question of whether the concept or space comes first to the song-vs.-lyrics debate: “The Beatles would often plug in the tune first, then write the words. Elton John would use Bernie Taupin’s words and then write the song. I tend to find the space first.” He chose his newest address, Verōnika in Manhattan’s Fotografiska museum, before he picked the Eastern European concept.

Or perhaps you’re starting with a chef.

Only do this if you have a superstar. This can help you find the concept. Even then big-name chefs can be an aggravating voice in the conversation. “But overall they listen to me,” Starr says. “I’m like the executive music producer that knows how to make hits.”

Consider how expensive it will be.

Wildly! Do this only when the economy is in good shape—“2008 would have been a tough time to open Le Coucou,” Starr says.

Not very… Focus on the small details that pay dividends. “The importance of a restaurant name is underrated. Shake Shack is a great name. If it was Danny’s Burgers, it’s not the same thing.”

Are you going for a tried-and-true concept or something new?

Starr has replicated restaurants occasionally, such as Upland and El Vez. If you do, be smart about it. “I don’t like repeating,” he cautions. “But you can repeat a Mexican concept. Or burgers.”

“Consider the public, but don’t pander to it.” Familiarize yourself with what they like, but supply something they haven’t considered.

Now, let’s talk space. What kind of neighborhood are you looking at?

Try to stay away from pricey areas, unless they’ve been written off by the cool crowd. “I want to do something on the Upper East Side,” Starr says. “No one is going there.”

Otherwise, up-and-coming is always a good plan. “For Le Diplomate in Washington, people told me the location was bad,” recalls Starr. “The neighborhood was marginal but developing. Now it’s there, and it makes $19 million gross.”

Is the location big or small?

Big locations can float passion projects. “It’s like Robert De Niro doing Meet the Fockers, which lets him do The Irishman,” says Starr. But you’ll need to make it a blockbuster.

Smaller places, meanwhile, aren’t going to make you a lot of money. “Small spaces are like an art project,” he says. It’ll have to satisfy your soul.

Do any spaces warn you away?

Just try to avoid something too corporate. “I don’t want to be in an office building. I hate all the glass,” Starr says. “You need walls for character, for lighting, for ambiance.”

When it comes to design, it’s better to think unorthodox.

Ambiance, Starr says, is the part of the business that 98% of restaurants get wrong. It’s the element of the experience that “takes you away,” he says. “It’s hard to do.” For Buddakan and Morimoto, which opened in New York in 2006, “I wanted it to be like a shock and awe campaign. I wanted jaws to drop.”

“Trust the designer,” Starr says. “Don’t force something. If it’s quirky, that adds to the vibe. Le Coucou was an odd space but also spectacular.”

And if it doesn’t have ready character: “Lighting, lighting, lighting!”

One last thing… Are you thinking of opening in New York?

Avoid, if possible, and take a word of caution from one who’s been there, done that, in the Big Apple: “All the regulations have made it prohibitively expensive and impossible to do business,” Starr says. His next spot opens in Philadelphia.

Some last advice on building an empire.

“I think about competing with Shake Shack,” muses Starr. “Danny [Meyer] is McDonald’s. I could be Burger King.”

“There are no cheats,” he continues. “Just throw everything you’ve got into your openings.” And don’t be afraid of failure: After all, more than half of restaurants close after three years.

“Some places have a life span,” he says, “like your favorite dog.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.