"Over the last couple of weeks I've been shocked at how expensive restaurants have become. Today at Bocana Boca Chica, prices were sky high. A Cuba Libre for RD$ 380."Hooooooold on a sec! We were talking about stupid cheap prices, weren't we? Not that it makes sense or not. No fair changing the criteria midstream.
The places I know that prepare a "Plato del dia" have very little overhead and are happy (resigned) to make a
minimum profit. I know more than a few with pretty large fan bases (because I'm surrounded by Free Zones with thousands of employees) and many of them sell 150-200 plates a day of what I think is very good food.
Obviously for low-income folks.
There is a guy who has a colmado down the street from me that sells Juices and Empanadas. He sells them by the hundreds every morning.
Another woman I know started selling pacas from her carport, then bought a 20 ft. trailer box selling clothes, then built a supermarket with a filtered water plant and a small outside bar on the side. And on the second floor of the supermarket? The same clothes she sold from her carport.
All examples of selling cheap and saving their money.
Does that description look like any of those places that sell Empanadas or "Plato del dia" or any other of those low price food places? Atleast I don't know any of those places that you described would serve a Cuba Libre....
So all the time I've been writing here I've been taking into account that type of business.
Yeah I know of those folks aswell, that have the brains and the economy to actually pull that off, but they are rare.
Yeah those places server quite good food, I regularly buy from a local guy who makes very good food for those days you don't want to/have the time to cook on your own (although I still prefer my own cooking ).
And yes the only reason why they are actually in one sense making good money although not bringing in that much per plate, is first of all low overhead and great volume.