setting up restaurant

luke&kylie

New member
Aug 24, 2010
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HI,
moving to dominican republicto puerto plata in a month and hoping to set up a restaurant. we have been in contact with a few estate agents and there are a few restaurants we are interested in leasing.

However we are wondering do you know of any food suppliers out there. here in ireland we have pallas for items like flour, cooking wine, and pretty much everything.
we are looking for suppliers for alcohol, fish , meat, vegetables and items like flour.
It would be great if we can get fish straight from fishermen etc but we dont know the system in DR and in ireland you cant do this.

Thanks
 

Simon & Nicky

Bronze
Feb 3, 2004
655
14
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www.simon-hall.co.uk
Ask around!

Working in real estate I can tell you that any agent worth using will have connections to many bar owners, restaurant owners etc. You need to make sure that you are put in touch with these people so you can ask as many questions as possible.

Fish? Don't you buy it off the guy in the street with a couple of dodgy looking kippers hanging off a pole?

Vegetables come around on the back of a truck.

Chicken? Don't ask. It's just everywhere.

Actually, there used to be a good fish market in Charamicos. Mind you, I've not been there in years.

Best of luck with your project
 

amparocorp

Bronze
Aug 11, 2002
900
86
0
please come to the DR, we need your enthusiasm and energy, please, please, please, sit back, relax, enjoy, for at least six months before you throw 10 cents into any business in the DR. i've been in the restaurant biz in SD, now closed, in this country you have to know the answer before the question or you will fail.
 

Anastacio

Banned
Feb 22, 2010
2,965
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Just out of interest what stylie are you going for? We do need a curry house in Santo Dominigo, even a nice Thia for a bit of a difference!!:chinese:
 

luke&kylie

New member
Aug 24, 2010
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We are thinking of international restaurant as at the moment our restaurant that we are finishing up with has a mixture of french and irish seafood and fish so something a little similar perhaps.

what suppliers do you use for different food (meat veg herbs dish etc) we are doing as much research as possible before we go out. :)
 

donP

Newbie
Dec 14, 2008
6,942
178
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Gold Mines 4Sale??

there are a few restaurants we are interested in leasing.
In fact there are many.
How come all these people sell their gold mine...? ;)

suppliers for alcohol, fish , meat, vegetables and items like flour.
Once you have established contacts with suppliers they will deliver those things (like Checo for meat), so that is not the problem.

donP
 

jrhartley

Gold
Sep 10, 2008
8,190
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it is achievable, however a lot of people decide to open restaurants on a whim, you have to actually enjoy cooking, the long hours and speaking to guests, dealing with complaints in a civilised way (where a lot fail) and not be afaid to stick with an idea through a few rough times ( people chop and change too much- so that in the end no one knows where they are) also opening times have to be regular (another major failing)
 

georgig

New member
Jul 25, 2010
53
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0
Hi Luke,
I would share some experience which could be of help for you setting up restaurant here. I lived in Cabarete, DR for 1 year before becoming so brave to start any business activity here. I met a lot of dominicans with crazy ideas starting from rent-a-car through casino to real estate. The only common was that every dominican wants to steal from you as much and as fast as possible. Not only the gardener, but high educated people like lawers and company owners. So my first advice will be to have as minimum as possible contacts with the locals - employees, businessman, lawers, suppliers etc. There are enough expats to do business with. Second advice: Forget about EEC health, business, tax, government regulations. People were laughing at me trying to start business here in EEC manner. Third advice: Leave your nerves at home. Buy a ""bull nerves"" and come here to meet the ""manana way of thinking"". Everything here will happen ""manana"", if not manana, the day after manana. Personaly I became crazy about this for the first six months.
Actually, I'm going to open a very very very very small restaurant with Oriental cuisine here. I''ll import equipment and most probably employees from Europe. I wish I could import clients as well:cheeky:
Maybe I could write for hours, but the most impotrant is - Come here, live for a year and then invest 1 euro in DR.
Don't hesitate to ask questions before investing./excuse me for the bad english - it's not my mother language/
Best regards
George
 

DRob

Gold
Aug 15, 2007
8,234
594
113
Luke,

Welcome to DR1!

There are many successful biz owners on this site, and their traditional advice has been to wait at least 6 months to a year before taking on any kind of business.

You need to learn how to do business Dominican style, which is likely far different from what your experience back home will be like.

My advice would be to follow theirs. Take the time to learn Spanish, meet people, and observe as much as possible. If available, take a job at a small restaurant and learn from the manager and/or owner.

The DR, more than many places, is really all about relationships. Take the time to get to know people (especially locals in the business community, as they will be gate-openers for you), and you will substantially improve your chances.

Best of luck,

DRob :glasses:
 

RacerX

Banned
Nov 22, 2009
3,390
376
0
Hi Luke,
I would share some experience which could be of help for you setting up restaurant here. I lived in Cabarete, DR for 1 year before becoming so brave to start any business activity here. I met a lot of dominicans with crazy ideas starting from rent-a-car through casino to real estate. The only common was that every dominican wants to steal from you as much and as fast as possible. Not only the gardener, but high educated people like lawers and company owners. So my first advice will be to have as minimum as possible contacts with the locals - employees, businessman, lawers, suppliers etc. There are enough expats to do business with. Second advice: Forget about EEC health, business, tax, government regulations. People were laughing at me trying to start business here in EEC manner. Third advice: Leave your nerves at home. Buy a ""bull nerves"" and come here to meet the ""manana way of thinking"". Everything here will happen ""manana"", if not manana, the day after manana. Personaly I became crazy about this for the first six months.
Actually, I'm going to open a very very very very small restaurant with Oriental cuisine here. I''ll import equipment and most probably employees from Europe. I wish I could import clients as well:cheeky:
Maybe I could write for hours, but the most impotrant is - Come here, live for a year and then invest 1 euro in DR.
Don't hesitate to ask questions before investing./excuse me for the bad english - it's not my mother language/
Best regards
George

agreed.
so luke what kind of food place will this be? I dont think Irish food will be popular here. I could be wrong though...
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
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The only common was that every dominican wants to steal from you as much and as fast as possible. Not only the gardener, but high educated people like lawers and company owners. So my first advice will be to have as minimum as possible contacts with the locals - employees, businessman, lawers, suppliers etc.
Worst advice I've heard here. If you're going to go into business in the DR, talk with everyone, including the local politicos and thieves. Learn, learn, learn, both the good and the bad. Become part of the culture. Ignore no one.

If you don't have the analytical ability to sort out the thieves from the saints, you shouldn't go into business in the first place. And if you fall for scams...well...I don't know what to tell you...

georgig said:
There are enough expats to do business with.
Terrible advice. Expats are often more full of crap in general than Dominicans are. And there are NOT enough expats to support a business; the #1 reason gringo businesses fail is BECAUSE of the reliance on expats.

And if an expat is a vendor when Dominican vendors are available, you'll probably pay a higher price. Sometimes it's worth it in customer service, sometimes it's not.

Just because someone speaks in a familiar tongue doesn't mean he knows anything special. Often it's just the opposite.

I suppose opinions vary, however...
 
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jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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opinions and experiences vary widely depending on how you conduct yourself and treat other people.

People that get into trouble have usually upset someone somewhere down the line
 

luke&kylie

New member
Aug 24, 2010
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Agreed.
Whenever I cut my holiday in Eire short it was for the food... :eek:

donP

you were def eating in the wrong places so :)

We actually have more of a seafood/fish restaurant here with heavy french influence (though not small portion size or expensive as someone earlier said) as we are based in the west coast ireland and fresh fish is plentiful. We are thinking of something similar however we will want to find our own niche in dominican republic as well. I think it'll be more of an international restaurant as that means we can try lots of different types of cuisine.
 

luke&kylie

New member
Aug 24, 2010
5
0
0
Worst advice I've heard here. If you're going to go into business in the DR, talk with everyone, including the local politicos and thieves. Learn, learn, learn, both the good and the bad. Become part of the culture. Ignore no one.

If you don't have the analytical ability to sort out the thieves from the saints, you shouldn't go into business in the first place. And if you fall for scams...well...I don't know what to tell you...

Terrible advice. Expats are often more full of crap in general than Dominicans are. And there are NOT enough expats to support a business; the #1 reason gringo businesses fail is BECAUSE of the reliance on expats.

And if an expat is a vendor when Dominican vendors are available, you'll probably pay a higher price. Sometimes it's worth it in customer service, sometimes it's not.

Just because someone speaks in a familiar tongue doesn't mean he knows anything special. Often it's just the opposite.

I suppose opinions vary, however...

Thank you, I agree completely. There are plenty of thieves everywhere throughout the world and through experience one learns as said about to sort the saints from the thieves. you cant take anyone at face value. however i feel this cant be isolated to the the people of DR. one must always thread carefully before entering into business especially in a country that is not your own native place. :)
 

DRob

Gold
Aug 15, 2007
8,234
594
113
Worst advice I've heard here. If you're going to go into business in the DR, talk with everyone, including the local politicos and thieves. Learn, learn, learn, both the good and the bad. Become part of the culture. Ignore no one.

If you don't have the analytical ability to sort out the thieves from the saints, you shouldn't go into business in the first place. And if you fall for scams...well...I don't know what to tell you...

Terrible advice. Expats are often more full of crap in general than Dominicans are. And there are NOT enough expats to support a business; the #1 reason gringo businesses fail is BECAUSE of the reliance on expats.

And if an expat is a vendor when Dominican vendors are available, you'll probably pay a higher price. Sometimes it's worth it in customer service, sometimes it's not.

Just because someone speaks in a familiar tongue doesn't mean he knows anything special. Often it's just the opposite.

I suppose opinions vary, however...

Excellent advice, CB.
 

georgig

New member
Jul 25, 2010
53
2
0
Hi All,
Hi especialy Cobraboy - the guy who supported close relations with dominicans. I will shere my today's business experience: As I told you, I am going to open a small fast food restaurant. I need a special type of bread for my food. Yestarday I went to a German bakery in Sosua, gave them the recipee of the bread and ask them weather it is possible to be made here. The answer was: Absolutely Yes, we are happy to serve you, you will increase our sales by 20-30%. They promised me to make several samples and invited me today at 11h to check them. My biggest mistake was that I didn't spoke with the German owner but with the dominican Cheff. Today, at 11h I was at the bakery, but there were no samples, no cheff. The cashier told me that cheff didn't forgot the samples, but will make them on monday /manana way of thinking/.
Tell me Cobraboy, how can I rely on daily deliveries from these people, because I'm sure that when you visit my restaurant you will insist on having fresh bread.
Regards
 

CG

Bronze
Sep 16, 2004
984
146
63
Bottom Line____________________.

It's quite simple actually, you can never, never, never (or ever should) assume that anything will be delivered how and when you want. When you master that part of your business, life will be great!. Best of luck...
LT