Boa restaurant closed. My thoughts about it

rubenpriego said:

One more restaurant closed in el Cortecito unfortunately.
What before was "El Pilar" restaurant, now, the new restaurant located at the same place, closed too.
It was quite obvious that it would be a matter of time, as usual, but I thought it would last a bit more.
I think it has been opened just a few months.

Having plenty of AI hotels, that kind of expensive restaurants is something that we dont need much in this area, and few people will use them.

I am sure if a bar in a more dominican style, I mean, a Presidente beer just 50 pesos instead of 100, and some dominican snacks like empanadas, etc, would be opened, it would have a great success.

Friusa is plenty of that kind of bars, little street businesses, and they never close, they make enough to not to get rich, but at least make a living and keep the business opened.

I think it is time that entrepreneurs wanting to invest in el cortecito area think more about that kind of bars (and its prices) than what they have tried to run without success ...

Cheers.

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50 pesos for a presidente? How much is the wholesale price now?

Businesses come and go here in Bavaro. I live in El Cortecito and knew Boa Bar was doomed after seeing an empty house every night. I never entered so I cannot give an opinion on their price point, service, etc.

Just down the street towards Los Corales, two new restaurant/cafes have opened. The first is Submarinos; they sell subs, snacks, chips and even breakfast. I went in for the first time today and ordered a half tuna fish sandwich which came with a drink and chips. The price was RD$170 which I thought reasonable, especially for the size of the sandwich. I will return.

Two stores down from Submarinos is a new cafe called Pastrata. I will be visiting tomorrrow so I will give an assessment on that.

I wish both these new ventures luck...

I always root for new businesses in the area and especially in Cortecito. New business adds jobs and more services to the community. I will admit that owning a business dedicated to the local community (outside the resorts) is not an easy task in B?varo. Although the area has seen growth, the local population is very seasonal and the market with the most potential is located inside the resorts (tourists).

But we cannot only blame the difficulties of the market because many businesses open with the "If I build it, they will come" mentality. Time and time again, I see individuals open businesses in B?varo (and throughout the DR for that matter) without doing any market research or without any short term, long term plan. It's simply "this is a great idea and people will want to buy it". They have no clue on how to market their product or service and are dumbfounded when the business is not attracting the clientele they had hoped for.

I applaud new business and hope we see more shops, bars and restaurants in El Cortecito. If an entrepreneur does their homework, start ups can succeed locally.

The restaurant that closed in El Cortecito, is that the one with the white porch outside and nicely done inside with AC. I believe it is an Italian restaurant?

rubenpriego said:

well, lets not focus on the Presidente beer price ... lets just take it as an example, let's take the overall concept: open a bar with local food and drinks, and with local prices in el Cortecito, and Im sure that business will, at least, survive, even make good money in my opinion ...

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Well, my point, and other posters point might be that there cannot be any more "local 50 pesos beer price", since everything went up so much.

Anyway, I investigated some. A box of 24 small Presidentes is 1188 pesos, which means close to 50 each. It went from 940 to 1188...

Conclusion: There might be a "local" price, but we just have to accept that that it is much higher than before...

SKY said:

The restaurant that closed in El Cortecito, is that the one with the white porch outside and nicely done inside with AC. I believe it is an Italian restaurant?

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just what the DR needs..yet one more Italian restaurant. this is the caribbean. yet there is not one caribbean restaurant in the country. you know, somewhere you can get a nice regional mix, such as Jamaican jerk chicken and pork, Jamaican beef patties, Trinidadian roti, Bahamian conch soup...you get the drift. every time some guy decides to open a restaurant, IN THE CARIBBEAN, he thinks of Italian. what the heck is that? the aforementioned dishes i listed are things which lend themselves to the take out motif, so there is no need for some elaborate ideas like fancy tablecloths, and stuffed shirt waiters. pick up the meal, and go. high end restaurants have as much chance of survival in an all inclusive enclave as a fart in a storm.

the gorgon said:

just what the DR needs..yet one more Italian restaurant. this is the caribbean. yet there is not one caribbean restaurant in the country. you know, somewhere you can get a nice regional mix, such as Jamaican jerk chicken and pork, Jamaican beef patties, Trinidadian roti, Bahamian conch soup...you get the drift. every time some guy decides to open a restaurant, IN THE CARIBBEAN, he thinks of Italian. what the heck is that? the aforementioned dishes i listed are things which lend themselves to the take out motif, so there is no need for some elaborate ideas like fancy tablecloths, and stuffed shirt waiters. pick up the meal, and go. high end restaurants have as much chance of survival in an all inclusive enclave as a fart in a storm.

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Italian restaurants galore, but good Italian food? They need to try harder.

As for real Caribbean food, such a restaurant will not survive because Dominicans will not eat anything besides bland foods. Dominicans think that spicy food is bad for them. They think that Chivo Picanto is spicy. Hence we are on "The Island That Spice Forgot".

windeguy said:

Italian restaurants galore, but good Italian food? They need to try harder.

As for real Caribbean food, such a restaurant will not survive because Dominicans will not eat anything besides bland foods. Dominicans think that spicy food is bad for them. They think that Chivo Picanto is spicy. Hence we are on "The Island That Spice Forgot".

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windeguy, i am thinking of the foreign market. most tourists who visit the DR have been to other islands. they have had things like roti and jerk chicken. they have had a version of conch soup, in places like south Florida. besides, i know many Dominicans who love island cooking, albeit without the blowtorch peppers. Dominicans cook everything with a tarea of cilantro, and a gallon of liquid sazon completo, so, when they try food which is properly seasoned, they do seem to like it.

rubenpriego said:

I agree with Gorgon, when I travel abroad, I always try local food, I dont run to any western restaurant.
If I go to Japan, I will not ask for a paella or spaguetti, I will ask for a good sushi for example ...
That is travelling, knowing and trying as much you can the culture of the place you are, and that means their cuisine too, in fact, on of the things I enjoy the most when travelling to many different countries.
Unfortunately, here we dont get any, or few, travellers, just tourists, that is really a different thing ...

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exactly, ruben. i can get all the eggplant parmesan i want in New York. or Boston. or Philly. i do not want to hear of it in Bonao.

the gorgon said:

i do not want to hear of it in Bonao.

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hahahaha

They might put ketchup in it.

Bronxboy said:

hahahaha

They might put ketchup in it.

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might? you mean they don't?

rubenpriego said:

on the other hand, as "tourists" have paid already for their meals and drinks at their hotels, they will never want to spend much money outside, more taking into account the western prices of most of the bars, restaurants, so they will not even enter them.
But, if they walk around the area, and can try a cheap snack, like an empanada, chimi, yaroa, a batida, etc, Im sure they will not mind spending some bucks to enjoy them and taste the dominican street cuisine

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ruben, you are 150% on point!!! the primo meal is already paid for. why pay 500 pesos for spinach ravioli, when i have a sumptuous buffet awaiting me at the hotel? i want something i can munch on at 2.30pm, when i am well on my way to being ossified by Presidente grandes. i want a great hamburger, or some hot wings, or two beef patties, or a roti, to help the lager go down, and stay down. give me a little plate of chili, or something like that. the prime rib is for 7pm, when i sit at the table, with my evening clothes on, or i think i have put them on

the gorgon said:

windeguy, i am thinking of the foreign market. most tourists who visit the DR have been to other islands. they have had things like roti and jerk chicken. they have had a version of conch soup, in places like south Florida. besides, i know many Dominicans who love island cooking, albeit without the blowtorch peppers. Dominicans cook everything with a tarea of cilantro, and a gallon of liquid sazon completo, so, when they try food which is properly seasoned, they do seem to like it.

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I understand what you mean, and I think it would be a good idea for some restaurateur, but the problem is that such restaurants would find a hard time surviving because they might do well in the tourist season, and then fail in the off season because very few Dominicans will eat such food. It is so against their norm to be experimental in tasting different foods. Yes there are exceptions, but Maggi and Sazon Completo are not really agents for properly seasoning anything but the local bland food.

I wish it were different.