I think that it would be an ideal spot for a real deli offering not only quality sliced meats but fresh deli sandwiches, soups, quality pastries and coffees. It is a really cool place and having something like that in Cabarete would be a God send. For me one of the best places in Cabarete for lunch was La Campagna in the Ocean Dream Plaza. Unfortunately their high prices, (higher than their Santiago store) and the worst customer service led them to closing. It is about time that somebody did something different and adventurous in Cabarete....so long as the prices are not outrageous. People never learn that offering lower prices but still providing quality products, can still lead to large profits. I used to own a bakery/coffee shop, in a small town in Western Canada. Due to our reasonable prices and quality products we were the busiest spot in town, and there were about 10 other coffee shops close to us. We carefully planned our lunches so that the average person that came for lunch, for example a home made soup and a fresh sandwich, were going to leave with their belly's relatively full but not so full that they would not consider having a small dessert. Having your portions set right along with quality food and competitive prices guarantees return customers. The price for a soup and sandwich was $2.25 (in 2003). Obviously I am not comparing Canada to the D.R. as a price like this down here would definitely not work, but if somebody could get a quality soup and sandwich here in Cabarete for lets say 5 bucks, well, one could imagine.
The one problem I found with Downwinds was that their portions were too small...the food was OK, but small portions are not good for business.
We made our money on volume and it sure as hell worked....people looking to make a fast buck here are usually the first ones to close down.
Pesrsonally I would never good into the food business down here. Having to rely on the grocery stores or suppliers having the same stock on a regular basis must be a nightmare....