setting up restaurant

[cobraboy]

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

This ain't Kansas, Bubba, welcome to the DR.:cheeky:

There are not a dozen large food vendors waiting to capture your business. You won't have a rolodex so when one vendor disappoints another's cardis right behind.

You have just discovered yet another challenge of doing business here: ~your~ timetable may not be someone elses timetable. Besides, you probably spoke with a cook with no authority to make a commitment, not a chef; certainly NOT the person who can make your request happen, the owner.

You may consider making that fresh bread yourself, because that's about the only way you're going to get the right product made the right way delivered promptly 100% of the time.

You may also consider finding one of the larger industrial bakeries, like Lumidor in Santiago, for your bread. I don't know if they do small batches, but they make a fine, varied product.

 

[jrhartley]

did they say why he wasnt there - there could be a good reason, maybe his mother was run over by a moto.

 

[belgiank]

not wanting to defend the bakery... but how many times does it happen in the US or Europe that you define a time for samples, and they are too late? To avoid ridiculous answers... most of the time...

It is just a question to make the right kind of contract with those guys, if they can provide you with the stuff you want...

I very much doubt an industrial bakery can make the quality the OP wants for his bread... I think he wants a crispy, fresh bread, made daily and not the industrial US, sweet, basketball-bounsable crap which will last for weeks...

 

[cobraboy]

I very much doubt an industrial bakery can make the quality the OP wants for his bread... I think he wants a crispy, fresh bread, made daily and not the industrial US, sweet, basketball-bounsable crap which will last for weeks...

Visit Lumijor in Santiago, THEN act like you're speaking from authority.

I know for a FACT that they will bake pretty much anything you want IF you guarantee volume.

 

[jrhartley]

ooooooooo wrists slapped

 

[georgig]

Finally I received the samples. Not exactly what I wanted as a quality, but we'll continue baking. Santiago industrial bakery is an option, but I doubt about logistics of deliveries. Nevertheless I'll try it.
Good luck to all entrepreneurs

 

[Jose1986]

Best of Luck on your venture. I hope you are a success. I have seen many restaurants open and close in the D.R. The main factor I believe is positioning your self in the either the gringo/tourist market and/or the local market. Most dominicans will not pay $10 for a four course meal. They eat white rice, beans, and when possible, they little peace of chicken, carne or fish with the rice. I have cooked many a great western meal for dominicans and they do not like it, good for me because I get to eat it all. When I cook up some rice and beans for a dominican, and a little meat, they eat it fast as you put down the plate. Some of the most successful restaurants here are the chinese restaurants, because they gringos go for the chinese and the dominicans eat the rice and chicken there. Anyway, I wish you the best and hope you find a niche market and make a decent living.

 

[Jose1986]

Its best to hire a dominican here to interface with your vendors and suppliers. If a gringo shows up in an SUV the vendors pull out there Gringo pricing and laugh all the way to the bank. I would find a honest clean cut dominican, well dressed and well spoken to be your contact in negotiating with all vendors. Its funny, when I call about real estate or buying something, I always have a dominican friend call, and so many times the person selling says for gringos the price is this much, and for you the dominican price (the real price).