One of the most interesting food concepts I’ve come across recently is Lori Jayne’s steak frites in New York City.
What caught my attention wasn’t just the steak. It was the entire idea behind it. You’re getting a dish that people normally associate with a French restaurant or steakhouse, but it’s being served from the back of a bar.
That immediately made me think about something I believe every person considering getting into the restaurant business needs to understand: you don’t always need to reinvent food. Sometimes you just need to rethink how you serve it.
Steak Frites From the Back of a Bar?
Steak frites is about as straightforward as it gets: steak and french fries. But when it’s executed correctly, that simplicity becomes part of the appeal.
Lori Jayne took a familiar dish and put it into a completely different environment. Instead of white tablecloths, fancy plates and the traditional steakhouse experience, customers can get a serious plate of steak and fries from a much more casual operation.
And that’s part of what makes the concept so interesting to me.
The food still has to be good. In fact, when your menu is built around something this simple, the food probably has to be even better because there aren’t a hundred other things distracting the customer.
The steak has to hit. The fries have to hit. The sauce has to hit.
When all three come together, you have something people remember.
Simplicity Can Actually Be a Business Advantage
A lot of people think starting a food business means they need a huge menu.
They start thinking about burgers, chicken, seafood, tacos, pasta, salads, desserts and everything else they know how to cook.
But sometimes doing fewer things extremely well is the better strategy.
That’s one of the lessons I see in a concept like Lori Jayne. You can build attention around a signature product instead of trying to become everything to everybody.
When customers begin associating your business with one specific dish, that dish becomes part of your marketing.
Think about how powerful it is when somebody tells their friend, “You have to go there and try the steak frites.”
Now your customers are advertising for you.
Restaurant Advice Part 2: Go to Other Restaurants
This brings me to one of my biggest pieces of advice for anybody thinking about starting a restaurant:
Go to other restaurants.
Seriously.
Before you spend thousands of dollars building your own concept, spend some money eating at businesses that are already successful.
But don’t just go there to eat.
Study them.
Look at the menu. Look at the prices. Look at the portions. Pay attention to the packaging. Watch what customers are ordering. Notice what dishes people are taking pictures of.
How long does the food take to come out? How many employees are working? Is the menu huge or surprisingly small? What seems easy to produce? What probably has the highest profit margin?
You can learn an incredible amount about the restaurant business simply by becoming a more observant customer.
Your Competition Can Become Your Classroom
There’s nothing wrong with learning from what other businesses are doing.
That doesn’t mean copying somebody else’s restaurant. It means understanding why something works.
Maybe you visit a restaurant and realize everybody is ordering the same sauce.
Maybe another restaurant teaches you that customers will pay more for better presentation.
You might notice that a popular spot only has six major items on its menu. Another might show you that an unconventional location can actually become part of the attraction.
Those observations are valuable.
Instead of spending months guessing what customers might want, you can actually go watch what customers are already buying.
You Don’t Have to Invent a New Food
This is probably the biggest lesson.
You don’t necessarily need to create something nobody has ever eaten before.
Steak existed.
French fries existed.
Steak frites existed.
Bars definitely existed.
The opportunity comes from how you combine, position and present familiar things.
That’s where creativity comes in.
Maybe your advantage is the sauce. Maybe it’s your seasoning. Maybe it’s your portions. Maybe it’s your location. Maybe it’s your price. Maybe it’s your personality and content.
Or maybe it’s simply taking something people associate with one environment and putting it somewhere completely unexpected.
Find Your Steak Frites
If you’re planning a restaurant, pop-up, food truck, catering business or even a meal-prep company, ask yourself one question:
What’s the one thing I want people to know me for?
Not the 20 things you know how to cook.
What’s the one thing somebody should eat and immediately tell another person about?
That’s what I like about studying restaurants like Lori Jayne. I’m not looking at their food thinking, How can I copy this?
I’m thinking, Why does this work?
That’s a completely different question.
And that’s why one of the best things you can do before starting a restaurant is surprisingly simple:
Go to other restaurants. Eat the food. Study the business. Pay attention to what works. Then take those lessons and build something that’s yours.
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