Trio Make Their Mark with French Food in Marin County – Olivier & Susannah Souvestre and Bruno Denis
Bruno Denis and Olivier Souvestre opened the Le Garage in Sausalito together in April 2008 and L’Appart Resto located in San Anselmo in 2010. Born in Brittany, France, Olivier who has over 20 years of restaurant experience moved to San Francisco in 2005 and worked as Executive Chef at Chez Papa Bistrot where he met […]
The Buyer’s Three Stage Checklist
The following list is broken down as follows: Stage 1 – Items you need to do before you sign a purchase contract; Stage 2 – Items you need to complete after you sign a purchase contract, and Stage 3 – Items you need to do in order to close escrow. Many other items are important, […]
Sunny Bajwa & Basque Boulangerie Café in Sonoma
Sunny Bajwa recently purchased the famous Basque Boulangerie Café in Sonoma . Sunny started his food service career working at a Taco Bell, then owned a String’s Italian Franchise in Milpitas for several years, then worked for Einstein’s Noah’s Bagels for 13 years where he was an area manager overseeing between 14 to 28 units […]
Important Questions and Information to Ask the Seller
From my versatile experiences as a restaurant owner, buyer, seller, landlord and restaurant broker I have prepared the list of questions below which should make it easier for a buyer to learn as much as possible about the business they will potentially be purchasing. The more a buyer knows in advance about the business, the […]
Heidi Gibson & Nate Pollak of The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
Heidi Gibson and Nate Pollak have translated their talent for winning food competitions to winning the hearts of San Francisco with their business The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen (theamericansf.com). Operating 7 days a week the team and their staff bring the art of grilled cheese to the highest culinary level with combinations including the mousetrap-combining […]
How Buyers Evaluate a Restaurant, Bar or Club Business to Determine if it’s the Right Opportunity – Part 3
This is the last of a three part series where I discuss a continuation of lease terms from the prior issue. This issue will include some of the major elements of the lease which include as follows: 1. The Guarantor, 2. Use Clause, 3. Assignment and Subletting and 4. Options. The Guarantor . What is […]
Robby Morgenstein – Miller’s East Coast Deli
Robby Morgenstein grew up in Baltimore’s large suburban Jewish community. Robby says that in his home, a “huge” fish platter (along with Frank Sinatra on the radio) was standard Sunday morning fare. Going into the restaurant business was a good fit for Robby. His grandparents were kosher caterers; his mother worked for them and a […]
How Buyers Evaluate a Restaurant, Bar or Club Business to Determine if it is the Right Opportunity – Part 2
The three primary areas buyers focus in on in doing their analysis to determine if the restaurant, bar or club opportunity it the right one for them is as follows: a. Price Valuation, b. Location Overview and c. Lease Terms. In the most recent article I discussed Price Valuation and Location Overview and in this […]