Int'l Fast Food And Casual Dining Chains...

[Jaredberryman]

There are some great restaurants in BA that are Argentine, but you get what you pay for. The best restaurants are ones that have been there forever and are always full. I am extremely excited about the PF Changs!

 

[PhilipDT]

There are some great restaurants in BA that are Argentine, but you get what you pay for. The best restaurants are ones that have been there forever and are always full. I am extremely excited about the PF Changs!

In my experience the only ones that are constantly packed are the mediocre run of the mill parillas like 1880 or la escondida, most of the better restaurants have no wait times.

 

[Jibaro 1]

Fast food chains depend on flavoring agents to keep consistent taste around the world , with the import impositions of the government in Argentina it is from difficult to impossible for these chains to get a real supply .hence it would be very rare to get the same taste in a KFC here than in the US same for all the other ones , chickens do not eat the same here as they eat in other countries therefore they will not taste the same . Fast food chains depend on these additives to keep the taste constant .
So dont get much hopes for any of this chains to taste the same as what you remember

 

[PhilipDT]

Fast food chains depend on flavoring agents to keep consistent taste around the world , with the import impositions of the government in Argentina it is from difficult to impossible for these chains to get a real supply .hence it would be very rare to get the same taste in a KFC here than in the US same for all the other ones , chickens do not eat the same here as they eat in other countries therefore they will not taste the same . Fast food chains depend on these additives to keep the taste constant .
So dont get much hopes for any of this chains to taste the same as what you remember

I have not noticed a large difference in the way chickens taste here vs the US, certainly not something that would really jump out at me after battering and deep frying.

 

[cbonanni]

There is a great Pizza chain in Italy called Spizzico. They are in the Autogrills and walking streets in major cities. They have good pizza , and it is better than most Argentine pizza. Joe , I hope you are reading this........

 

[Jaredberryman]

In my experience the only ones that are constantly packed are the mediocre run of the mill parillas like 1880 or la escondida, most of the better restaurants have no wait times.

In order to get the good restaurants, you have to avoid the main popular ones, which might mean getting away from Belgrano, Palermo, Recoleta, etc (there are some great restaurants in Belgrano, but not on the main avenues). If it's good, it'll be full, unless of course you are eating early. It's bad to go at peak times, though, because there will be too many people, and the service and food will be worse because the staff will be killing themselves to try to get the food out and will take shortcuts.

 

[Parvati]

I keep telling people that Jamba Juice or Robek's would do great in Palermo. I can totally see my neighbor's kids sipping on gigantic smoothie thinking they are way cool and healthy. And if the kid's like it, you know the hip moms will also take to it fast. I can't afford the franchise and our time here is due soon. But it would be a hit.

 

[citygirl]

Mmmmm....Jamba Juice! Probably would do really well here but dealing with the employees, cost/unpredictability of ingredients, inflation - well, it may not be ideal time to start a business here.

ETA - And it looks like in the case of JJ at least, they're looking for local companies with experience in food services to purchase the franchise rights, not individuals.

 

[Sleuth]

Mmmmm....Jamba Juice! Probably would do really well here but dealing with the employees, cost/unpredictability of ingredients, inflation - well, it may not be ideal time to start a business here.

Yeah, don't count on it. Some expats opened Smoothie Bar here (a JJ clone) and it lasted less than a year. I went once and thought it was pretty good too...

Just checked and it looks like Pura Vida is closed too.

 

[citygirl]

DaVe - I would bet that has to do with costs/barriers to market entry, not necessarily the product itself. Licuados and the like are pretty popular here and in a neighborhood like canitas, I bet you could find a market. BUT (the big but), sourcing the ingredients and the cost of employees and rent, etc probably would be far too high to make a go of it, esp if you add in a franchise fee.