Starting A Restaurant Business In Buenos Aires

[Musicman]

Hi y'all - I have been kicking around the idea of setting up a Texas style restaurant in Buenos Aires - its been a dream of mine for some time and perhaps this is not the best time to start a business but hey I am in it for the long term and I have some buddies from Texas who are willing to invest and love it here in BA. With the growth of shale gas business we see a good opportunity right now to introduce some Texas culture to the locals and the expats

Where in BA do you think would be the best place to look for a location? Does anybody have experience with running a restaurant here? What are the pros and cons and how much % profit can you make at it - everybody eats out here just like back in Houston so the market is here

This would be a Texas style steakhouse but would also do crawfish, craft beers and have rock bands playing at the weekends - I envisage having an open terrace for live music and if it works out we would like to perhaps dream a little bit and look at the potential to expand to all the main cities in the country

 

[Montauk_Project]

I have never been here: http://www.nolabuenosaires.com/
Do you know the restaurant business? That is more important than the timing, it is how to run a kitchen, get supplies, deal with mafias, deal with unions, crunch numbers, and have consistency. It is not easy, anywhere in the world. In some ways it is probably eaier in Buenos Aires if you have a tried concept as the profit margins are good and lots of people go out to eat, but you really need to hire the right people and know the local tax laws, union regs and be able to get supplies.
I would suggest trying a closed door restaurant for 6 months to a year and if you build up a following then consider a restaurant.

 

[Alicia karr]

Yes key words: getting supplies (remember there are HUGE import restrictions/taxes
And HUGE coimas (bribes) to be paid for all the permits necessary to do business ...
And don't forget most businesses employ family members because the labor laws are so pro labor people make a living just suing one employer after another....

 

[khairyexpat]

I am only afraid of one thing:

From the get go, all your estimates have to rely 100% on tourists and expats ONLY.

I'm hopeless that Argentine will ever change their taste pallets.

THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE, UNBELIEVABLE. Stranger than fiction. (don't ask me why they are like that ...)
They will not touch the stuff.
There are lot and lots of people who wouldn't eat even a salad or vegetable. Lots!
God forbid garlic or hot chili, or ...
Zero knowledge of fish or sea food.

 

[nikad]

There is competition already from El Tejano in Palermo... but that is good!

 

[khairyexpat]

There is competition already from El Tejano in Palermo... but that is good!

Where about approx.?

 

[Ceviche]

i would say, Go ahead. Their are lot of pessmistic people on this forum. Nothing is impossible and nothing is easy. Life is not a cakewalk.

We need a Texan style restaurant here.

I know expats who are running ethnic estaurants here for years with local waiters/workers and also manage to get the required materials imported. How! I have no idea. Do yr due diligence.

I wish you all the best. get started.

 

[Napoleon]

There is competition already from El Tejano in Palermo... but that is good!

Not really.

El Tejano is slow cooked BBQ without the heavy smoked flavor that Central Texas BBQ is known for.

What Musicman is talking about is completely different. He's talking about a STEAK house (where a person can order grilled steaks) and spicy mud bugs. (Cajun style, but the fandom does bleed over into Texas.)

It's kind of a white trash "Surf & Turf" that you could maybe find in Kerrville or Nacogdoches.

The open deck (again, distinctly different than El Tejano) with live music can be found from Luckenbach to Texarkana over to El Paso, up to Dalhart, and down to Brownsville, and all points in between. These days it can be referred to as an "Austin style Beer Garden", but those are usually not on a wooden deck once they get to over 20 picnic tables.

There isn't anything like what the original poster is suggesting, but it really should start as a Puerta Cerrada to build a client base while hunting for the perfect location.

 

[scotttswan]

Open up a Scottish restaurant selling Haggis and Irn-Bru! I'll be there every night!

 

[nikad]

Where about approx.?

Honduras and Julian Alvarez