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Old 10-06-2010, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Tennessee
1,031 posts, read 2,437,096 times
Reputation: 745

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Hi everyone, you may remember me from the "Halloween/autumn events" post. (I will be in ME the last week of October; I can't wait!)

My DH and I are looking to make a major life change in mid-2011 and move to Maine to start a business. We have been vacationing in the state for many years and love it there. We live in CT and have realized that it will be impossible to buy a home within our county unless our salaries double, so our only options are to move out of our county and deal with a 4-hour unbearable daily commute or make a major life change. We don't love our jobs and we love Maine, so we decided on life change!

I am currently working with investments but can really do anything from marketing to bartending or customer service. My DH has a bachelor's in business management and currently works retail doing customer service/purchasing. He has wanted to open a small burger shop for years and the small shops (that only sell burgers, hot dogs, fries, and soda) do incredibly well where we live.

Since I would like to maintain a professional job until my DH gets a business off the ground, we're looking for a town that would appreciate having a classic "grill shop" around but also a town that's close (within a 45 min. drive) to a city. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've seen some posts on the Maine board before about towns with a lack of good "eating out" options, but I can't for the life of me remember what towns they were.

Also, I have heard about Maine having a negative small business environment; are there any specific reasons why starting a business in Maine is worse than opening a business in any other New England state (ex NH for obvious reasons)?
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Old 10-06-2010, 01:32 PM
 
66 posts, read 175,149 times
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Bangor would appreciate that! They have reasonable leases downtown comparable to a lot of places too. Add a little indoor spot for kids to play while the parents can eat... offer wifi... and I know a lot of families who would spend a little more money for real food over going to crapdonald's playland.

Being from NH... I grew up with the mentality that anyone could have their own business... my family did and so did other families I knew. Moving here... there is a different mentality with a big ceiling over people's heads of what can be accomplished. And business is run at a very laid back speed here... too much at times. Taxes are higher than in NH... not sure if there are other reasons... but I think there is a lot of opportunity in Bangor... lots of empty storefronts. The nonchain restaurants are mostly very expensive and not family oriented. Most families end up at the chain restaurants just because of the lack of options... but everyone I know with kids complains about it.
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Old 10-06-2010, 04:30 PM
 
19,957 posts, read 30,004,669 times
Reputation: 39992
There are a few good burger places around-but not alot- (roy's steakburger and there's a place in Augusta called all steak burgers-and im sure there are many more around- one is in brunswick a drive-in I think-use to be many drive ins and diners in maine.
An all burger place- a few things to think about- first and MOST important- use freshly ground burger not the frozen patties- I went to red robin in augusta- they had a beautiful place- glitzy menu, cute waitresses, expensive burgers- and they were all from frozen burger patties-I'll never go there again!!!
Id buy a grinder and grind your own ground chuck from a beef chuck roll or chuck shoulder clod (these are REAL beef primals that should give you around an 85% lean burger(85% lean is the best selling burger- fairly lean, but enough flavor)

Id do my research- know the larger towns in maine- and what the competition is, if i were going to open a burger place in the southern part of the state (portland) i'd be sure to offer a ground turkey burger) and an extra lean burger (90% plus ground round or chopped sirloin burger)

for hot dogs
if in central south coastal i'd sell Kirschner natural casing franks
if in central/northern /downeast I'd go with jordans or Rice's natural casing franks
these are local traditional brand names of hot dogs

kayem makes a good hot dog too, as does old neighborhood, but the top two(recognized) in maine is kirschner or jordans


I like the wi-fi idea alot- id also make it kid friendly for birthday party's
Also- "sliders" havent hit maine yet- that would be a good item to push.

I know two places that promote a whacky wednesday cheeseburger for only .99
both are meat-markets- its a break even promo- but gets the traffic count thru the door for visibility and companion sales- the number one comment is "these are real cheeseburgers" meaning they are not the frozen cardboard patties,

to be different, id have a promo soliciting customers favorite recipe for burgers- to place on the menu
"best burger in town " promo

you could even video the entries and play them back on a picture frame-speaking of digital picture frames- you should have a written menu- AND a scrolling pictures of whats on the menu on the picture frame.

set up a facebook account in the business name-and have an incentive to "friend" folks- then send out daily blasts- this works!!


again, to be different- offer the biggest burger in maine, and an eating challenge- i see this on the cooking channel (diners, dives, drive-ins) in some places this is hugely popular

if you specialize in burgers- do research what everyone else is doing (do an internet search "best burger in maine" and read thru them

you could do sausage burgers- burger bangers(make patties out of bulk sausage) you can easily make your own sausage with your gringer-just grind some pork butts/or pork sirloins thru once then add sausage spices

bangor burger bangers, has a good ring to it-or bangor bangers

one more point- many places that "fry" has a fried smell to it, as you go thru the front door, it doesnt bother me, but i've heard many females say they wont go into a place that smells greasy- the smell gets in your clothes
so you would want a good ventilation system

Last edited by mainebrokerman; 10-06-2010 at 04:45 PM..
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Old 10-06-2010, 05:08 PM
 
Location: South Portland, Maine
2,356 posts, read 5,693,217 times
Reputation: 1536
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristin85 View Post
Hi everyone, you may remember me from the "Halloween/autumn events" post. (I will be in ME the last week of October; I can't wait!)

My DH and I are looking to make a major life change in mid-2011 and move to Maine to start a business. We have been vacationing in the state for many years and love it there. We live in CT and have realized that it will be impossible to buy a home within our county unless our salaries double, so our only options are to move out of our county and deal with a 4-hour unbearable daily commute or make a major life change. We don't love our jobs and we love Maine, so we decided on life change!

I am currently working with investments but can really do anything from marketing to bartending or customer service. My DH has a bachelor's in business management and currently works retail doing customer service/purchasing. He has wanted to open a small burger shop for years and the small shops (that only sell burgers, hot dogs, fries, and soda) do incredibly well where we live.

Since I would like to maintain a professional job until my DH gets a business off the ground, we're looking for a town that would appreciate having a classic "grill shop" around but also a town that's close (within a 45 min. drive) to a city. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've seen some posts on the Maine board before about towns with a lack of good "eating out" options, but I can't for the life of me remember what towns they were.

Also, I have heard about Maine having a negative small business environment; are there any specific reasons why starting a business in Maine is worse than opening a business in any other New England state (ex NH for obvious reasons)?
I ran a small restaurant for several years before I sold it. The restaurant itself had been in business before I baught it and stayed in business for several years after I sold it. All told it was in business for 17 years.

It had a steady cliental and located in a decent spot in lewiston. I owned the building so that made running the restaurant a little easier.. I didnt have to worry about a lease..

This is basically what I learned. Yes the tax climate and business climate in Maine is Poor. But there is a need for an influence from the type of stuff you can't get unless your outside Maine... case in point is that Portland Maine has become quite a culinary center with some of the best restaurants they seem to be doing well?? BUT........

The most difficult part here is the fact Maine is poor! you will be competing with many other restaurants and I cant imagine any community that is 45 minutes from a populated city that can support a business like a restaurant. Maine cities are themselves like large towns when compared to Mass and CT.. outside of them is nothing.. Other then Portland most places wont support a business unless you are offering a lot of food for cheap money.. Mainers are blue plate specialist.. your average mainer is not going to spend more then $3-5 on lunch esp everyday.. And theres a risk your not going to get enough volume to make up for that.. My restaurant averaged $10-15 and we had a loyal following of professionals but again.. I never could improve on the customer base as hard as I tried.... If my wife made a lot of money I might have continued with it but I never could have made a lot of money off of it. And other then lunch.... dinner might be a wash.. I do find however the any breakfast place does pretty well!

basically I am saying that whatever you might be comparing it to where you live you have to assume it is going to be working on a MUCH smaller scale here in Maine. I loved operating my own restaurant but at the end of the day the money wasnt really there... esp considering the hours.. I still think about it and doing it again..... but somewhere else...

Home Page | Five Guys Burgers and Fries

this place is awsome!! I actually use to go to its origional store in the DC area before they franchised.. I think one in Portland would do well.. but again is it ging to do as well as they do elswhere.. idk but I doubt it.. Whenever Iam out of town and near one I stop in and there is a line out the door.. but you need million buck to franchise one...
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Old 10-07-2010, 10:53 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
1,031 posts, read 2,437,096 times
Reputation: 745
We are going to stay away from opening anything in Portland since there is a huge amount of competition for grab-and-go food in town. (Smaclean, we will take Bangor into consideration.) Flycessna, Five Guys is one of the places that I was thinking of when I said small burger shops do well where I live! We would like to open a similar type of store. If you only serve a handful of items, you can perfect each item you serve and offer more "custom made" options to customers. I'm sorry to hear your business didn't work out as well as you had hoped. My DH and I are trying to do as much research as possible before jumping into anything.

Brokerman, thank you for all of your advice! My husband and I have considered many of the things you mentioned. My hubby works for a natural foods store so he is intent on serving fresh meat from free range cattle. He also loves turkey burgers and would like to serve them as well. Since I am a vegetarian, I will make veggie burgers from scratch. The idea of serving local brand hot dogs is also great. (We will serve Moxie & Maine Root soda too!) We would like to buy as much food locally as possible and will get involved in a local co-op for most of our ingredients. For beef, we may work with a local farm one-on-one which would be cheaper than buying from a co-op. Our primary intention is to serve all-natural, homemade, fresh grill food while keeping the costs low so we can sell one patty burgers for $2-3/each.

We watch Man vs. Food a lot(I would be shocked if there is an episode we haven't seen) and one of my DH's dreams is to offer a food challenge and have Adam Richman stop by to try it. Half of my educational background is in art, so I have tons of ideas about how I would like to promote the store. Facebook, flyers, and promos are musts & the digital frame with scrolling pictures of the food is a cute idea.

We know exactly what we would like to do, but the hardest decision we have to make is where to open the shop. We know Kittery, York, Kennebunkport, and Bar Harbor very well and would prefer to stay near one of those towns but we don't think there is a need for a grill shop in any of those places. (I could be proven wrong, especially since those towns don't exactly serve affordable homemade food.) Are there any small coastal towns with a moderately sized blue collar population (and possibly a moderately large summer tourist population) that could use a tiny burger place?
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Old 10-07-2010, 11:20 AM
 
357 posts, read 1,015,224 times
Reputation: 205
if near Bar Harbor is what you looking for, look at Ellsworth. sure they are many fast food and chain restaurants there. fast food is fine, convenient and low cost, chain restaurant food just not any good at all. since most of restaurants in Bar Harbor are close for winter and price are high during the tourist season.
you can get people from MDI and Ellsworth to your place with quality food and fair price.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristin85 View Post

We watch Man vs. Food a lot(I would be shocked if there is an episode we haven't seen) and one of my DH's dreams is to offer a food challenge and have Adam Richman stop by to try it. Half of my educational background is in art, so I have tons of ideas about how I would like to promote the store. Facebook, flyers, and promos are musts & the digital frame with scrolling pictures of the food is a cute idea.

We know exactly what we would like to do, but the hardest decision we have to make is where to open the shop. We know Kittery, York, Kennebunkport, and Bar Harbor very well and would prefer to stay near one of those towns but we don't think there is a need for a grill shop in any of those places. (I could be proven wrong, especially since those towns don't exactly serve affordable homemade food.) Are there any small coastal towns with a moderately sized blue collar population (and possibly a moderately large summer tourist population) that could use a tiny burger place?
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Old 10-07-2010, 04:39 PM
 
19,957 posts, read 30,004,669 times
Reputation: 39992
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristin85 View Post
We are going to stay away from opening anything in Portland since there is a huge amount of competition for grab-and-go food in town. (Smaclean, we will take Bangor into consideration.) Flycessna, Five Guys is one of the places that I was thinking of when I said small burger shops do well where I live! We would like to open a similar type of store. If you only serve a handful of items, you can perfect each item you serve and offer more "custom made" options to customers. I'm sorry to hear your business didn't work out as well as you had hoped. My DH and I are trying to do as much research as possible before jumping into anything.

Brokerman, thank you for all of your advice! My husband and I have considered many of the things you mentioned. My hubby works for a natural foods store so he is intent on serving fresh meat from free range cattle. He also loves turkey burgers and would like to serve them as well. Since I am a vegetarian, I will make veggie burgers from scratch. The idea of serving local brand hot dogs is also great. (We will serve Moxie & Maine Root soda too!) We would like to buy as much food locally as possible and will get involved in a local co-op for most of our ingredients. For beef, we may work with a local farm one-on-one which would be cheaper than buying from a co-op. Our primary intention is to serve all-natural, homemade, fresh grill food while keeping the costs low so we can sell one patty burgers for $2-3/each.

We watch Man vs. Food a lot(I would be shocked if there is an episode we haven't seen) and one of my DH's dreams is to offer a food challenge and have Adam Richman stop by to try it. Half of my educational background is in art, so I have tons of ideas about how I would like to promote the store. Facebook, flyers, and promos are musts & the digital frame with scrolling pictures of the food is a cute idea.

We know exactly what we would like to do, but the hardest decision we have to make is where to open the shop. We know Kittery, York, Kennebunkport, and Bar Harbor very well and would prefer to stay near one of those towns but we don't think there is a need for a grill shop in any of those places. (I could be proven wrong, especially since those towns don't exactly serve affordable homemade food.) Are there any small coastal towns with a moderately sized blue collar population (and possibly a moderately large summer tourist population) that could use a tiny burger place?
here is a maine population list (link) by town
id search the area towns you like first -see what competition is there, then id look at higher population (towns) and then research competition,

Maine by Place and County Subdivision - GCT-PL. Race and Hispanic or Latino:**2000

also free range cattle isnt a bad idea- but be sure they are finished with grain- strictly "grass-fed" beef has a grassy or gamey flavor (if you arent use to it)- also depends on the breed of cattle)

all- natural" is a general description by usda standards it means no added ingredients and inspected as wholesome-most all meat sold in stores is all-natural- unless its pre-marinated or like walmart they inject it with a solution for longer shelf life

I like the "local maine grown beef" description (just my opinion)

Last edited by mainebrokerman; 10-07-2010 at 04:54 PM..
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Old 10-08-2010, 08:55 PM
 
Location: Northern Maine
10,428 posts, read 18,557,799 times
Reputation: 11562
Take a look at Lincoln. They are the economic center of the region with six banks, a credit union, good hospital and a good opportunity for the restaurant you describe.

Welcome to Lincoln, Maine!
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Old 10-09-2010, 07:57 AM
 
Location: Log "cabin" west of Bangor
7,056 posts, read 9,013,354 times
Reputation: 15613
Quote:
Are there any small coastal towns with a moderately sized blue collar population (and possibly a moderately large summer tourist population) that could use a tiny burger place?
If the target market is "blue collar", will they care about "free range" beef or turkey burgers?
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Old 10-10-2010, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Bar Harbor, ME
1,920 posts, read 4,303,224 times
Reputation: 1300
Maine is like Greater Philadelphia, except that Philly has a population of 5.8 million is squeezed into 146 sq miles, and all of Maine has a population of 3.8 million spread out through 35,385 sq miles.

If all of Maine could teleport where ever they wanted, then a small business could function from anywhere. The problem is not so much that Maine is poor, but that it is spread out. This means that any business in any one place only has access to a much smaller number of people who can use it. Being spread out spreads out the wealth so that its not concentrated. In the summer time it can become very concentrated in some places. For example, on MDI the total population is about 11,000. This limits the ability of businesses to make a living in the winter simply because there aren't enough people to patronize it. But in the summer, 4 times the number of people are squeezed into the same spot, and businesses can easily operate.

Its all about classic economics of supply and demand. Most of Maine by the geography has an over supply and not much demand in the winter months.

This is why tourism is so important to Maine. Its an opportunity to bring in massive numbers of people that you don't have to provide much services for to increase the demand for the supply that is there. Maine should reinstitute cheap rail lines to everywhere, like they have in Europe so that people could come to Maine in the Winter too.

Zarathu
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