Another question about moving to WY (Cheyenne: extended stay, for sale, real estate)

[warm11]

So we have another option instead of taking a job in denver and living on the WY/CO boarder. We could also just move to WY. I guess you could say it our "dream" to live out west preferably in WY.
The area we have been looking for is in the south/southwest area of the state. We would love to live on some acreage without a HOA . My Husband wants to open a small BBQ place maybe catering type business. So it might be nice to find a place on a "main" road or a place "tourist" would drive thru. We would at least need a home close to a main area if we have a restaurant or what not somewhere else.
Right now we live in FL close to kennedy space center but would love to move to WY in the next 3-4 years..
So does anyone know of any areas we should check out? We plane on flying into Denver and hitting Cheyenne head towards riverton/lander then yellowstone area then down to evanston to salt lake city then coming back up to rock springs and then heading back towards denver. So we can basically drive

[warm11]

So we can basically drive anywhere. Is there any towns/places we should check out? How are the school? enviroment? nieghbors? Basically any information?
THANKS AGAIN.

[sunsprit]

You really need to come visit Wyoming for two trips:

1) when it's tourist season ... essentially the summer months for most of the state ... and see what areas appeal to you for scenery, terrain, size of local population base ... and make a decision if your prospective BBQ operation is going to be a primarily tourist oriented seasonal business, or if you want to have a year-round business from a local population base (catering business isn't a tourist business).

I'd say that your opportunities for a catering business would be restricted to the larger communities/population base areas of Wyoming, which essentially limits you to less than a half-dozen population centers with enough clientele to support you. FWIW, there have been two restaurant BBQ operations in Cheyenne in the last couple of years, both of which had decent 'que ... and they're gone, out of business. Two catering wagons remain ... the outfits with a mobile kitchen/catering van towing a big BBQ smoker/pit; one is terrible, uses prepared 'que from Sysco (or similar wholesale food kitchen supplier), the other is acceptable home prepared (dry rub and smoked) 'que. They show up at the Farmer's Markets or cater events around the county. IMO, that market is saturated ... For many people, 'que is the stuff here they serve at Outback or Texas Roadhouse or (cr)Applebee's, which are in town.

Then,

2) You need to revisit the area that appeals to you for an extended stay in winter months, such as January, February, March. The scenery will have changed, there may be snow on the ground, there may be severe storms coming through. But you need to experience that firsthand before deciding if an area is something that you can live with.

3) To open your restaurant here, plan on bringing a lot of money with you. You'll need it to live on for quite awhile until your business gets established and your cash flow keeps up with and exceeds expenses. Keep in mind that the desirable "touristy" areas of this state are prime price areas for real estate and business storefront lease costs.

4) If you've got the dough to invest, there are a number of well known established restaurants in Wyoming that are for sale right now ... a couple in Cheyenne, a few in the outlying areas, and a couple in tourist areas of the state. Contact your broker about these opportunities ... and read the balance sheets very carefully.

A further caution ... if you are experienced in restaurant business/ownership, then Wyoming presents some decent opportunities if you choose your market well. OTOH, if you don't have ownership experience with a successful track record, this is a place that will eat you up and spit you out faster than your new restaurant operation can even make it into the statistics. In short, it's not a locale for learning how to make it in this business, which is why "dining out" in so much of the state is franchise eateries. You know you're in trouble when there's more excitement about a "olive garden" coming to town than a nice locally owned italian restaurant with good recipes and service, or a "chipotle" blows the doors off some of the local mexican places that had good food ... and so forth. In a state where beef is a big deal, a Texas Roadhouse or similar can blow the doors off the local steakhouses for sales volume.

Pretty pathetic, IMO, but that's the restaurant climate in this state ... or a number of local 'merican style coffee shops in the small towns survive, but only because folks use that as a gathering spot and tolerate all the crap they serve as a matter of convenience. There's one town nearby that has the gathering spot, an A&W (a dying franchise burger biz), and a PizzaHut/Subway Sandwich shop ... and the food at the gathering spot makes the other two places look really good. A&W rates so low in the burger biz I'm surprised that they even survive, and Subway ... well, it's not a great sandwich, is it?

[warm11]

Thanks for the response. my husband has been to WY a few times to see the seasons. We plan on a trip in the winter time first then another spring summer trip. If H does do the bbq business it would be as a small side job to start while he has a normal full time job. We have alot of friends who say the bbq is really bad out that way. Again thanks for the response.
Does anyone know of any towns that we should look into in general? We plan on renting for the first 6 months or so. thanks

[Popoagie]

Keep in mind that "barbecue" means wildly different things in different places. What your friends think is "bad" barbecue might be exactly what the locals like. Don't assume what you like will sell someplace else. Why not take a trip out there and do a "taste test" at a local mall or county fair or something. Give away small samples, and ask people what they think. See how much you sell based on the free samples.