The secret to foodie success

As restaurants continue to close, Joe McNamee discovers that a good location and the right menu are the keys to survival

IT IS an especially fraught time to be opening a restaurant in Ireland. According to a recent Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) members survey, just 20% are making a profit and though closures are down 25% from the 2010-11 rate of one per day, high profile casualties continue with two more high-profile restaurants, Alexis in Dublin and Galway’s Cava, calling it a day only last month.

“The other 80% are surviving,” says RAI CEO Adrian Cummins, “because they are putting their life savings back in, looking at the long term, hoping for light at the end of the tunnel — but for how many more years will this tunnel continue with no support whatsoever from local authorities and zero incentive from the State?”

So if you are thinking of taking the plunge there are a few factors (other than the obvious cooking ability, hospitality skills, etc) specific to the local market to keep in mind.

The first of these is location. “Currently, there is an urban/rural divide,” says Cummins, “Dublin is bucking trends compared to the rest of the country in terms of business — more tourists, the new convention centre bringing in numbers and the corporate spend returning.

“And also if a restaurant closes in Dublin, a new place will open in the same space, there will be no vacant lot. A new operator will be able to start afresh with a better financial model. In cities and towns outside Dublin, it may take longer for that unit to be taken over — a 50/50 chance it will happen. In a rural area, if there is other competition in the area, a closure may see that space never again operate as a restaurant.”

The demise last year of the acclaimed Chop House in Lismore, Co Waterford, shocked the industry and public alike. “It was a combination of things,” says former owner Justin Green. “The recession and an appalling summer didn’t help as it drove tourism right down but, ultimately, it was down to location, not enough people coming through the door. Outside the towns that is very difficult to achieve, especially now.”

The maxim of knowing your market is especially true in the current climate. “The people eating out most often now are in their late 20s, early 30s, that younger cohort who never bought property,” says Cummins, “There’s also the ‘grey euro’ set — retired, no mortgage, debt-free — and the corporate business is also starting to come back. Those financially-challenged, with the negative equity mortgages and reduced wages, you don’t see much, other than occasion-based eating out.”

Then there is the PPB model — ie pizza, pasta and burgers will always be found somewhere on the menu, even though they may also keep a weather eye on all the latest culinary trends. Some of the most popular restaurants in Cork city fit into this bracket, including Market Lane, The Corn Store, Eco in Douglas and Liberty Grill. The idea is to attract the widest range of clientele and recognise that most people are nervous of experimenting. These restaurants operate in the middle of the market, earning far higher margins than the lower or the higher end.

Ernest Cantillon, co-proprietor of Cork’s Electric Bar/Restaurant views PPB as an essential part of his strategy. “Most customers generally want the same food. Maybe different settings, different levels of formality, but the same food.”

Not too long ago, then Justice Minister Michael McDowell expressed a hope we might embrace a more European café culture; that appears to be happening but with a distinctly Irish twist. The pub has always been at the heart of Irish social life but in recent times many are struggling. But those that have embraced the gastropub model are bucking the trend.

“Big time! Finally, the European thing is really catching on here,” says Cantillon. Mr McDowell has got his wish, and there may be hope for the Irish restaurant industry after all.