Hi everyone. Although this is my first post on here I have been gathering information on here for over a month and its been very helpful. Along with my brother we are considering open our own place. We both have experience in the business. We are just torn between what type of operation to open,between a delco & a quick service dine in. My question to you is “why did you choose the type of operation your in?” Was it your dream,financial costs,an opportunity that just came along? Thank you for yous responses in advance.
Go with the type of operation you know and have the experience in.
Well we both have experience with both. I have worked with Dominos and several independant dine-in operations and he has worked for Papa John’s and Pizza Hut.
YOU need to be comfortable with the decision you are making so it will be hard for anyone here to tell you which is better.
Draw up a list of +'s and -'s for each and see which wins.
We opened a delco because that is what we had the most experience with and were most comfortable… I was an awful waiter, just awful. Also, the location we took over at the start had previously been a delco, so to avoid spending any more money we didn’t change anything in the setup.
If you have the knowledge and needed funds, why not open up a triple=threat location? Go dine-in, carry-out and delivery.
Hi Trey
Over the years we have designed and equipped thousands of pizza shops.The vast majority of our clients opt for no seating, but hundreds have opted for seating.
It appears that to be successful with a dine in operation several conditions not
encountered by DELCOS should be considered.
It appears that That the majority of those that dine out prefer to Have wine and beer available with their meal. It appears that a diversified menu is a definite plus when offering dine in. When even a small groups dine out not all want pizza for dinner.
The costs of providing the above two options usually require investments in beverage service and kitchen equipment best combined with seating capacity of at least 100 in order to justify and utilize the investment required.
Operators have also indicated to us that where as there carry out and delivery gets virtually no complaints the dine in customers are much harder to please.
Again, I am not an operator and just report what many of our clients tell us. I expect there are others with different views.
George Mills
George mills
I think you really need to look at your experience/comfort zone and what the location is that your looking at. I have a store that is delivery/carryout, but would probably do really good with a small dining area. It all depends on who your customers are going to be. If you are planning on having a decent lunch business I would suggest looking at having a smalling seating area.
we have had both and I really like the dine-in. Its small about 12 booths but very manageable.
Another thing that may help you decide is the selection of available space and locations. See what is out there and go with whatever makes sense for the space you decide on.
George added an excellent comment. We have roughly 70% dine-in/take-out, 30% delivery. We offer beer & wine and can seat nearly 100. I much prefer dine-in over delivery.
We took over a 15 year old Mom 'N Pop store that already had the “triple threat”. Our dine in is worthless for the most part past 1 pm, but costs almost nothing to maintain. The weeks like this one where we had state HS basketball 1/2 a block away more than makes up for the endless nights of empty seats…any big opportunities like that for you?
There is a youth sports complex about a mile away from one location we are looking at. And I have been researching how to market to them in either type of operation we choose. Also that one location has a 1600 sq. ft unit that could be used as a delco and then also a 3600 sq. ft stand alone space. There is a hotel right next to the center and the landlord told us that the management of it would be willing to do business with a shop that may come in there.