tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
Other good news: Sales since closing the other store are up 29.8% over last years sales on Magazine.
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McClure's BBQ (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter tipsy mcstagger
- Start date
Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
Five thousand pounds of mud bugs? Oy.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
Two days of Jazz Fest this past week. Last two weeks totaled about 60 hours each....which is like being on vacation basically. I'm going to be a lazy ******* as often as I can this summer.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
Crawfish fest was fun, but it is hard to compete against the ticket for admission including a plate of crawfish to start. It was fairly busy, but I honestly think we would have sold more without the festival...but who knows.
And in other news:
The plan to make the space in back a full fledged music venue / beer garden has cleared another hurdle at city hall. 5 - 0 vote in favor of their plans and the full backing of the Irish Channel Association. It is good to be under the umbrella of a biz that has good connections
My second kitchen is part of that plan. It will have a very different menu than my current one. In fact it will probably have a different name.
Current ideas:
Po Boys
Southern
Seafood
Seafood, Southern, & Poboys
Pizza & Pasta
Caribbean
Gourmet Brats & Dogs
Taqueria
A different food every night...or pop ups taking over my other space up front. I could actually make the most money doing this I think.
But I'm leaning towards the southern with seafood & poboys. That is the food I am most comforted by and have spent a lifetime cooking. Its also the cuisine I had planned on selling in my own space from about 1985 until Katrina when I fell for bbq for good.
Thoughts guys? Ideas? I'm fully aware it will affect my bbq sales. It may even let me 86 the overnight bs and just have bbq at dinner. Po boys are the first 5 things people in this city think of for lunch....bbq is probably about 20th choice for lunch in the eats out often crowd here in Nola.
And in other news:
The plan to make the space in back a full fledged music venue / beer garden has cleared another hurdle at city hall. 5 - 0 vote in favor of their plans and the full backing of the Irish Channel Association. It is good to be under the umbrella of a biz that has good connections
My second kitchen is part of that plan. It will have a very different menu than my current one. In fact it will probably have a different name.Current ideas:
Po Boys
Southern
Seafood
Seafood, Southern, & Poboys
Pizza & Pasta
Caribbean
Gourmet Brats & Dogs
Taqueria
A different food every night...or pop ups taking over my other space up front. I could actually make the most money doing this I think.
But I'm leaning towards the southern with seafood & poboys. That is the food I am most comforted by and have spent a lifetime cooking. Its also the cuisine I had planned on selling in my own space from about 1985 until Katrina when I fell for bbq for good.
Thoughts guys? Ideas? I'm fully aware it will affect my bbq sales. It may even let me 86 the overnight bs and just have bbq at dinner. Po boys are the first 5 things people in this city think of for lunch....bbq is probably about 20th choice for lunch in the eats out often crowd here in Nola.
PinkydaPimp
Footballguy
Congrats. That is a sick space in the back. Will be a very nice venue.Crawfish fest was fun, but it is hard to compete against the ticket for admission including a plate of crawfish to start. It was fairly busy, but I honestly think we would have sold more without the festival...but who knows.
And in other news:
The plan to make the space in back a full fledged music venue / beer garden has cleared another hurdle at city hall. 5 - 0 vote in favor of their plans and the full backing of the Irish Channel Association. It is good to be under the umbrella of a biz that has good connections
Current ideas:
Po Boys
Southern
Seafood
Seafood, Southern, & Poboys
Pizza & Pasta
Caribbean
Gourmet Brats & Dogs
Taqueria
A different food every night...or pop ups taking over my other space up front. I could actually make the most money doing this I think.
But I'm leaning towards the southern with seafood & poboys. That is the food I am most comforted by and have spent a lifetime cooking. Its also the cuisine I had planned on selling in my own space from about 1985 until Katrina when I fell for bbq for good.
Thoughts guys? Ideas? I'm fully aware it will affect my bbq sales. It may even let me 86 the overnight bs and just have bbq at dinner. Po boys are the first 5 things people in this city think of for lunch....bbq is probably about 20th choice for lunch in the eats out often crowd here in Nola.
I like the idea of pop ups. You could continually have buzz and draw new people to the space which would give your place exposure to folks that arent aware of it. Maybe you even work it so the pop up works your food into the menu as well. And of course you could pop up your other food ideas and see which catches on best.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Option 4. If you go with Southern & poboys and have seafood depending on the season, and presuming there will be both tables like at a beer garden and also people will want to hold food (like say red beans or jambalaya in bowls) if they want to get up and walk or stand while listening to music, you should be good to go. The occasional special (like fish) could be offered. This kind of stuff goes great with good beer of course. Needless to say I would love this kind of thing and also speak selfishly here.
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Tipsey - saw a couple of things on twitter ...what's the deal on m.stipe and car on fire?? Also Bradley Cooper and a couple of brahs??
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
lol Binky
The Michael Stipe Story: Life long REM fan...one of if not my favorite band. A few years back I was working the door at Dante's and got a phone call fairly late in the evening during Jazz Fest. A four top was looking to get dinner and I immediately said we were still on a wait and probably wouldn't have a table. Guy on the phone says "I have Michael Stipe with me" and I said if he brought him I would definitely feed his group. Sure enough he walks in with the group about an half an hour later. Met Stipe and he immediately started chatting it up. He was quick to diss his cab driver saying the guy was rude and overcharged them. (ha...he is worried about cab fare). I normally don't give the celebrities too much personal attention as I've found they will ask for it if they want to be swooned over. Stipe wanted to talk....mostly about the food & my wine list. I broke out the Turley Zin's I had and blew his mind with them and the food. Towards the end of the meal I offered his group a ride down to the French Quarter where they were headed for a late night show. I gave rides to folks often as it was a good way to get out of the restaurant for a few. Meal ends and they pile into myFord POS Explorer (I bought it for $500 as it had been flooded out by Katrina). Should have called it a Ford Exploder.
Nice ride down to the FQ....he cracked jokes fairly often and was grilling me about the music I was playing (the Decemberists). We start getting close to their destination when I notice my car is making a terrible noise I had not heard before. As soon as we pull up in front of Jackson Square my radiator went "BOOM". Smoke & steam pouring out from the engine compartment, the group was getting out as soon as they could when I heard a guy say "hey that is Michael Stipe" only to hear his buddy sort of yell "THAT CAR IS ON F'ING FIRE!!!". Stipe offered his help but I waved them on to their show and managed to get my car to a gas station for water. Thought that was the end of my Stipe story...They came back to Dante's the next night for more wine and food. Stipe was concerned if my car survived and if I had made it back ok. They had an great dinner again and his manager thanked me for the personal service. He later sent me a bunch of their CD's & stuff which was cool as I didn't have the one Live CD they had done recently. I jokingly offered them another ride and the group unanimously said "NO!!!"....except for Stipe. He said that would be great...pretty sure I was being hit on then by his tone & body language. My sister still thinks I should have tried to sleep with him, but I explained I wasn't into other mens junk & stuff even if they were a childhood favorite musician.
Bradley Cooper was nobody to me when they came in. It was while he was filming Failure to Launch down here with Sarah Jessica Parker. She had come in 3 times that month including once with her husband Ferris Bueller. Great lady...super nice...very chatty. Even let me watch her kid for a bit while she made phone calls. She told Cooper to come eat and he did with a couple of his buddies. I had no idea who he was and sat them at the absolutely worst table in the house right by the front door and my desk. Chatted it up with him and wished him good luck on the way out. About a week later I saw him hosting SNL...mind blown.
Fed 4 different academy award winners, a dozen or more grammy winners, a couple of politicians including a former speaker of the house that I declined a picture with...sorry Newt #diss. Once had to call Cathy Bates and cancel her reservation for Valentines because we had a water main break a block away...she was pissed. Burt Renyolds gave me a C-note for seating him one night. Even fed a supreme court justice once (Ruth Bader ). I've had more than my fare share of celeb run ins. Most recent: Feeding Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis for his bday party. She demanded my food for that event after they had it twice the week before a couple of months ago.
The Michael Stipe Story: Life long REM fan...one of if not my favorite band. A few years back I was working the door at Dante's and got a phone call fairly late in the evening during Jazz Fest. A four top was looking to get dinner and I immediately said we were still on a wait and probably wouldn't have a table. Guy on the phone says "I have Michael Stipe with me" and I said if he brought him I would definitely feed his group. Sure enough he walks in with the group about an half an hour later. Met Stipe and he immediately started chatting it up. He was quick to diss his cab driver saying the guy was rude and overcharged them. (ha...he is worried about cab fare). I normally don't give the celebrities too much personal attention as I've found they will ask for it if they want to be swooned over. Stipe wanted to talk....mostly about the food & my wine list. I broke out the Turley Zin's I had and blew his mind with them and the food. Towards the end of the meal I offered his group a ride down to the French Quarter where they were headed for a late night show. I gave rides to folks often as it was a good way to get out of the restaurant for a few. Meal ends and they pile into myFord POS Explorer (I bought it for $500 as it had been flooded out by Katrina). Should have called it a Ford Exploder.
Nice ride down to the FQ....he cracked jokes fairly often and was grilling me about the music I was playing (the Decemberists). We start getting close to their destination when I notice my car is making a terrible noise I had not heard before. As soon as we pull up in front of Jackson Square my radiator went "BOOM". Smoke & steam pouring out from the engine compartment, the group was getting out as soon as they could when I heard a guy say "hey that is Michael Stipe" only to hear his buddy sort of yell "THAT CAR IS ON F'ING FIRE!!!". Stipe offered his help but I waved them on to their show and managed to get my car to a gas station for water. Thought that was the end of my Stipe story...They came back to Dante's the next night for more wine and food. Stipe was concerned if my car survived and if I had made it back ok. They had an great dinner again and his manager thanked me for the personal service. He later sent me a bunch of their CD's & stuff which was cool as I didn't have the one Live CD they had done recently. I jokingly offered them another ride and the group unanimously said "NO!!!"....except for Stipe. He said that would be great...pretty sure I was being hit on then by his tone & body language. My sister still thinks I should have tried to sleep with him, but I explained I wasn't into other mens junk & stuff even if they were a childhood favorite musician.
Bradley Cooper was nobody to me when they came in. It was while he was filming Failure to Launch down here with Sarah Jessica Parker. She had come in 3 times that month including once with her husband Ferris Bueller. Great lady...super nice...very chatty. Even let me watch her kid for a bit while she made phone calls. She told Cooper to come eat and he did with a couple of his buddies. I had no idea who he was and sat them at the absolutely worst table in the house right by the front door and my desk. Chatted it up with him and wished him good luck on the way out. About a week later I saw him hosting SNL...mind blown.
Fed 4 different academy award winners, a dozen or more grammy winners, a couple of politicians including a former speaker of the house that I declined a picture with...sorry Newt #diss. Once had to call Cathy Bates and cancel her reservation for Valentines because we had a water main break a block away...she was pissed. Burt Renyolds gave me a C-note for seating him one night. Even fed a supreme court justice once (Ruth Bader ). I've had more than my fare share of celeb run ins. Most recent: Feeding Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis for his bday party. She demanded my food for that event after they had it twice the week before a couple of months ago.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
thats the main angle....lunch is the only time around here it isn't busy.
pizza is hard to deny...i do have 10 years experience with it after all. The food cost is great. could lead to a delivery service....pizza & bbq & burgers & tacos....sounds like a winner to me. we will see.
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
GDammit that is awesome!!lol Binky
The Michael Stipe Story: Life long REM fan...one of if not my favorite band. A few years back I was working the door at Dante's and got a phone call fairly late in the evening during Jazz Fest. A four top was looking to get dinner and I immediately said we were still on a wait and probably wouldn't have a table. Guy on the phone says "I have Michael Stipe with me" and I said if he brought him I would definitely feed his group. Sure enough he walks in with the group about an half an hour later. Met Stipe and he immediately started chatting it up. He was quick to diss his cab driver saying the guy was rude and overcharged them. (ha...he is worried about cab fare). I normally don't give the celebrities too much personal attention as I've found they will ask for it if they want to be swooned over. Stipe wanted to talk....mostly about the food & my wine list. I broke out the Turley Zin's I had and blew his mind with them and the food. Towards the end of the meal I offered his group a ride down to the French Quarter where they were headed for a late night show. I gave rides to folks often as it was a good way to get out of the restaurant for a few. Meal ends and they pile into myFord POS Explorer (I bought it for $500 as it had been flooded out by Katrina). Should have called it a Ford Exploder.
Nice ride down to the FQ....he cracked jokes fairly often and was grilling me about the music I was playing (the Decemberists). We start getting close to their destination when I notice my car is making a terrible noise I had not heard before. As soon as we pull up in front of Jackson Square my radiator went "BOOM". Smoke & steam pouring out from the engine compartment, the group was getting out as soon as they could when I heard a guy say "hey that is Michael Stipe" only to hear his buddy sort of yell "THAT CAR IS ON F'ING FIRE!!!". Stipe offered his help but I waved them on to their show and managed to get my car to a gas station for water. Thought that was the end of my Stipe story...They came back to Dante's the next night for more wine and food. Stipe was concerned if my car survived and if I had made it back ok. They had an great dinner again and his manager thanked me for the personal service. He later sent me a bunch of their CD's & stuff which was cool as I didn't have the one Live CD they had done recently. I jokingly offered them another ride and the group unanimously said "NO!!!"....except for Stipe. He said that would be great...pretty sure I was being hit on then by his tone & body language. My sister still thinks I should have tried to sleep with him, but I explained I wasn't into other mens junk & stuff even if they were a childhood favorite musician.
Bradley Cooper was nobody to me when they came in. It was while he was filming Failure to Launch down here with Sarah Jessica Parker. She had come in 3 times that month including once with her husband Ferris Bueller. Great lady...super nice...very chatty. Even let me watch her kid for a bit while she made phone calls. She told Cooper to come eat and he did with a couple of his buddies. I had no idea who he was and sat them at the absolutely worst table in the house right by the front door and my desk. Chatted it up with him and wished him good luck on the way out. About a week later I saw him hosting SNL...mind blown.
Fed 4 different academy award winners, a dozen or more grammy winners, a couple of politicians including a former speaker of the house that I declined a picture with...sorry Newt #diss. Once had to call Cathy Bates and cancel her reservation for Valentines because we had a water main break a block away...she was pissed. Burt Renyolds gave me a C-note for seating him one night. Even fed a supreme court justice once (Ruth Bader ). I've had more than my fare share of celeb run ins. Most recent: Feeding Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis for his bday party. She demanded my food for that event after they had it twice the week before a couple of months ago.
Why haven't we heard these stories before?? Would love to hear more when you have some time!
You get James Carville & Mary Matalin in often? I used to see them around when I was down there a lot.
Brad & Angelina? Nick Cage? McConaughey?
regularguy
Footballguy
I wanna hear more about Kunis. 
msommer
Footballguy
I like the pop up idea, at the risk of being a cliche, taco tuesdays, the pizza another day, i.e. variety might get people in through the doors more often than otherwise. But if your crowd just want to eat poboys every day, then go with that.
What would be the demands on the kitchen? I guess for pizza you need to install a type of stone oven. Would you make your own tortillas? Prep work that I suppose has to be done early in the morning. Are there a lot of offices near by? Seemed more residential to me.
Pulled pork poboy sounds like a winner to me in any case, but what do I know, maybe with semi pickled onions (salsa criolla peruana popular down here)
I like the delivery idea - and food trucks
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
I don't kiss and tell...plus my wife reads this ever since the herpes/haiti incident.I wanna hear more about Kunis.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
Walk through with the architect and contractor today for the addition in the back which includes my 2nd kitchen. They met with city council member of our district yesterday and I believe everything is a go for the added music venue/beer garden. S#@$'s about to get real yo.
And ...in somewhat bigger news....I'm the only owner of McClure's now!
And ...in somewhat bigger news....I'm the only owner of McClure's now!
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Congrats. Also, if you do more than BBQ inside the Brewery, it should be Tipsy McStagger's Food Court.
regularguy
Footballguy
![[icon]](/data/avatars/m/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
[icon]
Insoxicated
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
I should be more clear....i've found a way to get rid of my partner and have already started that process. 1/3 paid off this week. About to drain the last of our 401k for the other part. It is worth the penalty at this point.
ProstheticRGK
Footballguy
I don't know you from Adam, but am completely invested in your story- been reading since the thread started. It's really cool to watch a regular guy turn his passion into a means of support for his family, and get to spend his life doing what he loves. Even if he comes across as portly and self-important. Congrats, tipsy! Hope to come to your place sometime.
ffldrew
Footballguy
Can't you get a loan for that and avoid that penalty.....hell a loan shark might not hit you as bad as the IRS
aw man...got to figure something else out. https://www.wellsfargo.com/investing/retirement/tools/401k-early-withdrawal-calculator/
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Johnny Rock
Footballguy
The best things I like about the Po Boy lunch idea, if I read correctly, is you normalizing your hours somewhat by not tending fire all night as well as increasing the exclusivity and accompanying demand/pricing for your meats during dinner.
Hopefully that translates to larger lunch revenue, decreased lunch food costs, increased dinner revenues and increased sleep/family time/quality of life. Well done!
Hopefully that translates to larger lunch revenue, decreased lunch food costs, increased dinner revenues and increased sleep/family time/quality of life. Well done!
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
What bank is going to give me money to pay off someone else? I have a credit line, and can dip into it again by the end of the summer but would be leaving the company with absolutely no safety net again...something I had to do for the last 3.5 years. That stress is something I dare not get myself into again...it was killing me until this past January when I finally got myself the cash flow I always needed.
I have until August to finish paying him off for our current deal to do so runs out. So i'm going to wait and see for a few more weeks before we actually liquidate. Open to any and all suggestions in the meantime.
@sbonomo is checking on ways to convert the 401k to a traditional IRA and then into a ROTH to avoid penalties, but it looks like we would need to wait 5 years with the money in a ROTH before we tapped it. That won't work...but still checking that avenue.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
I have two guys that watch the fire from 6p to 6a right now. That has changed things significantly for me. Definitely not trying to 86 my bbq during lunch, just add another option with the second kitchen that is lower food cost, makes tourists happy, and is so easy a caveman could run it.
[icon]
Insoxicated
You definitely can't 86 BBQ during lunch. I frequent BBQ joints at lunch and when they don't have ribs I'm pissed. If they don't have any BBQ I'm never going back. Do love the idea of a simplified "margin-monster" menu item or two to flesh out the menu a bit.
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tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
No way i get away from my bbq. I've tried to skip the overnight a few times and go without brisket for just lunch and it always ends with someone pissed off.You definitely can't 86 BBQ during lunch. I frequent BBQ joints at lunch and when they don't have ribs I'm pissed. If they don't have BBQ I'm never going back. Do love the idea of a simplified "margin-monster" menu item or two to flesh out the menu a bit.
msommer
Footballguy
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
Already have tacos....they are killer btw
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
Directly linked to my credit card deposits through square (my sales system). Really just a loan more than a credit line I guess. Best part is I've paid off nearly 70% of the loan in just over 4 months. Finally proof I'm making a profit
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
I really wish I had gone with banks in the beginning of all of this. I'm an idiot for bringing in the guy I did....yet I would have had to take another job 5 years ago when I started this process had I not taken this guys help. That could easily have derailed my whole dream, and no bank would have lent to me back then. (right after financial collapse with a really bad streak on my personal end earlier in the 2000's.)
So with the loan: what's the rate and can you get 100% of what you need out of it? You're going to pay a 10% fee just by taking money out of the 401k not to mention the tax hit right away.tipsy mcstagger said:Directly linked to my credit card deposits through square (my sales system). Really just a loan more than a credit line I guess. Best part is I've paid off nearly 70% of the loan in just over 4 months. Finally proof I'm making a profit
Kills me to see you to have to potentially do this.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
even if i take the huge hits...and its way more than 10% penalty i believe....its kind of worth it just to be free of my partner.
wife is less happy, but knows we have to act now. I've got till August to come up with the other money....just knowing I can make it happen is relief beyond measure.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
the rate is around 12%. much better than the penalties and tax on the 401k liquidation, but leaves me with nothing to fall back on for cash flow after what is traditionally slow summers here in town.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
I am really glad to hear this and that you did not get pushback, this is really the greatest thing to happen to that area in.... decades, must be, without exaggeration, maybe a hundred years. In fact it could make Tchoup a real thoroughfare. Totally awesome, I hope she is giving Nola total support.
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
F&M's is opening a new spot just a couple of blocks from us...it will be a huge outdoor space.
Nola is opening a distillery a few blocks the other way (closer to Tips).
Urban South just opened at Tchoup near Felicity st (at the turn past the walmart)
Another brewery slated to open in the next year on Tchoup.
It is still pretty industrial down here, but it definitely is on the upswing.
msommer
Footballguy
Hmmm, what's the policy about bringing minors to tap rooms? I was planning on bringing the kids next time, with all this happening I may need to come alone
tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
as long as they aren't coal miners.
kids welcome with parent.
kids welcome with parent.
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Henry Ford
Footballguy
To buy out the only remaining other investor? Plenty, I'd expect, if the business is profitable. Just like any other business loan. If you didn't own your piece and were buying his to buy into the business you could get a loan.
Check out an SBA 7(a) loan for Partner Buyout purposes.
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tipsy mcstagger
Footballguy
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