Floating Restaurant in London Business Idea

[Riverdee]

Hi

 

I'm thinking of opening a floating dinner restaurant serving a seven-course Chasidic Shabbat dinner on a boat cruising on the local canal in London.
It would be a chance to experience traditional dishes prepared according to Jewish law and spend quality time with friends and family in a tranquil atmosphere and unique vibe.
Is this something that would interest you? If so how much would you be willing to pay £70-£110? £110-£160? (Per Person)
Would you be so kind to reply so I can bring my idea to life?
Any thoughts, suggestions and advice are welcome

 

Thank you,

All the very best,

 

Dee

[Tonka]

5 minutes ago, Riverdee said:

Hi

 

I'm thinking of opening a floating dinner restaurant serving a seven-course Chasidic Shabbat dinner on a boat cruising on the local canal in London.
It would be a chance to experience traditional dishes prepared according to Jewish law and spend quality time with friends and family in a tranquil atmosphere and unique vibe.
Is this something that would interest you? If so how much would you be willing to pay £70-£110? £110-£160? (Per Person)
Would you be so kind to reply so I can bring my idea to life?
Any thoughts, suggestions and advice are welcome

 

Thank you,

All the very best,

 

Dee

Shouldn't you have worked out how much you need to charge depending on your costs first

[MtB]

4 minutes ago, Riverdee said:

Hi

 

I'm thinking of opening a floating dinner restaurant serving a seven-course Chasidic Shabbat dinner on a boat cruising on the local canal in London.
It would be a chance to experience traditional dishes prepared according to Jewish law and spend quality time with friends and family in a tranquil atmosphere and unique vibe.
Is this something that would interest you? If so how much would you be willing to pay £70-£110? £110-£160? (Per Person)
Would you be so kind to reply so I can bring my idea to life?
Any thoughts, suggestions and advice are welcome

 

Thank you,

All the very best,

 

Dee

 

 

Welcome to the forum Dee.

 

I think you are asking in the wrong place. Most people here have boats and are total skinflints. Whatever the price, its too much according to most boaters! 

 

I think your target market would be found elsewhere. Not sure where though, not being Jewish myself. 

 

 

[Riverdee]

@Tonka Thank you for taking the time to reply, I have indeed worked out my costings. I just thought i'll post it here to see if there is an interest.

[Annie cariad]

Not worth more than £10 per head 

[LadyG]

17 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

Welcome to the forum Dee.

 

I think you are asking in the wrong place. Most people here have boats and are total skinflints. Whatever the price, its too much according to most boaters! 

 

I think your target market would be found elsewhere. Not sure where though, not being Jewish myself. 

 

 

I don't think the location of the boat would have to be near a Jewish stronghold, the customers would travel to a decent eatery. 

I suggest you book on a similar boat and see how much they charge.

The trouble is you may be reducing your client base with this strategy. The main reason for setting up a business is to make a profit. 

I'm not sure how many strict dietary Jews are going to going to pay a premium to be sat in a Jewish restaurant. Have a word with a Jewish restaurant owner before you even think about the boat, and the kitchen of same. Even staffing is going to be a nightmare, and presumably it won't operate on certain days, quite a lot of days!

Edited June 11, 2023 by LadyG

[Riverdee]

@MtB Thank you for your response! I'm not necessarily targeting the Jewish Market, I'm targeting those who might be interested in experiencing something new and unique.

@Annie cariad Thank you for taking the time to reply

@LadyG Thank you for your response. Perhaps I wasn't clear. I am targeting anyone who would be interested in a new experience of eating out. That is, A Shabbat Dinner Experience on a cruising boat. From my research there is not one yet here in England. My questions is, would it interest you or anyone else out there?

Thank you

[David Mack]

If you want to run a floating restaurant on the canal you will need the agreement of CRT. Their boating business pages will give you an idea of what is involved.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/business-and-trade/business-boating

 

[Riverdee]

@David Mack I'm aware of that, but thanks a lot anyways!

[David Mack]

45 minutes ago, Riverdee said:

@David Mack I'm aware of that, but thanks a lot anyways!

Good. You've done more research than some. Occasionally we get newbies popping up here who seem surprised when they find out they can't run their boat-based business on an ordinary cruising licence.

[MtB]

55 minutes ago, Riverdee said:

@MtB Thank you for your response! I'm not necessarily targeting the Jewish Market, I'm targeting those who might be interested in experiencing something new and unique.

 

I still hold that if you draw a Venn diagram of canal boaters and gourmet diners willing to spend a three figure sum (each) on a meal out, the intersection of the two sets will be microscopic. 

 

 

No matter how new and unique the experience! 

 

 

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, Riverdee said:

@MtB Thank you for your response! I'm not necessarily targeting the Jewish Market, I'm targeting those who might be interested in experiencing something new and unique.

@Annie cariad Thank you for taking the time to reply

@LadyG Thank you for your response. Perhaps I wasn't clear. I am targeting anyone who would be interested in a new experience of eating out. That is, A Shabbat Dinner Experience on a cruising boat. From my research there is not one yet here in England. My questions is, would it interest you or anyone else out there?

Thank you

I'm not your target market, nearest I got to gourmet eating in the last year was one meal at Nando's.

I'm sure there are loads of potential customers, but I don't think the boaters I have met are likely to be interested in eating experiences. If they have their own boat I don't think they would be particularly interested in eating on a boat, or cruising.

[Lily Rose]

 

I can't help feeling this is precisely the wrong place to ask this question. Surely people without boats are far more likely to be interested in this than those who do.

[David Mack]

Absolutely. The target market has to be comfortably off Londoners who are willing to fork out for a top class meal with the novelty of it happening on a boat.

My guess is that, compared to a fixed location restaurant, the issues will be:

- limited space on the boat to accommodate both kitchen and diners, so limiting the number of customers you can serve;

- fixed time for departures and return, so customers have to work around your times, rather than the other way round;

- consequently all the customers want serving at the same time, putting peaky demands on kitchen and waiting staff.

[MtB]

1 minute ago, Lily Rose said:

 

I can't help feeling this is precisely the wrong place to ask this question. Surely people without boats are far more likely to be interested in this than those who do.

 

Also, trying to run a gourmet restaurant in a cramped canal boat strikes me as near-impossible. A far better venue would be a decent sized vessel cruising the Thames. 

[Tony Brooks]

Best of luck - I loath "fine dining" and it's bed fellows with a vengeance so I would be unwilling to spend anything on any sort of meal that was offering an "experience". When my BiL takes my wife to one of the premier fine dining locations in England, I go to a local pub for some decent food, cooking and enough to eat.

[David Mack]

For an example of another London(ish) based floating eating experience with a difference, take a look at https://www.thepianoboat.com/cruises

[Bee]

I think you might be in danger of starting right at the most expensive and difficult end of the eatery world. Its hard to make a profit from a restaurant wherever it is situated and whatever niche it is trying to occupy and boats can be horribly expensive - mix the two together and the money could run out very quickly. I would urge caution.

[ditchcrawler]

28 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Absolutely. The target market has to be comfortably off Londoners who are willing to fork out for a top class meal with the novelty of it happening on a boat.

My guess is that, compared to a fixed location restaurant, the issues will be:

- limited space on the boat to accommodate both kitchen and diners, so limiting the number of customers you can serve;

- fixed time for departures and return, so customers have to work around your times, rather than the other way round;

- consequently all the customers want serving at the same time, putting peaky demands on kitchen and waiting staff.

The one in Chester prepares and cooks the meals in the hotel, they set off down with the starter, pick the main course up on the way past going up and then have desert as they come back down to the hotel. I have just checked and they are not trading at the moment Restaurant Cruiser | Places to Eat in Chester | MILL Hotel…

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

The one in Chester prepares and cooks the meals in the hotel, they set off down with the starter, pick the main course up on the way past going up and then have desert as they come back down to the hotel. I have just checked and they are not trading at the moment Restaurant Cruiser | Places to Eat in Chester | MILL Hotel…

This one wants £25 for fish and chips Home (willowcruises.co.uk) this is Davenports on the Trent and Mersey canal Cruises | Davenports of Cheshire

[blackrose]

2 hours ago, Riverdee said:

I'm thinking of opening a floating dinner restaurant serving a seven-course Chasidic Shabbat dinner on a boat cruising on the local canal in London.

 

 

I thought it was spelled Hassidic or are you referring to something else?

 

Also if you're only serving a Shabbat dinner does that mean you'll only be open on Friday evenings? Just wondering how that's going to work as a business?

[frangar]

I’ve worked a fair share of Jewish banquets….it’s some of the worst food I’ve ever had the misfortune to be near I have to say. 

[booke23]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

For an example of another London(ish) based floating eating experience with a difference, take a look at https://www.thepianoboat.com/cruises

 

I think this is a good example of the kind of thing the OP is thinking of setting up. 

As a boater and someone with a keen interest in music I have often thought it might be an interesting day out, however the price is a little high for my taste and I can see myself wanting to stand by the tiller chatting to the skipper about boats etc rather than sitting up front sipping Champagne. I'd also likely ruin my best trousers as I'd probably automatically jump off with the centre line with a hammer and mooring pin in hand when mooring up! 

[magnetman]

I'm saying 'beer can sandwich' to myself in a Jamaican accent for some reason. 

 

 

[Riverdee]

I am extremely thankful to all of you for your great responses.

As @MtB, @LadyG, @Lily Rose pointed out, I guess I posted this one on a wrong platform. If you do know of a better place for me to poll this out I would appreciate if you can let me know.

@David Mack, Thank you. Your questions are definitely legit and helpful. I thought about it and it will indeed have only a limited amount of diners.

There will be a fixed timing and as @blackrose pointed out, I plan to run the experience during the week rather than Friday night so there is more availabilities. And your right, my mistake, its spelled Hassidic.

@David Mack, Exactly I do wonder if the Painobaot cruise is successful and if there is demand for more unique experiences, thats why I posted the question:)

Thank you @Bee for your input. 

@ditchcrawler, Thank you for taking the time to get me all those links, The boat at chester is actually for sale and I was considering it for this idea:) https://ashboats.co.uk/product/leau-t-cuisine/

@frangar Thats a real shame, I am sorry for your experiences however I am sure, like with every eatery, there are people that enjoy it and people that don't. 

Thank you @Tony Brooks, @booke23 & @magnetman for your take. 

And finally, just to explain, the main reason its so expensive is that kosher food is high priced as it requires certifications and special handling in accordance to Jewish Law.

 

[MtB]

48 minutes ago, Riverdee said:

eatery

 

 

"Eatery". Please don't.

 

This makes a place sound one like one step down from a transport café.