Low Carb Restaurant
 

If there were a restaurant that specifically catered to low carb foods (or even low carb "fast foods") would you eat there?

Assume that the cost of the food was slightly higher than national fast food chains and the food quality was good to great.

If so, what would you want that restaurant to:

- look like?
- carry in terms of menus?
- provide, in terms of additional services?

I am looking into seeking investors to start up a low carb fast-food restaurant.

Thanks,
JF3

Great Idea
 

throw one over here in CO.
I would definitly eat there.

I dont care what it looks like as long as its clean. Then i would not have to cook so much.
It would definitly have to have take out.
as far as the menu goes anything low carb.

Lo Carb desserts - would be a must!!!

McAtkins

maybe for a value meal you could have a cheeseburger no bun wrappped in lettuce, pork rhinds, and a diet rite. lol

:doah:

Jon :rose:

you asked
 

heres my wish list :)
really great decaf, sugarfree, heavycream coffee drinks -hot & cold
sugarfree italian cream sodas
filtered water on the table at no charge :D
fresh salads w/ bacon,cheese,etc. -my fav is bluecheese / BLT
low carb tortillas w/ chix fahitas stuff on them
deep fried veggie chips-like potato chips but not potatos ;)
coleslaw
Thia roll ups-spicy w/ side of peanut sauce
baskets of spicy wings w/celery & bluecheese dip
burger in a basket
little bags of BBQ soy nuts and flavored almonds on the counter
so that i can bring my non LC friends in w/ it has to offer a bun for the burger and i hate to say it but probably regular ketchup :eek:
menus have to have nutrtional info on them
the decor should have yoga posters, at least one poster of a really hot guy lifting weights ;) and one poster that says BEEF- Its whats for dinner.
OH- there should be a doctors scale that doubles as decor/addtl'service
for fun put me in one of those mirrors that makes me look tall and skinny no matter what. It should be near the desserts!
well i'm getting hungry so let me know when you're open!

This buisness would do very well. It seems like the low carb is "fad" is finally making it out of fad status. Everyone has a friend that low-carbs. "In-N-Out" already has the "Protein Style" burger. All it is is a burger wrapped in lettuce instead of bread. That would probably be teh downfall of the buisness, the fact that you can pretty much go to any fastfood restaurant and get a hamburger and take off the buns. Or go to a sit down restaurant and get steak and eggs. I don't know what it is but you gotta find the niche or something that would make it worhtwhile to go there to get your low-carb foods rather than to a fastfood place. I'm guesswing the good low-carb desserts would be the big drawl. Just my thoughts.

...and your thoughts are appreciated. You're absolutely right. Why this restaurant? Here are some of my thoughts on this:

- Low carb dieters are very passionate after they see "the truth" about the role of fats vs. carbs. It is my guess that this alone would make for repeat customers.

- Guilt-free ordering... I know that I feel like an idiot when I order a burger with no bread, + cheese, +bacon, + a side of mayo. My guess is that many people order the burger, and throw away the bread, just to avoid the guilt. At this place, it would be second nature.

- Convenience through variety. I know that I've gotten tired of eggs, eggs, eggs, beef, beef, beef, etc, etc. I know that there are tons of possibilities and combinations that are yet untapped. This restaurant would make the variety easily accessible.

- True health. How many restaurants can say that the food is good for you? Subway found a niche in this market with the Jared campaign. While it's true that some have lost weight on low fat sandwiches--they're starving. I know--I was one of them. Well, not at the low carb restaurant.

- A place to meet and greet with others like you.

- Just plain convenience. Didn't have time to prepare your low carb meal? Run to the low carb fast food place on your way to work. No sweat.

Just some things, I've been thinking about....

Everyone, thanks for all the suggestions. I'd like to hear more...

I notice that you live in Chicago which is a big city so probably a good place to open a new buisness with such a "radical" concept. BUT I think if you are really, really, really, really, really, gonna do this, you should open up shop in L.A. Purely because it is the health/trendy capital of the world. More thoughts of mine, i'm sure to have more spewing out soon....

I think the best draw of a LC restaurant would be really great sauces. It would be nice to have LC gravies and glazes and ketchup and things like that, in addition to a lot of fresh veggies.

And, yes, it gets annoying saying, "No fries, what kind of veggies do you have?"

I think the best part would be that one could eat just about anything on the menu! It would be a good idea to highlight meals especially low in carbs, as well, for induction level dieters.

That's my two cents. :)

no bread served at table
 

Low carb desserts- a definite plus.

Low carb bread- with real butter, too.

JF3,

I have been thinking the same thing but with no capitol and limited knowledge, I know it is something that I could not do. In central Florida I know it would be a big hit because all of the stores are running out of Atkins products and the sugar free section is bare and I had to wait a week to get a box of Splenda. Low carb is big here! really big!

I would love to have a place that served really good fried chicken coated in pork rinds. I hate to make it because of the mess but oh it taste SOOOO good.

My dream resturant would have flavors from all different types, such as italian, mexican, japanese, chinese, thai, american, californian, carribean, cuban, french, etc. Kind of like an international low carb fare. And by doing all of these different types of food, you could trick other non LC'ers to come in and enjoy!

Oh! and lots of flavors of cheesecake! I guess what I am descibing is a Low Carb Cheesecake Factory! Didn't they start out in Chicago? We have 2 in Central Florida and they are always packed! Oh.. and a salad bar to die for! that would be great! And low carb soups... I could go on and on... can't you tell!

The very thought of this excites me so much! Good luck on your endevour!

It really is a great idea!! I think it would succeed!!

I've got some names



The Low Carb Cafe


or


The Meaterie Eaterie

or


Where's the Bun?



Jon :rose:

I would like to see a restraunt carry:

1) Diet Rite or Diet RC Cola;

2) Low-Carb Deserts (NO Aspartame/NutraSweet/Equal).

3) Low-Carb Sides. It really annoys me that the choices at most restraunts are Hi-Starch, Hi-Flour, or Hi-Sugar;

4) Splenda and Stevia Packets on the Table instead of Sugar and Equal.

5) No HIDDEN Sugar !!! This is the worst thing about restraunts. They buy food loaded w. Sugar. Some meats (Bacon, Sausage, Ham, etc...) have Sugar added. Many soups have sugar added.

6) No Hidden MSG !!! They hide that garbage in all kinds of stuff. I just found out how much MSG I've been unwittingly consuming. I have been trying not to consume MSG by not eating Chineese (even before going on Atkins). Then, I found out they were hiding it in my soup.

7) No Aspartame/NutraSweet/Equal. It has too many related problems. Splenda isn't that much more expensive and IMO tastes better w.o the Side-Effects of Aspartame.

8) Better soup choices. I can only eat the soup at most restraunts 1 day a week, because the other 6 days they serve Hi-Carb. soups. Actually, I can get away with a couple Matzo Balls in my soup w.o getting knocked out of Ketosis. But, I won't touch msot cream (Added Milk) or tomato based (Added Sugar) soups due to their Hi-Carb. content.

9) Better Veggie choices. You don't have to cook every dang veggie. Some veggies are better raw. Also, every veggie does not have to be preceded by "Sweet" or "Honey". Both indicate added sugar.

10) More meat choices. I had Buffalo (Real Buffalo not Chicken) a couple times when I was living in Orlando. The hotel on Alafaya and Colonial made it into Hamburgers. Unfortunately, they cooked onions INTO the meat. The Buffalo itself tasted good.

There's a restaurant in the portland, Oregon area that offers a LC special daily for lunch and dinner. They are usually very good and very filling. If they only had the desserts covered, I'd be happy!

I would love to see something like this. Everyone's got really great ideas (especially the one about having posters of hot guys lifting weights :D )

You've pointed out some great advantages to having a LC restaurant. My thoughts: Let's face it-- even though a LOT of people follow LC plans, LC still has a stigma attached to it. Most people aren't informed about the specifics of plans like Atkins, PP, and the like. A LC restaurant would prove to people that LCing is not about eating meat, bacon, eggs, and grease all day long. This could incite a revolution :D

You're kidding me right? That is/was my husbands favorite of all time fast food place.. is this something new? hmmm his birthday is coming.. I will have to check this out!! Any carb info on it?

it's true, it's true!!
 

and according to this nutritional guide from the official In-N-Out site.... a cheese burger, protein style is only 11 carbs!! can I believe that? Is this one of those... it's too good to be true things?

http://www.in-n-out.com/html/frm_b3a.html

Hey CC!

What resturant was that in Orlando? I didn't know we had one that served Buffalo. That is kind of out of the way for me (I'm in Altamonte Springs) but may be worth the trip. Please tell! :)

It was the restraunt in the hotel on the Northwest Corner of Alafaya (SR434) and Colonial (SR50). Last time I ate there was Aug. 1999, so I'm not sure if they are still around.

Is it just me or does 11 carbs seem a lot for a hamburger wrapped in lettuce? I'm not familiar with In-N-Out, does this include ketchup, pickles, some sweet sauce?

Just curious.

Yes they come with a thick slice of tomato, onion, pickles and I am not sure of the sauce. Ketchup and mayo I think. It's doesn't taste like fast food chain burgers either.

My dh's birthday is coming and we are going to Disneyland, maybe if there's an In-N-Out down there we can splurge and go to his ex fav place to eat a burger!

If it's going to be LC fast food my choices would be: salads with Romaine and spinach, grilled chicken, fish, beef or pork in low-carb tortilla, crustless quiche, low-carb pizza by the slice, soup specials. The food will cost more - fresh food without fillers, MSG and other crap will be more expensive to purchase and that cost will have to be supported by the customers. This will be a dis-incentive to folks who don't understand low-carb.

It sounds like an interesting but challenging venture.
Cindy

Great idea....one I've had myself recently! While I love to cook, there are nights when I'm just beat and don't have the time. My s/o and I like going out to eat on those nights, but one of the drawbacks is limited selection in most restaurants...it turns out that nearly all the selections are either breaded/floured/sugared, and we are left with only one or two choices.

I think you'd be better off pursuing the sit-down market instead of fast food. Most fast-food places already have a few LC choices (we get whole chickens from Boston Market all the time and supplement at home w/spinach salad, etc.) Also, the nature of fast-food, I think, opens the possibility for more waste, which drives costs up.

I'd go more toward a bistro/specialty cafe type place. Things to concentrate on:

5-7 appetizer selections of different foods (not all seafood, for
example)

Same with entrees, 3-5 chicken dishes, 3-5 beef/pork/lamb dishes, 3-5 seafood entrees. Give some variety in sauces on these....like a pork stroganoff which has a sauce that doesn't contain sugar. (One of our biggest gripes now is that we almost always get stuck with "undressed" food....hard to find sauces that don't contain sugar.)

Low-carb sides, i.e. cauliflower mashed faux-tatoes, steamed veggies, green beans dressed w/bacon & walnuts, etc.

A few dessert selections......jello, individual muffin-tin cheesecake, etc.

Beverage selection: Crystal light teas, Slenda soft drinks, decaf coffee, etc.

Feature a few specials depending on what's in season and what you need to do to push food to keep waste to a minimum. (If asparagus in season, perhaps a pork-rind crumbed "breaded" veal w/ lemon sauce topped w/cheese & baby asparagus....and the next day, perhaps a shrimp/asparagus bake to kill off the remaining asparagus, for example).

We've discussed this a few times, and I think there's a real market for this. Here in North shore/Boston region, nearly every low-carb place around us is continually out of things (ketone strips, bake mix, etc.), so I know there are a wealth of people doing LC. This area also has a high disposable income factor, and many of us would absolutely pay a bit more to eat at a place like I've described. The truth is, we're paying just as much NOW because we pay full price for a meal and can't eat half of the accompaniments!

Great idea.....let us know if it develops for you.

To me, 'fast food' and 'restaurant' are contradictions. Restaurants I go there and sit down and food is delivered, 'fast food' I drive through or go there and order and get food at the counter. I suppose nowdays everybody uses the term 'restaurant'.

Well the biggest deal is that it cater to more than low-carb, if you want to get investors.

It could cater to vegetarians, also, providing several spicy soy foods that fit that bill.

It could cater to diabetics, also, and a little research would show you a *massive* audience in THAT crowd for any city -- much higher than the low carb and vegans combined.

With those three focuses I think you could build a case for some investment money.

As for the food, basically it just needs to be tasty and fast and not super expensive (though a little higher than normal is fine, we know it hasn't got the billions in bulk McD has for lowballing prices).

And if it's a genuine restaurant, then it needs to provide seating that large people can be comfortable in, and some degree of privacy (simple screens between tables or whatever).

PJ

JF3: Would this be a possibility? I ask this because, most LCers can "make do" at most fast food places as well as sit-down restaurants. But, the real draw to a sit-down restaurant would be LC desserts (Splenda-sweetened). It's very rare that I can have dessert while having a meal out while my non-LCing husband dives into his dessert. Good luck on your LC journey!!!

SOUNDS GREAT
 

I live in greenwich ct, and i am close to nyc, id love to see a lc restaurant, devoted to "our people" actually, if u had someone calculate the point factor im sure the ww people would come to, as a busy working mom, id love to go out once or twice a week, with the family and be able to keep on my atkins. good luck and dont forget us here on the east coast.

Hello
 

Well i would like to see a sit down type restarant with good steaks or course but also low carb dishes that I don't make at home like breaded foods with low carb legal breading of course and I really would like to see some vegi selection on the menu. I am tired of the sides being rice, potato or corn. How about soem broccoli with or without some awesome cheese sauce, green beans, zucinni and let the patons have a choice of like 4 low carb vegis not jut one vegi per day.

And of couse awesome fresh salads with great full fat low carb dressings. Lots of low carb vegis to pick from for your salad would be great

And I would love to try low carb cheesecake or other low carb dessert to end a great meal.

Offer several low carb drink choice not just diet COKe/pepsi or iced tea!!!

Great idea!!!
 

I'm going to me moving to Colorado, and this is an idea I've had for a while. Am interested to know how you're making out? I've had the idea of doing a similiar thing in Denver. Would love to hear about your progress...have you found your investors? Let's chat.

Ang