What do you look for in a lunch spot?

[path12]

Research for a business plan I'm starting to mull over.

Do you bring your lunch to work or go out? How many days/week on average? What makes your favorite lunch spot your favorite? Sit down or take out? Just whatever comes to mind if you don't mind discussing food (and I believe most of us don't mind that at all.....)

[Pumpy Tudors]

Great. Every time you find a gray pube, you're gonna drop it in someone's food. No, thanks.

[MikeVic]

Yeah man stay away from us with your pubes when we're eating lunch!

[cartman]

I pretty much look for a place that serves food. That's just about a requirement for a lunch spot.

[Lathum]

A few things most people I think will agree with

1. Fast service, maybe even a call ahead and pick it up system
2. Organization in the restaurant/ easily seperate checks.
3. Healthy variety
4. Clean Restrooms
5. Quick but customizable menu items

[path12]

Great. Every time you find a gray pube, you're gonna drop it in someone's food. No, thanks.

There was only the one yet. But I'd be sure and hire really old workers.

[kurtism]

Business lunch - the top priority has to be service. Can the restaurant get me seated, my order taken and filled, and my bill paid promptly. This is an absolute must for many people on tight lunch schedules, and poor execution can kill future visits faster than anything short of pubic hair (or other undesirables) in the food.

Beyond that, value is a big deal. Last of the big three is quality food. (I'd probably rank these two about even.)

As an additional thought, if you can offer something slightly off the beaten path, you have the opportunity to make a name for yourself. On that front, getting the word out that your establishment is open is key.

[Lorena]

A few things most people I think will agree with

1. Fast service, maybe even a call ahead and pick it up system
2. Organization in the restaurant/ easily seperate checks.
3. Healthy variety
4. Clean Restrooms
5. Quick but customizable menu items

This immediately made me think of MikeVic :p

[Cringer]

Deliver to office buildings during lunch hour. In fact, make up a bunch of meals, take them to a nearby office building and give them away for free to see if you can get orders. I saw this on Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares and it worked well.

If I see anything else on Gordon Ramsey shows I will pass it along. Otherwise I don't know the first thing about a 'real job' and eating lunch while doing it.

[Logan]

I'm game.

I eat out for lunch every day of the work week. Here in NYC (primarily midtown), we obviously have a ton of options -- from real sitdown restaurants (both cheap and expensive), to fast food, to the street carts, to the "have everything you could ever want" places. Most of the time, I end up at one of these. These have pay by the pound hot and cold lines, sandwiches, salads, sushi, burritos/quesadillas, soup, etc. The food itself is pretty good overall, it's fast, and I can get out of there for under $10 everytime with the meal, a drink, bag of pretzels, etc. Most of these places have seating areas so you grab your food, pay, and sit down and eat -- no need for waiters or anything like that. This is crucial for me because I have no interest in bringing lunch back to work; I need to get away for a little bit everyday.

There's literally one of these on every street, so I decide which one to go based on what I'm in the mood for that day. I can tell you that I'll go to Delmonico's for a burrito, Food World for the Mongolian Grill, Bistro for their salad ($7 and change for unlimited toppings -- I hate when I have to keep count of how many different things I've asked the guy to put into the salad, or even worse, pay by the topping -- SCREW YOU!), etc. So if you are striving to be one of these places, make sure you have a couple things that are well above average to distinguish yourself a bit.

[MikeVic]

This immediately made me think of MikeVic :p

Har har. I'm not the only one that cares about restrooms!!

[st.cronin]

Fast, flexible service.

[Cringer]

Fast, flexible service.

Not what you want in a brothel. :rolleyes:

[st.cronin]

Also easy parking.

[Logan]

This doesn't play in the city, but when I was working in Jersey, having those "Buy 9 sandwiches, get the 10th free" is a solid way to keep people coming.

[SteveMax58]

In a lunch place...for me, speed is king. I can live meh food, semi-reasonable value...but if you make me wait too long, it doesnt matter how good it was. This is in direct contrast to what I look for in dinner places...but I eat out for lunch nearly every day, and I dont have time for places that dont "get it".

Now, the next priorities are the value/quality of food. This has a limit though. I dont care how good the damn food is...I eat out every day and cannot pay $15 for food, every time. I live in Florida, so ideal quality/value lunches are in the $6 to $10 range.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm going to be repeating what others have said but I see about 5 common points that are important for me and my colleagues when we go out to lunch together:

1. The ability to quickly take our orders and serve the food quickly. We only have an hour or so, and we don't want to have to rush in eating our food.

2. Ability to do separate checks easily. A must for the office crowds.

3. A variety of menu items with healthy choices on there. People don't always want the same type of food, and I think variety wins our vote most of the time.

4. Parking availability. One restaurant never has available parking. It's a good place, but there parking lot is so small, that I wonder how they stay in business.

5. Ability to handle large numbers. Sometimes, we have as many as 20 of us go to eat at once. Other times it is just 3 or 4.

[Izulde]

For me, I like a place where I can order at a counter, get the food quickly and find some place to sit down.

I also like my lunch places to be quiet. It can be busy, so long as it's quiet because for me, lunch is a time to relax and just zone out and I can't do that if there's lots of loud noises and conversation.

The food has to be decent and I'm willing to pay a little bit more for a good tasting meal.

[st.cronin]

Also, smoking hot waitresses.

[Pyser]

keeping it under $10 for the entire meal is a must

[albionmoonlight]

Price fixe is nice. Like [entree choice], chips, and soda for $7.00 (including tax). I have found myself avoiding some places that nickle and dime us at lunch.

Separate checks.

The ability, like EF27 said, to seat a group of 15 if you need to, or a group of 2. Lots of tables and chairs that can be moved around.

Oh, and this one does not come from me, but I have a co-worker whose husband has Seliac (sp?) disease. Apparently, lots of people have this, but no know knows about it/caters to it. If a place had seliac friendly meals, I think that you might attract that business without turning away anyone else.

[jeheinz72]

I bring my lunch probably 90% of all days.

When I don't though I'd say I'd rank

1) Speed -- No dilly dallying
2) Cost - $6-10 for counter-type deal.
3) Food taste / options.

[Schmidty]

I have to bring my lunch to work. Nothing is open at 2 am, and I can't leave anyway.

Actually, even when I have worked normal hours, I bring my own food. I'm a much better cook than any restaurant, and I'm also cheap, so I ate out very rarely.

[Raiders Army]

A few things most people I think will agree with

1. Fast service, maybe even a call ahead and pick it up system
2. Organization in the restaurant/ easily seperate checks.
3. Healthy variety
4. Clean Restrooms
5. Quick but customizable menu items

I'd echo these and add that 2 person and 3 person meals aren't a bad idea. The people save money. My wife and I like eating at El Taco Tote and getting their 2 person meal. I can eat her share of the food without feeling bad I'm eating "her" share of the food.

[DaddyTorgo]

Oh, and this one does not come from me, but I have a co-worker whose husband has Seliac (sp?) disease. Apparently, lots of people have this, but no know knows about it/caters to it. If a place had seliac friendly meals, I think that you might attract that business without turning away anyone else.

celiac = "allergic to wheat" I believe

[Buccaneer]

Only one thing:

Good quality food that I can take back to my desk. I always eat through lunch (so I can browse teh internets and leave early) so I'm lucky I work downtown where I can get good deli, Chipotle, wings or Subway.

[ColtCrazy]

Only one thing:

Good quality food that I can take back to my desk. I always eat through lunch (so I can browse teh internets and leave early) so I'm lucky I work downtown where I can get good deli, Chipotle, wings or Subway.

I'll echo this because I love to get things to go then go waste time messing around online. Of course, I work in a town of about 1400 people and I have one place I go to, which is like a general store from the late 1890s in that you can get everything you need there...sandwiches, drinks, nails, fertilizer, whatever. When I go to Indy or stuff for conferences I love places like Einstein Bagels or BWs...quick meals that are good.

[stevew]

Round numbers are usually best, especially if it's all enclusive. Like 5 bucks for a piece of pizza and a drink. or 8 bucks for a sandwich chips and drink.

It's gotta be fast too, I don't have time to dick around waiting for my lunch.

[albionmoonlight]

This one is a lot harder to pull off, but thinking outside the box a bit . . .

I was wondering what made one of my office's favorite places our favorite place. And it struck me that the staff was really friendly and (here's the kicker) knew us. (I am using the past tense because the place has closed for renovation/expansion).

So, if you are in a business area with the same foot traffic coming in, then low staff turnover is a bonus. People like going where the waitress knows what they like. This, of course, only makes sense in a sitdown place. If you are thinking of more of a pick up a sandwich to go kind of place, then I don't think that it matter.

[path12]

This is all great. Keep it comin'!

[Logan]

If you could be a little more specific about what kind of info you need (without giving away anything) it would probably help.

[path12]

If you could be a little more specific about what kind of info you need (without giving away anything) it would probably help.

Sure. A smaller type of place, maybe six-seven tables but more pick-up than sit down. Situated in either an industrial park area where lots of folks drive to work/lunch or on the outskirts of a downtown area where there are some big buildings but not a ton of lunch choices around.

As for type of food, let's just say a focused but good-quality menu.

[rkmsuf]

You need the Golden Archs and have to offer the Big Mic.

[Noop]

You need the Golden Archs and have to offer the Big Mic.

Might want to edit that smurf.

[rkmsuf]

Might want to edit that smurf.

Is your royal penis clean?

[Noop]

Is your royal penis clean?

LMAO!!!! Very good one sir. I tip my hat to you as I missed that reference.

[Logan]

Sexual Chocolate everybody!

Back on topic, just make sure whatever you're focusing on (if by focused you mean a couple particular items or one really narrow cuisine) that it's something that wouldn't shrink your customer base too much or that wouldn't keep people from going there 3-4 times a week. If you're thinking of a place that makes only wraps but has 150 different varieties, that should be fine.

[path12]

Back on topic, just make sure whatever you're focusing on (if by focused you mean a couple particular items or one really narrow cuisine) that it's something that wouldn't shrink your customer base too much or that wouldn't keep people from going there 3-4 times a week. If you're thinking of a place that makes only wraps but has 150 different varieties, that should be fine.

I agree. As the menu develops there needs to be enough variety to encourage multiple visits per week. At the same time I'd want to make sure the menu isn't so scattered as to inflate inventory costs.