I'm planning opening a pasty shop - what are the profit expectations?

PasturesNew

Davesnave wrote: »

*ETA While I'm away, distracted elsewhere, I see PN has already provided a piccie and a bloomin' map as well! Is there no end to her talents?

No.

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PasturesNew

I hadn't heard of Greggs until I moved 2 years ago. They're not everywhere.

A lot of people here, giving advice on shopping etc, speak as if everything is everywhere. Where I used to live there wasn't even a Waitrose within 50 miles, so I'd not been in one of those ever until recently. Starbucks - I hadn't seen one until 2 years ago, still haven't been in one but don't care. Saw my first Nandos 2 years ago too ... and went into a shop just to see a PS2/WII as I'd never seen those either.

Some places aren't everywhere... even Greggs.

Edit: Greegs - I just checked, my nearest used to be 110 miles away, in a town I've never even been to.

sjaypink

PasturesNew wrote: »

I hadn't heard of Greggs until I moved 2 years ago. They're not everywhere.

A lot of people here, giving advice on shopping etc, speak as if everything is everywhere. Where I used to live there wasn't even a Waitrose within 50 miles, so I'd not been in one of those ever until recently. Starbucks - I hadn't seen one until 2 years ago, still haven't been in one but don't care. Saw my first Nandos 2 years ago too ... and went into a shop just to see a PS2/WII as I'd never seen those either.

Some places aren't everywhere... even Greggs.

Edit: Greegs - I just checked, my nearest used to be 110 miles away, in a town I've never even been to.

i've only ever seen one greggs in my life- thought it was just me!

was given the opportunity for some funding for a pub lease earlier this year- glad i didn't jump in now. food sounds good though - love pastys! :T

...although i'd probably go for a deli- style sandwich/ roll bar myself. don't know why. just would :A

shellsuit

Greggs (and sayers) is naff. Its notmade on site, it's brought in, frozen and baked.

What you want is a good, home baked pasty or pie. You can't beat it!

I'm on maternity leave at the moment but I work in an independant butchers/bakers which make pasties and pies on the premises.

Also make home made soup which is bloody tasty on a cold day with a bread roll.

We get people coming in right through summer for hot pies, pasties and complaining there is no soup (we don't do it all year round).

We also sell hot pork and apple baps, hot ham baps, burger baps and cumberland hot dogs (12"hot dogs!)

The profits are small, that I do know. But get it right and get those customers through your door, buying everything baked throughout the day, and you will be laughing!

wageslave

shellsuit wrote: »

We also sell hot pork and apple baps

Get thee behind me Satan

Pagg

You'd make more money if your outlet has a niche. A target market that is not your normal lunchtime food scoffers. How about a cafe for lesbian girls who like to share a single coffee? Could call it '2 girls 1 cup'.

treliac

fc123 wrote: »

Unfortunately, I don't eat pasties, ever, and haven't stepped foot in a Greggs for years

That's how you keep your figure fc ... a lesson to us all.

Snooze

Further to my last post I would also advise you to steer clear of franchises, unless you're the person at the top who is dishing them out. Franchises are for noobs who have no clue about business and the only thing they achieve is making those at the top very rich while they sit on their collective !!!!!! doing f-all and you slog your guts out working 12 hour days 7 days a week and see very little in return. Once again it's the old question - if the product is such a money-spinner then why are they trying to franchise it all out instead of setting up the shops themselves ?? Yes, that's right, because it's all BS... :rolleyes:

Now here's an idea for you which *may* work. Round my way we have a take-away chicken shop called Marston's. They do hot freshly cooked chicken in just about every combo you can imagine. That is not something you'll find at Gregg's (nor pretty much anywhere else for that matter). This place does that much business that they can bring Leeds Road to a complete standstill in the evenings with punters blocking up the road with their cars trying to get in to the place. It's only a little !!!!-pot place with no other real shops near it for miles except the odd newsagents and yet they have people queueing out of the door to buy their stuff.

Flogging hot chickens I can see working as no-one else is doing it. Flogging hot pasties I can't see working because everyone else is doing it. That's your niche market sorted. Also put some freshly baked jacket spuds on the menu (something else Gregg's don't do) as well with a variety of fillings and you'll be cooking on gas. I bet that given a choice more people would opt for the chicken/hot spud snack over a hot pasty. Why? Because everyone is a health freak these days and chicken/hot spuds = healthy, pasties = not.

Another good idea I saw - and I've mentioned it here before (think I briefly discussed the merits with fc123 or LIR, can't remember) - is a hot evening meal style take-away. There is one such place in Weston-super-Mare called Carvery Fayre (iirc), it's on the corner at the entrance to the coach park. Basically they do evening meal style food in the form of take-away and you choose what you want and they make it up into polystyrene trays for you. For example, a hot decent size beef & yorkshire puddings meal with a choice of 2 vegs, some roasties and gravy will cost you around £4.50. When you consider that your average size grease-in-a-box take-away pizza would cost you the same then I think it's pretty good value for a hot healthy and tasty meal. Like the chicken place, when I was there people were queued out of the door and it wasn't surprising really as the food was superb.

In fact I could just eat a nice meal from there now . Pity that it's half 3 in the morning and I'm about 200 miles away . Will have to make do with raiding the fridge instead .

R

PasturesNew

Snooze wrote: »

Weston-super-Mare called Carvery Fayre (iirc), it's on the corner at the entrance to the coach park. Basically they do evening meal style food in the form of take-away and you choose what you want and they make it up into polystyrene trays for you. For example, a hot decent size beef & yorkshire puddings meal with a choice of 2 vegs, some roasties and gravy will cost you around £4.50. When you consider that your average size grease-in-a-box take-away pizza would cost you the same then I think it's pretty good value for a hot healthy and tasty meal. Like the chicken place, when I was there people were queued out of the door and it wasn't surprising really as the food was superb.

In fact I could just eat a nice meal from there now . Pity that it's half 3 in the morning and I'm about 200 miles away . Will have to make do with raiding the fridge instead .

R

Right, that sorts out the venue for where we can all meet (ideal as WSM has a train station) ... so now it's just who and when.

Roast tatties in a polystyrene box all round

Pobby

You can eat in at that place in Weston, I did many years ago. Not a great experience but then again they are not really geared up for eating in. Anyway, it`s been going about 9 years at least.