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I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

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Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#281

Post by daveslash »

Haegin wrote: post #174
geofft wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some things in a capitalist society that are the domain of philanthropy, and some things that are not. A school or library might be a suitable target of philanthropy, but a burger place or pub or barber shop isn't; there's no way to fund it and have it end up the same sort of place it would be on its own. At best, it can be a target of a GoFundMe or something - but that's just to pay operating costs. The st…

I think daveslash was suggesting the burger joint runs as the for-profit entity that it already is and that it is the source of the philanthropy, not the target. To give an example, charge exorbitant prices for burgers knowing there are still people desperate enough to try the burger that paying $30 is fine and then use the extra revenue to give back to the community, possibly by paying for the local soccer club to g…

Thank you Haegin for clarifying what I was trying to say.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#282

Post by jacurtis »

purplezooey wrote: post #279
joezydeco wrote: post #221

Let's hear from a local about what really happened to Stanich's: https://www.metafilter.com/177718/Sometimes-its-better-not-t... "Anecdotally, I went to Stanich's a few weeks before the shutdown. They certainly weren't getting overrun with customers at that point. The place was maybe a quarter full on a Friday night, and it was filthy. Dust everywhere, dishes left on tables, stains on the floor, the crust on the ketc…

Do they really call the place where the orders are picked up "the pass"? :)

Yeah, it's short for "the pass thru". Older restaurants and diners used to cut a hole in the wall between the kitchen and dining area to pass food through. So yes it became known as "the pass". This is where your food sits and collects before it comes out to your table.

It's also where waitstaff pass tickets through to the kitchen. Lots of passing going on back and forth. Hence "the pass".

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#283

Post by aeriklawson »

In my experience, rarely do these "best [food item] in [location]" lists (even the more reputable ones) deliver anything better than a marginally better dish. Sometimes even a lesser one because the author's personal preferences were different from yours or you craved a particular taste that was underrepresented in the food.

I don't think I've ever gone out to one of these places and had my expectations matched - you basically wait in line for so long that your mind convinces you it was better than everything else to justify the wait.

Living in NYC made me shake my head every weekend; seeing people lined up multiple hours for "the best" weekend brunch when there were countless top-notch options right down the street was just incomprehensible - it's a cultural and social/psychological gimmick to just be at the top spot.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#284

Post by notyourday »

tptacek wrote: post #253
notyourday wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To the commenters saying Stanich should simply raise its prices: there's a price ceiling for that burger. It's not a fancy chef burger; it's a standard burger shop burger executed well. That's incorrect. Chef driven burgers are no different from the other burgers - the prices are raised until the price no longer can be raised. As long as Suzi from Chicago is willing to make a trip to Portland and she does not balk…

I don't think that's true, but it's being discussed ad nauseam upthread if you're interested.

It is discussed by people who believe the restaurant business is special, which is demonstrated time and time again not to be the case.

It is a standard supply and demand issue. It is studied ad nauseam in business schools. Raising prices is a standard way to drop the demand. It works for restaurants because they are one of the simplest businesses.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#285

Post by monksy »

gerbilly wrote: post #47
comis wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most confusing thing about the line at Franklin's is you can just order it to go and skip the line entirely. Granted, you have to plan ahead a bit, but who's deciding at the spur of the moment to go eat lunch at Franklin's anyway?

I believe there is such a thing as "queuing culture." I don't know if it's driven by Disney resorts and cruises, but it seems as if people like standing in line for some reason.

You've never been to England.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#286

Post by tptacek »

notyourday wrote: post #284
tptacek wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true, but it's being discussed ad nauseam upthread if you're interested.

It is discussed by people who believe the restaurant business is special, which is demonstrated time and time again not to be the case. It is a standard supply and demand issue. It is studied ad nauseam in business schools. Raising prices is a standard way to drop the demand. It works for restaurants because they are one of the simplest businesses.

It's not complicated. The Stanich burger probably isn't even 50% better than locally available substitutes, let alone 500%. There's a bubble in interest in the restaurant due to the ranking. Most of the people willing to pay bubble premiums (in fact, probably all of them) have never used the product before, but have used substitutes. If you price to capture the premium from the bubble, you'll make more money in the short term, and alienate the customers that are going to keep you afloat after the bubble bursts.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#287

Post by beat »

Way back in the '80s, I worked in the kitchen at a little ice cream and lunch counter place called Great Midwestern. Ronald Reagan visited, and declared the blueberry ice cream "best ice cream in America" (to be fair, it was really excellent). This led to a big boom in business - and more importantly, mandatory visits by GOP presidential candidates in 1987 Iowa, with all the press circus that involved.

The owners took advantage of their good fortune and sold the business to someone else, who immediately started to "cut costs" by cheapening the ice cream. We went through two or three other owners, eventually landing on an out-of-state mega-dairy that just repackaged the cheap ice cream they sold in grocery stores - still sold as "best ice cream in America", the Ronald Reagan seal of approval.

Luckily, I could at least maintain standards in the kitchen, continuing to deliver all-vegetarian made from scratch soups daily and a nice selection of cold sandwiches made to order. But eventually, it died of neglect.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#288

Post by trynewideas »

jonnycomputer wrote: post #275
mabbo wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To the commenters saying Stanich should simply raise its prices: there's a price ceiling for that burger. It's not a fancy chef burger; If you have a five hour lineup for a burger, you need to raise your prices at least a little bit. You'll make more money overall, and your customers will be happy.

He would, in all likelihood, lose his regulars that had come in for years. For people who just want to make a living, and enjoy life doing it, that might be like losing all your friends.

The article explicitly goes into this, and in my reading at least is the entire point of the story.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#289

Post by jakobegger »

49531 wrote: post #260
joezydeco wrote: post #221

Let's hear from a local about what really happened to Stanich's: https://www.metafilter.com/177718/Sometimes-its-better-not-t... "Anecdotally, I went to Stanich's a few weeks before the shutdown. They certainly weren't getting overrun with customers at that point. The place was maybe a quarter full on a Friday night, and it was filthy. Dust everywhere, dishes left on tables, stains on the floor, the crust on the ketc…

Yea _reading_ the linked article goes into all of this.

Not really, the author is pretty convinced that he killed the restaurant, despite Stanich mentioning family problems.

Re: I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

#290

Post by JumpCrisscross »

yholio wrote: post #254
crazygringo wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. There's a fine line between a reasonable price with a long line... and raising it where people say "they're price gouging, ugh!" and lose your customers forever because you're no longer someone with a passion for the best burger, you're a sellout for the money. Supply and demand doesn't work as smoothly as you think. It's the same reason why huge TicketMaster fees exist -- so artists can sell tickets at a "f…

A simple fix for that is to put up a big sign that says "Tourist tax in effect" and make a $25 rebate for any regular customer or person that can prove a local address; or simply assert with a straight face to the staff they live on this and this street. It's a bit of a hassle for the locals but the place is saved. Sure, the tourists will attack you on Yelp and Instagram and accuse you of price gouging. But to hell w…

> put up a big sign that says "Tourist tax in effect"

No need to be that adversarial. Put up a high price and advertise a discount for anyone who can show ID with a local address.

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