Aaron Ziegler

Minneapolis, MN (USA)
Role(s):
C-Level Executive (CEO, CFO, etc.)

Daza LLC

Find More Startups Startup
Location: Minneapolis
Industry: Hospitality
Year Founded: 2008
Number Employees: 1-10 people
Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MISSION STATEMENT The primary objective of the project is the opening and operation of a successful restaurant called “The Farm,” which will serve healthy organic cuisine based on a “green” LEED-certified concept, while still keeping with mainstream tastes. The cuisine will reflect Minnesota - and more specifically, the trendy Uptown area culture. The restaurant will utilize as much organic, locally sourced product as possible. Through the purchase of product from local growers, development of business relationships, and the cutting the costs of “middle men,” “The Farm” will be able to provide a higher quality, lower priced product for the customer. This cost-saving approach to supplies, cooking everything from scratch, and purchasing wine as a commodity are several techniques that will be employed to produce a much higher quality product that is in line with the “green” concept at affordable prices for today’s economy. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION “The Farm” will be structured as a limited partnership. The controlling partner, Executive Chef and General Manager will be Aaron Ziegler, with over eighteen years of experience in the industry. The opening costs for the project are mainly comprised of this renovation, to include the completion of a rooftop patio, the installation of mechanisms for harnessing alternative energy sources, as well as kitchen and bar build outs. Also included in the opening budget are a starting inventory, staff training, and an initial labor budget. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES The restaurant will feature three different menus of fare: (1) a “fine dining” dinner and lunch menu, (2) a bar menu, and (3) a pre-packaged deli-style fare. All three menus will reflect an organic, farmer-driven, and health-conscious style of “New American Cuisine”. These menus will also be seasonal and in constant flux. In addition, the restaurant will also offer and continue to develop catering services based upon General Manager Aaron Ziegler’s years of experience in catering – opening a potential fourth stream of revenue. The style of food offered will highlight its organic ingredients in a health conscious, fresh, and elegant manner. Great care will be taken to present this cuisine in a very approachable “Midwestern” style both in price and design. Price ranges for entrées will be in the fifteen-dollar to low twenty-dollar range, and starters will range from seven to fifteen dollars. There will also be a separate bar/lounge menu in the five to twelve-dollar range as well as an affordable healthy deli-style menu offered in recycled “to-go” containers. MARKET ANALYSIS The primary market area is the five-mile radius surrounding the proposed project site, and includes the city lakes to the west, the immediate Uptown area and Downtown Minneapolis. This area has a population of approximately 500,000 people, half of which fall in the age and associated income range for the target market. COMPETITION There are well over 35 bars and eateries in Uptown, but none fill this unique niche that seems tailor-made for the target market and local community. Much of the fare in the area is very unhealthy and sometimes poorly executed bar food, save a few sandwich, pizza, and ethnic restaurants; most of which are very homogenized and outdated. However, two new restaurants have opened in the immediate area, Tiger Sushi and Moto-I. Both restaurants are doing well, and will add to the already great draw the neighborhood has. Both restaurants also have complimenting concepts to the farm and will only add to business. Both restaurants opened in the middle of the worst part of this current economic down turn, and are both doing very well. “The Farm” will enjoy several competitive advantages when compared to other local restaurants and bars, including: its existing theatre marquee; favorable lease terms (“free” square footage for mezzanine and rooftop patio levels and $10 per square foot less then the area average attached to the existing square footage); restaurant, bar, & deli-style take out menus; access to local growers; healthier cuisine; and “green” concept marketing. FACILITY AND OPERATIONS The proposed project site (2934 Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota) was originally built as a beautiful old brick theatre in 1914 and features a prominent marquee. The exterior remains, for the most part, in its original grandeur, and will remain unaltered with the exception of the addition of a rooftop patio. The interior, however, is already basically gutted, which will aid in the remodeling project. The proposed remodel will include a new kitchen, three bars and four bathrooms, and will also add a 3,500sq ft mezzanine level and approximately 3,000 square feet of patio space for which the restaurant will pay no additional rent (Per the agreed lease terms, square footage for the 20 year lease and both five year options will continue to be calculated at the original square footage – despite the addition of the mezzanine and patio). The restaurant should therefore literally enjoy a sizeable advantage over the competition. The floor plan will include a mezzanine level bar/lounge overlooking the dining room, a roof-top patio and bar, and a comfortable bar and lounge surrounding the dining room on the main floor. Attentive knowledgeable “non-stuffy” service and a largely affordable wine list, featuring as many biodynamic and organic wines as possible, will round out the concept. SALES AND MARKETING The immediate and surrounding geographic areas are full of the target demographic. Trend analysis shows a large desire for “green” forward thinking businesses and a hunger for a restaurant of this type. The strength of the location at 2934 Lyndale is aided by an existing theater marquee, on which highlighted specials can be advertised. The marketing strategy for the Farm will be Multi-facetted and direct, and will attempt to capture both the destination diner and local younger “hipster” crowd. Each aspect of the restaurant (dining, bar/lounge, and deli-style take out) will be initially promoted individually, utilizing promotions with other local businesses and an emphasis on a positive word-of-mouth campaign bolstered by tactical marketing. Such tactical marketing include the use of mailing lists and multiple Opening Nights (complete with prominent city officials, radio and TV personalities, local media, food critics or writers, and local athletes or celebrities). All three marketing and pricing strategies will also employ cross-promotional elements to complement each other - as diners, bar patrons, and take-out customers discover the additional features offered by this unique restaurant. Korn Design, with offices in New York and Boston, will head up the branding, marketing, and cross-promotional strategies. Aaron Ziegler and the farm will be working with a local graphic design artist, Saisha Harris, in coordination with Korn Design to ensure a strong local feel. MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL The driving force behind this concept and the project itself is born from Chef Aaron Ziegler’s eighteen years of experience in the restaurant business. The classic philosophies that he intends to employ are well tested, and his forward thinking ideas are well researched. Over the past eighteen years, Chef Aaron Ziegler has learned his trade, tested his cuisine, and opened numerous restaurants across the country. Chef Aaron Ziegler will also serve as the general manager as well as the Executive Chef and project manager, assuming the full range of upper management responsibilities. A Bar Manager, Two Sous Chefs, Pastry Chef and Three Assistant Managers will be hired several weeks in advance of opening, rounding out the seven-member management staff. FINANCIALS Sources & Uses CAPITAL EQUIPMENT SOLAR EQUIPMENT $200,000.00 BAR/KITCHEN EQUIPMENT $375,200.00 SMALL WEARS $38,000.00 INITIAL INVENTORY FURNISHING $225,300.00 FIXTURES $217,320.00 OPENING INVENTORY $96,006.00 WORKING CAPITAL LICENSING $25,000.00 CONSTRUCTION $692,000.00 TRAINING $37,122.00 PROMOTIONAL BUDGET $25,000.00 OPERATIONAL RESERVE $244,559.00 OWNER CONTRIBUTION $700,000.00 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS $1,475,507.00 TOTAL PROJECT COST $2,175,507.00 INVESTOR INJECTION $700,000.00 Revenue Summary YEAR ONE YEAR TWO YEAR THREE REVENUE $3,217,240.00 $3,378,102.00 $3,479,445.06 PROFIT $412,624.98 $483,829.52 $497,482.04 PERCENTAGE 12.83% 14.32% 14.30% YEAR FOUR YEAR FIVE REVENUE $3,723,006.21 $3,983,616.65 PROFIT $1,461,906.75 $1,608,386.91 PERCENTAGE 39.27% 40.38% The percentage of net increases dramatically in years four and five, as there is no longer debit interest or principal to pay. Investors or limited partners still continue to receive a percentage of net as dividends however. The investor payouts and exit strategy are outlined on page – of the business plan.