The restaurant project is about enjoyment and fulfillment in life through food. Let me explain.

Over the past year, I've been watching a few plants grown on my patio and it's been a life changing experience. I think growing plants is as close as we can get to creating something out of nothing. Participating in it by growing plants myself makes me feel connected to the incomprehensible part of life, to creation. Whatever it is, it's fulfilling. Fulfilling is important because it's more than enjoyment, but something that makes my entire life more worthwhile. Being connected to creation in the most direct way possible is an important source of fulfillment.

To continue in the process of creation, personally preparing food also involves me in its transformation from ingredients to mouth-watering, nutritious meal. I create flavor combinations and add new flavors and textures. Then the cycle is completed by composting the food waste and using it to grown new plants, while minimizing environmental impact which would prevent me from growing quality new plants.

The restaurant's key differentiating factor is to operate in a way that provides its clients with the fulfillment that comes from being more closely connected their food's creation. The focus is not on the ethical and political issues surrounding this topic despite their importance (see The Ethicurean for discussions of these issues), but on the enjoyment and fulfillment gained by being more closely connected to the food's creation. Here are ways to provide that connection.

1. Provide opportunities for clients and producers to interact on a regular basis, say weekly.

• Farm tours: Farms don't have to be local, but being local will make this interaction much easier, meaning our suppliers should mostly be local.
• Non-local reports: Provide a lot of information to our clients on the non-local suppliers we use in order to help them feel connected, especially photos.
• Farmer presentations: Bring the person who physically works the field (not just the farm owner if he does not work the field) to the restaurant to mingle with clients.
• Garden tours: We may not purchase ingredients from small gardens, but coordinating tours or group gardening opportunities can give people a chance to participate in food creation.
• Gardening clubs and stores: Hold events in conjunction with people and groups like City Farmers Nursery, Master Gardeners Association, and Food Not Lawns.
• Grow plants in and around the restaurant.
• Local food sources: Be a source for information and referrals to places where food can be purchased like CSA programs, farmers markets, farms, and natural food stores.

The restaurant is basically a link between the wonder of growing food and the person who eats it. The closer and more transparent we can make this link, the more fulfilling and powerful it can be for the client. And the closer we can make this link for the client, the more fulfilling and powerful the project of operating a restaurant will be for its owners and staff.

2. Involve customers in the cooking process.

• Hold cooking classes: Taught by restaurant staff, vendors, outside chefs, etc.
• Involve kitchen supply stores: Referrals between kitchen supply stores and restaurant.
• Make the kitchen visible to clients, even if only from part of the restaurant.
• Communicate how the foods are prepared and provide recipes.
• Sell packages of ingredients for clients to take home to cook themselves
• Hold wine paring dinners

3. Operate in an environmentally friendly way.

• Buy foods that are produced in an environmentally friendly way (generally local or smaller farms)
• Follow operating standards that we believe in. The Green Restaurant Association has a list of standards including energy and water efficiency and conservation, recycling, composting, pollution prevention, recycled, tree-free, biodegradable, and organic products, chlorine-free paper products, non-toxic cleaning and chemical products, green power sources, and green building and construction.
• Communicate to customers how we operate in a sustainable way through workshops, tours, website, and brochures. (Workshop: How To Compost With Worms)

The restaurant celebrates people who are involved in food creation such as gardeners, farmers, fishermen, chefs, home cooks, and so on. However, I want the to restaurant to avoid alienating people who work for larger and non-local companies that provide so many of the things that make my life better. Many products and services operate much better at a larger scale or are not available locally, such as computers, internet service, kitchen tools, chocolate, and air travel. The restaurant focuses on local and sustainable food sources and operating in a sustainable way, not so much for ethical reasons, but more for the fulfillment that comes from the connection it provides with food creation. The restaurant is not about saving the world, but about enjoying a fulfilling life.

Why do I think that what I’ve described here will make a successful restaurant concept?

1. Passion about something can be felt by customers. Passion, in conjunction with professional management, effective promotion, and a strong niche of clients are a powerful thing.

2. There are several client niches that overlap.

• People who live in the community who want a good, reasonably priced meal. Despite all the philosophy, I think convenience will be an important factor. In PB, we would likely share community clients who also go to places like The Fish Market, The French Gourmet, The Turquoise, Lotsa Pasta, Cafe Athena, Lamont Street Grill, Costa Brava, Caffe Bella Italia, and Cantina. Other mid-range or higher end restaurants closer to the beach areas like JRDN and Gringo's are also in a similar dinning category, but are less community oriented.
• People looking for a connection to something fulfilling and authentic, which is in short supply in many circles in Southern California. These people don't necessarily have to be food enthusiasts to appreciate the restaurant.
• Gardeners
• Home cooks
• Local and sustainable food enthusiasts
• Environmentalists
• Wine (quality, if not always local) and beer (local brews) enthusiasts

What are some of the challenges to overcome?

1. Money: A bank loan for a restaurant will probably not be an option given the risk involved. Money will more likely have to come from profits from our other business, The UPS Store. If this turns out to be the only source of funding, we may not be able to start the project for at least a year, and likely more given our plans to invest in additional UPS Stores. This is the one big dilemma that really challenges me. Other funding sources or a reduction in start up costs are needed. I estimate the start up costs, including working capital, to be about $200,000 for a 2,000 to 2,500 square foot restaurant.

2. Experience: Restaurant, especially production kitchen experience. None of the owners or potential partners have experience in a production kitchen. I have some restaurant work liked up for the near future, so hopefully this will calm my nerves a little. We will try to hire someone with cooking experience, although not a chef given the high salaries and control of the menu they would want.

3. Finding a Location: Can we find the right location that doesn't require too much money to remodel? If we find a location, such as a restaurant going out of business, will we have the money to act on it immediately so as not to loose the opportunity?

4. Pacific Beach Alcohol Rules: Can we get a license to serve beer and wine?

Those are the main road blocks I need to work through. Anything else is just a speed bumps.