Our Moroccan Cafe/Restaurant

[MrsAmera 41]

I have some great, fun exciting news to share with everyone! Today I was talking to my mom and she knows we've sorta been going through a bit of a rough patch, with the immigration stuff, having to move and Youssef missing home. Well she's been going through some tough stuff too - she can't work at her old job anymore because of some health problems and needed to find something that would be more flexible and easier for her. Her dream has always been to have a cafe/restaurant so today she said to me "What do you think about going in and working on a Moroccan cafe/restaurant here in town" she even offered to take out the loans (with her husband of course) and we spent all day looking and calling places about real estate to house it. We want to have it open in the morning for tea/coffee and breakfast and have a lunch/early dinner menu to start (closing around 5 or 6). We live in a college town so coffee shops are cool and we also want to make it very family oriented so we'll have a little play area for kids with toys and stuff to do, so that moms can come and meet their friends and not have to get worked up about keeping the kids occupied or quiet! We are also thinking about opening it up to have a catering menu for local businesses and having a traditional dinner night once a month where people put in reservations in advance and then we have the full menu with a big traditional Moroccan meal (the food would change some every month), but only one seating at like $25 a person or so. Almost all of the places we found need quite a bit of work but that's ok we're willing to do that! So it was just a little glimmer of happiness here and my husband is sooooo excited. I'm sure he'll be the one pitching in the most!

[Jenn! 918]

That's so exciting! Best of luck to you on you new venture. Wadi and I have also talked about doing this at some point. I'll be interested to see your progress.

All the best!

[Visa4habibi! 0]

I have some great, fun exciting news to share with everyone! Today I was talking to my mom and she knows we've sorta been going through a bit of a rough patch, with the immigration stuff, having to move and Youssef missing home. Well she's been going through some tough stuff too - she can't work at her old job anymore because of some health problems and needed to find something that would be more flexible and easier for her. Her dream has always been to have a cafe/restaurant so today she said to me "What do you think about going in and working on a Moroccan cafe/restaurant here in town" she even offered to take out the loans (with her husband of course) and we spent all day looking and calling places about real estate to house it. We want to have it open in the morning for tea/coffee and breakfast and have a lunch/early dinner menu to start (closing around 5 or 6). We live in a college town so coffee shops are cool and we also want to make it very family oriented so we'll have a little play area for kids with toys and stuff to do, so that moms can come and meet their friends and not have to get worked up about keeping the kids occupied or quiet! We are also thinking about opening it up to have a catering menu for local businesses and having a traditional dinner night once a month where people put in reservations in advance and then we have the full menu with a big traditional Moroccan meal (the food would change some every month), but only one seating at like $25 a person or so. Almost all of the places we found need quite a bit of work but that's ok we're willing to do that! So it was just a little glimmer of happiness here and my husband is sooooo excited. I'm sure he'll be the one pitching in the most!

I think that's a wonderful idea . But to own any kind of business is a lot of work. I worked at a bakery - the owner was new and had to stay there all the time! Good luck if you decide to do it anyway, inshallah.

Tanya

[sarah and hicham 3]

Good luck! It's so time consuming and difficult to start up a restaurant/cafe so let us know how it goes!

Sarah

[anxious 0]

Wow, it definitely sounds like a good idea, i hope it goes smoothly for you.

In Atlanta they have one good one called Imperial Fez which has done very nicely business wise, and they don't have to worry about competition cuz I think it's the only one we have . Soo good luck

[noura 0]

I know of the girl who dances at Imperial Fez! Amera, I wish you all the best in this endeavor. It's not the easiest task, but it can be very rewarding. On my first trip to Morocco, I had a dream that Said and I would open a Moroccan restaurant and import store. Inch'allah, perhaps we still will one day. I would love to bring his sister Latifa here to be our chef - she's such a great cook! Do keep us posted on your progress. Bonne chance!

Noura

[dawnnhatem 0]

How fun! (maybe hard too...but I would look forward to the fun part) And how nice that your Mom wants to do this. Your family sounds awseome. Good luck getting that started.

[MHandMB 0]

Wow, it definitely sounds like a good idea, i hope it goes smoothly for you.

In Atlanta they have one good one called Imperial Fez which has done very nicely business wise, and they don't have to worry about competition cuz I think it's the only one we have . Soo good luck

Oh, I LOVE Imperial Fez! It's seriously one of my favorite restaurants ever. The decor is terrific, the dancers and the music are so much fun, and the food is great! I told Amed I had to take him there whenever we make it to Atlanta. I wish we had something like that here.

Amera, something you might want to consider later- Imperial Fez has a shop right next door selling Moroccan products (lanterns, rugs, etc). It's a great tie-in to the restaurant. It might be something neat if you could do a little retail corner in your store after you're up and running smoothly.

Good luck to you!

Edited September 14, 2006 by MHandMB

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Wow, best of luck!

I wonder what it is with these men and restaurants? My husband wants to open one too. He's going to be jealous now

[stayaway 0]

its gr8 bussinse, the only thing needed in this bussinse, is u find someone can cook good with this kind of food, i was thinking of same bussinse, but problem for me is i cant cook at alllll, so i aint going open bussinse i cant work in it, so for me am thinking of computer bussinse which i will find alot of eniemes, but God will help, but about opening bussinse about arab food is best idea if u can handle it

[amal 4]

That is exciting news!!! Good luck with that!!

my husband wants to open one also

he has been talking with a good friend of his in Ohio and we are thinking of moving there to open a Jordanian restaurant........it wouldnt work in my town coz its just too tiny.....if he can't open a restaurant, he wants to open a design business doing business cards, brochures, websites, etc.... (i think he should do the design thing coz he's fantastic at it)

Edited September 14, 2006 by amal

[Mrs. Forgetful 2]

That is such a great idea! There has been talk between my husband and I about a moroccan "fast food" restraunt where most of it is ready to be cooked or just warmed up so you don't have to sit and wait for your food if you just want to take it home. We also have the area picked out for it and we would like to offer catering also. But like I said this is all talk. There's also talk about him opening a Halel butcher shop. So who knows what will really happen. We will most likely just end up working in offices for the rest of our lives.

Good luck to all of you with your future restraunts/cafes!

[munchkins 0]

Good luck to you that sounds so exciting, hope it all works out well for you all

[Ban Hammer 13,283]

do vj members get a discount?

[~*Dorothy*~ 2]

Amera,

I think that you have a wonderful idea and a great opportunity on your hands...Wishing you best of luck in this new endeavour...it will be a lot of hard work but if you are passionate about it it can be so rewarding...I am glad to hear that your family is so involved...Keep us posted on how things are going...

Dorothy