THE NEW AMERICAN RAW BAR MODEL

by Kevin Joseph, Master Mermmelier

Below is the illustration of our business model for a new kind of RAW BAR. There is a new dining / food experience that is trending. And COVID is accelerating those trends. We call the concept THE AMERICAN RAW BAR.

EMPIRE OYSTER’S AMERICAN RAW BAR MODEL

  • Elite Raw Bar - Observes all of the best practices of the Raw Bar Gospel.

  • Expansive Marine Cuisine & DelicaSEAS Menu

  • Full Beer, Wine & Spirits Program

  • Full Smoked Fish Program

  • Full Fermenting, Pickling, Curing, Smoking & Preserving Program

  • Complete Conservas / Tinned Fish Program

  • Excellent Cheese Program

  • 60/40 - 70/30 Outdoor / Indoor Seating (Until COVID is over), 50/50 Outdoor / Indoor Seating (Until COVID is over)

  • Off premise market / to go program for all of the above

  • Omakase in one area (VIP) , table / counter service in another (GA).

THE OLD MODELS vs THE NEW MODEL

OLD - PLACES YOU CAN GET OYSTERS

  • A restaurant that ALSO serves oysters. Oysters are an add on.

  • Oysters not shucked or displayed in front of house

  • Servers and shuckers generally know VERY little about the oysters on offer, if anything at all

  • Oysters on offer tend to be cheap Chesapeake or Gulf product

Would you rave about a wine bar with 3 kinds of wine: “Red, white and rose”?

NEW - ELITE OYSTER DESTINATIONS

  • A RAW BAR that also serves some cooked and warm items but does not serve steaks, burgers or fries.

  • Full Bar featuring elite and craft beer, wine & spirits

  • No HOOD, FRYER, GREASE TRAP, CHEF or $15,000 a week kitchen payroll

  • Everything is designed and built around the central RAW BAR

  • A very limited number of servers.

  • Mixology is limited to limit the need for highly trained Mixologists.

  • Delivers a lot of “DISCOVERY” to the guest

  • Known to be an elite oyster destination because it IS one

  • A dining experience that offers a host of theatrical elements as part of preparation and presentation

THE DIFFERENCE: Whereas the raw bar is generally a PART of a restaurant’s offering, we seek to build an entire culinary concept around the raw bar. Our model is more like a sushi restaurant than any other kind of culinary concept. Ideally, it would be most like an Omakase Sushi Restaurant.

*Bio Available: Fermented, Pickled, Preserved….”alive”. a

TRENDS

  • More casual & outdoor seating

  • More whole, live, raw, cured, smoked, preserved & bio-available foods

  • More Foraging by guests, yes, FORAGING

We think our model one of the best smartest ways to not just survive COVID, but come out thriving on the other side of it.

WHY?

OUR TARGET CUSTOMER IS THE BEST CUSTOMER. They are BEST-ivores. That is, they seek out and consume the best food, beverage and culinary experiences. They are value driven and not price sensitive. They order top shelf beer, wine and spirits. These are your most profitable and valuable guests. Elite oyster service attracts, retains and excites the interested, interesting and influential consumer. The seek unusual, unique and rare product, preparation and presentation. They enjoy and appreciate seeing their food prepared. They like the theater of the RAW BAR. This value driven consumer seeks “DISCOVERY”. Discovery is abundant the concept.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE OYSTER BAR

One of the best oyster bar operators is Les Barnes of London Lennie’s & Saltaire. He created “The 10 Commandments of Oysters”. Read it HERE

He is 100% correct about each and every one. If an oyster bar can achieve all 10 of them (not always possible) they will be an elite oyster destination. We have always achieved this. In fact, we’ve added a few more, well, a lot more. If an oyster bar can achieve 90% of these things (and ALWAYS achieve those in bold) they will deserve to be perceived as an elite oyster destination of the finest order.