"The reality isn't as pretty: Trying to create a restaurant from scratch is a huge gamble, and in New York City, it can feel almost impossible. Astronomical rents, stiff competition and city bureaucracy make the process an obstacle course. Yet a record 4,557 restaurant permit applications were filed with the city last year, many of them by deep-pocketed owners and big-name chefs."
"September 2024 Mouleena Khan, 35, feels stuck in her midlevel job at a health care technology company. Encouraged by her boyfriend, she quits and begins planning a restaurant. She's imagined this move for a long time, but felt daunted by the process and her lack of any experience working in one, or even cooking. What she does have is a personality upbeat, organized and unshakable well-suited for the unpredictability of restaurant work."
Mouleena Khan leaves a midlevel health care technology job, uses savings to plan a restaurant despite no cooking or restaurant experience. She partners with Aleks Jeune, who runs Chez Alex and wants to expand into cooking. The plan targets Bedford-Stuyvesant: a casual, all-day cafe serving food inspired by Bengali heritage. The New York City restaurant market presents obstacles such as astronomical rents, stiff competition, and complex city bureaucracy. A record 4,557 restaurant permit applications were filed last year, many by established owners. The project accepts high failure risk while relying on resilience, organization, partnership, and financial commitment.
Read at www.nytimes.com
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