I will add though that I do not see the small night market or another pub/club/bar helping the farang owned places. Mainly Thais will frequent those. Plus parking will again be difficult. I never saw Speed 3 as being very advantageous for the places along the soi either. The youngsters going there spent their money in Speed 3 and ate mostly from the few street stalls around there or before going there later in the evening after eating elsewhere. It never seemed to help Norby's business and actually he hated it due to the parking of the thousand or so motocykes there and the fights and trouble caused by the drunken youths.
I am selling my restaurant in Surin.
- Thread starter Texas-Thai Chicken
- Start date
Maybe you should buy it for family to run.
Yorky
Fullritis Member
Did you like the Indian food?
gotlost
Kap Chong R Us Member
gotlost
Kap Chong R Us Member
Some yes and some no.
Yorky
Fullritis Member
There has been conflicting opinions on whether Indian food will go down well here in Surin. Texas-Thai Chicken had Indian, Western and Thai food which should have been successful. There are Indian restaurants in Khon Kaen and Roi Et. Whether they were frequented mainly by Thais, Chinese or Farangs, maybe @Ivor the Engine could advise.
gotlost
Kap Chong R Us Member
Me it's all hers. Just serve me food and beer.
Ivor the Engine
Nowhere man
The 'Bombay' chain has closed Kalasin but is opening a new restaurant in Ubon (lucky for me).
@Yorky
The numerous times that I went for a Ruby in Kalasin, then Roi Et the restaurants were not ever full but most customers seemed to be Thai. The food is in my opinion, very good too.
Benson
Forum Sponsor
Your telling me i been in this business 15yrs in Surin same location.
I know. Been there done that longer than any Farang business in Surin.
Co-Co, I'd say we have around that 70 to 75% Thai custom base. We also have many Thais that like trying the farang fare, especially the Mexican style offerings they do not get elsewhere in Surin (the Quesadillas are quite popular). Having a lot of custom from the Surin hospital employees who have been to school or traveled and enjoyed farang foods overseas also helps with our being able to sell more western dishes as well to those that found they enjoy certain western dishes. Quite a few also seem to enjoy the BIR curries we have on offer. They call it 'Indian' food.
CO-CO
Rather wrinkly & occasionally cantankerous member
Co-Co, I'd say we have around that 70 to 75% Thai custom base. We also have many Thais that like trying the farang fare, especially the Mexican style offerings they do not get elsewhere in Surin (the Quesadillas are quite popular). Having a lot of custom from the Surin hospital employees who have been to school or traveled and enjoyed farang foods overseas also helps with our being able to sell more western dishes as well to those that found they enjoy certain western dishes. Quite a few also seem to enjoy the BIR curries we have on offer. They call it 'Indian' food.
Thanks Mike, I assumed that was the case.
Yes, the post was not directed at you per se, but for others here who seem interested in the restaurant business in Surin and what is going on these days, or at least my take on it.
Well, our old place by the tracks was more of 90% farang customers and 10% Thai. But there were a lot of expats and westerners frequenting our place then. It was basically oriented toward the farangs, much as AA is today I believe. And, being a smaller city with a limited number of expats, my thoughts are there isn't enough farang custom for more than one or maybe two farang oriented places to do well. JMHO
@CO-CO If I was 15 or 20 years younger I'd have another go at a mainly farang oriented place. Too much work now for me. With all the bells and whistles it is a hard business to get up and running, costly, and if you don't own the building you are subject to the whims and avarice of the landlord. And the problems with flaky undependable staff and all the problems that can bring with training, language, etc. It is exactly why you see larger businesses having so many staff, almost double what they need if everyone shows up to work every day and on time.
I see many places that closed was due to the Covid lasting so long. Many had virtually no income during the worst of it, and the landlord wanted his rent still each month, or worse (and a smart move by one landlord) you pay a year's rent up front, then have no custom to make the money you need for another year's rent at the end of your lease. And as is said, a new place needs around 2 years to start getting a customer base and start to eventually make any profit, usually and depending. And most places that are/were already established got killed by the Covid lockdowns, no sit down service, alcohol restrictions, etc, etc, etc. Staff having to be let go as they were not needed and could not be paid with the lack of any custom. Good staff that were well trained and dependable went elsewhere during the Covid and never came back, so these places had to try to hire good staff and to train them. If you notice many of the new places that are opening are backed by family money from mostly fairly well-to-do entrepreneurs. They can sustain going through the bad times better than the small places and Mom and Pop places. Many went under and lost their shirts and cannot re-open. With little to no help from the government, and that happened the world over for the most part, not just Thailand/Surin.
CO-CO
Rather wrinkly & occasionally cantankerous member
@CO-CO If I was 15 or 20 years younger I'd have another go at a mainly farang oriented place. Too much work now for me. With all the bells and whistles it is a hard business to get up and running, costly, and if you don't own the building you are subject to the whims and avarice of the landlord. And the problems with flaky undependable staff and all the problems that can bring with training, language, etc. It is exactly why you see larger businesses having so many staff, almost double what they need if everyone shows up to work every day and on time.
I see many places that closed was due to the Covid lasting so long. Many had virtually no income during the worst of it, and the landlord wanted his rent still each month, or worse (and a smart move by one landlord) you pay a year's rent up front, then have no custom to make the money you need for another year's rent at the end of your lease. And as is said, a new place needs around 2 years to start getting a customer base and start to eventually make any profit, usually and depending. And most places that are/were already established got killed by the Covid lockdowns, no sit down service, alcohol restrictions, etc, etc, etc. Staff having to be let go as they were not needed and could not be paid with the lack of any custom. Good staff that were well trained and dependable went elsewhere during the Covid and never came back, so these places had to try to hire good staff and to train them. If you notice many of the new places that are opening are backed by family money from mostly fairly well-to-do entrepreneurs. They can sustain going through the bad times better than the small places and Mom and Pop places. Many went under and lost their shirts and cannot re-open. With little to no help from the government, and that happened the world over for the most part, not just Thailand/Surin.
The Covid issue was much bigger in the West - and I saw evidence of the post Covid recovery period where businesses were under resourced as demand started to pickup. That is less likely to happen in a rural Thai town/city - although last January Chiang Mai was certainly showing those symptoms as were tourist dependent places like Khao Lak. Siem Reap was decimated.
Pattaya was interesting. In many parts (especially the popular soi Buakhao, soi 6/8 areas etc) it is like nothing ever happened - yet I remember going to Bua Barbers in soi Buakhao 2 years ago when it was a ghost town and I tipped 100 Baht just to try help her survive. Now the area is booming.
Most half decent places survived or reinvented themselves. Many didn't but a lot of the Thai owned places survived and many were renovated during the 'downtime'. The same with labour; Thais can survive on very little and (as a Thai citizen said during Covid) "no Thai will die of starvation". We should perhaps not be surprised how quickly entertainment establishments can restock with girls!
@CO-CO It is interesting to see all the food delivery companies now. They boomed during the pandemic, many got used to the service provided, and still use them. I thought they would go away mostly once things opened up again, but that does not seem to be the case. Panda, Grab, and a few others seem to still be doing a brisk business. People got used to the door to door service and not needing to go out so much to eat the foods they like. I get the feeling it will take more time for people to eventually start going out and sitting down for a meal. A gradual process I believe if there is no resurgence of the Covid and its restrictions.
CO-CO
Rather wrinkly & occasionally cantankerous member
Yes, I noticed that too but my conclusion is that humans (Thais particularly are lazy and creatures of habit). When 7/11 will deliver anything over 100 Baht the roads are going to get clogged up with delivery motocys.
I bought 12 things via Lazada in the last week. I don't think I bought 12 things through them in my first 12 years here!