Venya 2.0: Creating a restaurant sur place in Abidjan

by | Aug 7, 2013 | Biz, Cote D'Ivoire

abidjan_angre_house_restaurant

I wrote some time ago about our plans to scale up our food business in Abidjan (for previous posts on the biz, see here). After convincing two additional friends to invest in the project, we are beginning to realize those plans.

The latest development: we have a location! Up until now, we have been operating out of the Toits Rouges allocodrome in Yopougon, which is more or less an open-air space concentrated with food stalls. We had little money when we first started the project and the allocodrome offered the cheapest rent while also providing adequate space. We opted to focus on deliveries to the business district as our main income stream – this allowed us to have a bigger client base and also a higher price point – and we started making modest profits after a month in the allocodrome.

The project continued to grow in the following months and aside from one major setback, we took the concept of allocodrome food stall to new heights. But we were limited in a few respects. While the deliveries gave us a larger client base, we only had access to them 5 days a week and only at lunch time. That’s 20 days in a month and sometimes less, depending on the number of public holidays (today is in fact a public holiday. Happy birthday, Cote d’Ivoire! Oh, and tomorrow is a public holiday as well. Eid, marking the end of Ramadan. Eid Mubarak!).

In addition, the Toits Rouges allocodrome is not frequented like some of Abidjan’s other allocodromes (alloco is a food by the way. Fried plantains. Allocodrome is like a house of fried plantains), and it’s difficult to count on clients sur place. So we decided to relocate – continue with the deliveries in the new location and also operate an open-every-day-for-lunch-and-dinner restaurant.

Finding a location for this restaurant was a mostly miserable process. I had originally planned a short trip back to Bamako around the elections, but I had to cancel the trip as the location search became more complicated by the day. Narrow criteria, dishonest brokers and shifty proprietors caused most of the frustration.

We actually thought we had a location several weeks ago. We put up half the money (typically, 6 months of rent need to paid up front – 3 months advance on the rent, and 3 months security deposit) and signed a document stating that we would return the following week to conclude the payment and to fill out all of the necessary paperwork. When we returned the following week, the proprietor told us that we could no longer rent the house because they decided they didn’t want a restaurant on their property. We recuperated our money, but we lost a week on the location hunt because we thought we had secured a place!! A week later, we find out from the broker who dealt with the house that the proprietor’s refusal to give us the house had nothing to do with our restaurant plans. She had found a higher bidder.

We dealt with several networks of professional and freelance brokers that rarely had our interest in mind. We were outbid on several occasions. We were lied to countless times. All of this was made worse by the fact that property prices in Abidjan, for purchase and for rent, are suffering from rampant speculation as the market anticipates the return of the African Development Bank, which has been absent from Abidjan for nearly a decade (it was originally headquartered in Abidjan, but relocated during the crisis).

After a month of fruitless searching, the clouds parted and one of our freelance brokers received a tip about a house in our price range that was located at a large intersection in Angre, a neighborhood in Cocody, which is on the opposite side of the business district from Yopougon. We arranged for a visit immediately. When we arrived, we knew it was the place for our business. The location was ideal, but the space itself was already laid out well and the house was in good condition.

We also learned that there were two other parties already in talks to take the place. Not knowing whether or not the other parties would try to outbid each other (or us), we opted for the following strategy: be the first ones to put money on the table. We knew it was what we wanted and we didn’t hesitate. This worked. We have the place!! (see photo at top of the post)

While it may seem strange to transform something that is very much a house into a restaurant, many businesses in Abidjan follow this model, partly due to a lack of zoning laws. Our new neighbors are a bar and a daycare center, both of which are transformed houses.

I will be writing about the process of transforming this house into a restaurant and you will be able to follow along here. We expect to have a more or less finished product in the next several weeks. While the heavy lifting starts now, the team, which has stayed intact for the move across town, is excited and ready to take this project to the next level.

Updates to come

12 Comments

  1. jill

    Always interesting to learn about the different process of starting a biz in different countries. This one sounds particularly stressful… I don’t envy you, Phil. Excited to see what comes next! Gluck!

    Reply
    • phil

      Thanks, Jill 🙂 More updates to come..

      Reply
  2. Tami

    Phil, I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, because I say this every time I comment, but I love your posts so much. It’s so cool hearing the histories and backstories, stories about your friends, and the trials and tribulations and triumphs of your various endeavors. I do wish you the best of luck with this restaurant and I think the building is quite beautiful. If it wasn’t so far, I’d be your first customer! Maybe someday….

    Reply
    • phil

      Thanks for the kind words, Tami. You are of course invited and I hope you do make it to West Africa at some point. Whether you are the first customer or not, we’ll hook you up with a special plate when you come 🙂

      Reply
  3. Kay Johnson

    This place looks GREAT ! Very fresh & inviting with some good space. Best of luck – and looking 4ward to the next phase. Save some for ME 2 ! I need as much as I can eat on account of my gammy leg ! Lotsa luv Lili

    Reply
    • phil

      Hey Kay,
      You know we’re saving some for you! And lili too!

      Reply
  4. Jennifer Barry

    I’m always interested to read about your entrepreneurial journey. 🙂 It sounds like you found a great location, and I think you will get some traffic from the nearby bar.

    Reply
    • phil

      Hey Jennifer,
      Good to hear from you. Yes, we think the bar will be an asset, too 🙂 The more we look around the area, the more we discover qualities that make the location a good fit!

      Reply
  5. Ces @ thrifty vagabond

    Congratulations! The new place is great as is and I’m excited as to what it’ll turn out to be when you start operating. More power!

    Reply
  6. kay johnson

    Thanks Clyde ! Lili xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Reply
  7. Benjamin

    Yess!! Congratulations buddy, that place looks excellent! Looks like you could post up some outdoor seating tables on that patio. Potential for some boobachi, perhaps the gauntlet?!?!?!

    Glad you guys were able to find a location, can;t wait to hear what’s next!!

    Benjamin

    Reply
    • phil

      Ohh the gauntlet!!!! Forgot about that. Yes, there is some potential for that. Think I would need you hear to help execute, tho!!!

      Reply

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