I'm watching a Business Succeed

Following on from Depreciators thread about the coffee shop that is running itself into the ground, I thought I'd give a plug to a little burger shop we came across.

We went out looking at properties last weekend. Afterwards we were hungry and looked for somewhere close to have lunch. We went up the street and there really wasn't much choice. A takeaway (the greasy type with deep fried stuff sitting in a bainemarie), a bakery and a burger place called "Bucks Diner".

So, we choose the diner and go up to the counter to order. There was a big sign that said they had burgers for only $2.50 and you could have beef, chicken schnitzel or fish as well as a heap of other stuff you could select. Hubby says he'll just get a beef burger and I order a fish burger, not really expecting the quality of either to be particularly good.

Anyway, the girl behind the counter says "Oh, I'll give you the schnitzel instead (of the beef) and I say that Hubby would prefer the beef (isn't that why I ordered beef?). She then says that the schnitzel is brilliant, we would definitely prefer it. So, Hubby says, OK I'll have the schnitzel. She then talks us into a serve of chips to share and Hubby gets a 600ml bottle of drink for us to share as well. The total for this came to only $9.90.

When our order is ready, the staff member says to me, "Shhh, I've got him the beef that he wanted". I was a little confused and thought that was a little strange and that Hubby might not want this now seeing as he was talked into buying the schnitzel. Anyway, the food arrives and we get three burgers, not two. Not only did we get a free burger, the fish burger was a sub-style roll and had a huge piece of fresh fish instead of the crappy patty that I was expecting. The schnitzel was a large fresh piece of chicken with plenty of meat in it too. And the beef, was, well, a normal hamburger.

Hubby struggled to eat it all - there was a lot of food - and the quality was way better than we expected, especially when you consider the cost of the meal. Oh, and the staff member was right, the schnitzel was much nicer than the beef burger. Will we go there again? Well, yes, I think we will. I'm not planning on making a special trip there, but if we happen to be in the neighbourhood when we are thinking of buying lunch, then I would definitely say that we will go there again.

We sat at a seat by the window and noticed that there were hardly any people that walked past this shop and it was very busy, so obviously the locals are supporting it. I also noticed that the greasy takeaway didn't have half the clientelle that this little burger place had.
 
Can't beat a good old fashion "real burger " can ya.It's amazing how Macca's somehow trained the hole world into believing what they put out is a hamburger .

But other than food joints that aren't doing much business , I honest to God can't see how those places couldn't make a fortune with the price of food here.
Some of them are charging 7 bucks for a bloody salad sandwich now .

Cheers
 
Well that's what surprised me. For $2.50 I wasn't expecting much at all.

If we compare what Macca's puts out there, like their Fillet'o'fish, now I'm not sure what the price is, but I can assure you that it is more than $2.50. What do you get? A small round bun, 1/2 a piece of cheese and a small fish pattie that is like two fish fingers joined and made of processed fish. Here it was a large sub roll with a piece of fresh fish that was the same size as the roll with lettuce & mayo. Sorry, no cheese, but it was nice and the fish was real fish. It was more than double the size of what Macca's would serve up.
 
Do you know what McDonald's fish patty is made out of?

Here is a quote from the ingredient list:

Fish Filet Patty:
Fish Filet (Hoki and Pollock), water, food starch-modified, yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, salt, whey, dextrose, dried yeast, sugar, sodium polyphosphate, potassium polyphosphate, cellulose gum, paprika and turmeric extract (color), natural flavors (plant source). Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.
CONTAINS: FISH (HOKI AND POLLOCK), WHEAT AND MILK

All I can see in that list is: MSG, GM Canola oil, GM corn oil, GM soybean oil, GM hydrogenated soybean oil.

Is it any wonder why people become obese eating that crap?
I quit going there a long time ago.

If you want me to post any other of your favourite Maccas burgers, let me know...
 
If you want me to post any other of your favourite Maccas burgers, let me know...

LOL! It certainly isn't a favorite Maccas burger (actually I don't have a favourite Macca's burger). I only know the size of the thing because Lil used to work there and sometimes late at night she would bring home stuff that was already cooked when they closed up for the night. The cats got to eat the fish. :D
 
Is it any wonder why people become obese eating that crap?

True, but it's not just their food; it's the lifestyle of the people who eat it in larger quatities combined with the cr@p food..

Generally, (and I'll get attacked now) the type of person who is obese and lives on maccas is probably predominently lazy, and inactive in many areas of their life. They seek the shortest and easiest path to all things.

Getting Maccas is easier than going to the supermarket and buying fresh ingredients and cooking thier own meals, or going to the deli and getting a you-beaut salad sanga.

I play golf from time to time with lots of tradies. One of these guys is 25, plays a very high level of footy in our area, is 6 foot 3 and super fit. Trains every night, and works physically hard in his job. He also does not drink at all mid-week due to footy.

His mates testify to the fact that he can eat 6 Big macs in one sitting, does it regularly and he eats a maccas brekky pretty much everyday on the way to work.

He's on the road at day break, and can't be bothered making and eating brekky so early in the day.
 
Cheeseburger please

If you want me to post any other of your favourite Maccas burgers, let me know...

Yes please. Could you post up the details of a cheeseburger. I can't say I've had one for over a year now, but I'd still love to know as a deterrent to ever going back there.
 
Sounds like they have good value food, Skater.

But, I think that this business may soon be added to the failure thread.

3 burgers (well 2 that you paid for), chips and a coke for $10? There can't be too much profit in there for a low/er volume store.
 
Reminds me of my near by milk bar. Owned by Vietnamese (I think). Really nice people. Frequently dropped into the store whilst I was renovating. Their cans of coke are selling for $1.10. Is there any profit for them at all?

I had a party a few months back and asked them if I could buy a few slabs of Coke and related beverages from them. They thought I was trying to bargain them down by buying them in bulk.

Better buying from them in my opinion, instead of the Coles/Woolworths down the road, where you have to use those self check outs that don't work. :mad:
 
Yes please. Could you post up the details of a cheeseburger. I can't say I've had one for over a year now, but I'd still love to know as a deterrent to ever going back there.

Cheeseburger:
100% Beef Patty, Regular Bun, Pasteurized Process American Cheese, Ketchup, Mustard, Pickle Slices, Onions


100% Beef Patty:
100% pure Australian inspected beef; no fillers, no extenders. Prepared with grill seasoning (salt, black pepper).

Regular Bun:
Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, enzymes), water, high fructose corn syrup,
sugar, yeast, soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, wheat gluten,
ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated
monoglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide, soy flour), calcium propionate and sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin.

Pasteurized Process American Cheese:
Milk, water, milkfat, cheese culture, sodium citrate, salt, citric acid, sorbic acid (preservative), sodium phosphate, artificial color, lactic acid, acetic acid, enzymes, soy
lecithin (added for slice separation).

Ketchup:
Tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, water, corn syrup, salt, natural flavors (vegetable source).

Mustard:
Distilled vinegar, water, mustard seed, salt, turmeric, paprika, spice extractive.


Pickle Slices:
Cucumbers, water, distilled vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, alum, potassium sorbate (preservative), natural flavors (plant source), polysorbate 80, extractives of
turmeric (color).

Onions:
Chopped onions.


The fact that it's full of MSG (excito toxins) and high fructose corn syrup (makes you obese as it's not even a natural sugar but a highly refined corn syrup which has been processed to be sweeter than regular sugar, it's not found in nature and turns into fat once inside your body) is virtually in everything from bread to ketchup.

Some good reading.

http://www.backtofront.com.au/index.php?page=soft-drinks-are-not-so-soft
 

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True, but it's not just their food; it's the lifestyle of the people who eat it in larger quatities combined with the cr@p food..

Generally, (and I'll get attacked now) the type of person who is obese and lives on maccas is probably predominently lazy, and inactive in many areas of their life. They seek the shortest and easiest path to all things.

Getting Maccas is easier than going to the supermarket and buying fresh ingredients and cooking thier own meals, or going to the deli and getting a you-beaut salad sanga.

I play golf from time to time with lots of tradies. One of these guys is 25, plays a very high level of footy in our area, is 6 foot 3 and super fit. Trains every night, and works physically hard in his job. He also does not drink at all mid-week due to footy.

His mates testify to the fact that he can eat 6 Big macs in one sitting, does it regularly and he eats a maccas brekky pretty much everyday on the way to work.

He's on the road at day break, and can't be bothered making and eating brekky so early in the day.

Yeah it's all down to convenience and being lazy. And MSG in fast food makes people literally get addicted to it. MSG excites the brain cells to death, hence why many get headaches, feelings of hunger 1 hour after eating MSG food etc.

The tradies eat a lot of junk but they work hard and are more active. It all off course catches up with them when they hit past 40. Then again, it's not just the high calories they need to worry about in fast food, it's the toxic ingredients such as MSG, aluminum, sodium fluoride, other petro chemicals etc.
 
Cheeseburger:
100% Beef Patty, Regular Bun, Pasteurized Process American Cheese, Ketchup, Mustard, Pickle Slices, Onions


100% Beef Patty:
100% pure Australian inspected beef; no fillers, no extenders. Prepared with grill seasoning (salt, black pepper).

Regular Bun:
Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, enzymes), water, high fructose corn syrup,
sugar, yeast, soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, wheat gluten,
ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated
monoglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide, soy flour), calcium propionate and sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin.

Pasteurized Process American Cheese:
Milk, water, milkfat, cheese culture, sodium citrate, salt, citric acid, sorbic acid (preservative), sodium phosphate, artificial color, lactic acid, acetic acid, enzymes, soy
lecithin (added for slice separation).

Ketchup:
Tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, water, corn syrup, salt, natural flavors (vegetable source).

Mustard:
Distilled vinegar, water, mustard seed, salt, turmeric, paprika, spice extractive.


Pickle Slices:
Cucumbers, water, distilled vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, alum, potassium sorbate (preservative), natural flavors (plant source), polysorbate 80, extractives of
turmeric (color).

Onions:
Chopped onions.


The fact that it's full of MSG (excito toxins) and high fructose corn syrup (makes you obese as it's not even a natural sugar but a highly refined corn syrup which has been processed to be sweeter than regular sugar, it's not found in nature and turns into fat once inside your body) is virtually in everything from bread to ketchup.

Some good reading.

http://www.backtofront.com.au/index.php?page=soft-drinks-are-not-so-soft

Thanks. That's very alarming! :eek:
 
I've grabbed the odd fish fillet , thinking it at least has fish in it so it has to be better than some of the other stuff. So much for that one.

Now about this beef , isn't it every part of the animal ?

Actually , I m not sure if I really wanna know that but anyway .

I'm also amazed that we never hear anything in the same line with Macca's record profits of late , at just how they downsized all the fillings and buns while simultaneously upping prices by a couple of bucks to do it .
In other words, simply ripping the public off a bit more than they use to - genius !

Cheers
 
Where in Rooty Hill?

It is the train station before Mt Druitt when you are heading from the CBD.

Oops, I just realised that you asked "where in Rooty Hill" not "where is Rooty Hill".

It is the wrong side of the tracks. The small set of shops closer to the highway. There is an Aldi, a Pub and a few shops. That is all.
 
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Sounds like they have good value food, Skater.

But, I think that this business may soon be added to the failure thread.

3 burgers (well 2 that you paid for), chips and a coke for $10? There can't be too much profit in there for a low/er volume store.

Well, I don't know. They were busy, and maybe they do a good deal for customers that are obviously new, knowing they will come back. I know I'd want more profit, but I'm not the proprietor. :p
 
It may be good value but the business may not succeed. $9.90 for 3 burgers, chips and soft drink doesn't leave a great margin. A single operation with no buying power? Maybe cheap rent out there. Time will tell.

***time for bed just read BBs post.
 
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Sounds like they have good value food, Skater.

But, I think that this business may soon be added to the failure thread.

3 burgers (well 2 that you paid for), chips and a coke for $10? There can't be too much profit in there for a low/er volume store.


That's exactly what I thought after reading Skaters post.

Those prices seem far too cheap. Food would have to be bought at bulk prices and made and sold at production line speed for a worthwhile profit to be made.

Just curious skater, would you have thought this place to be potentially a success if prices were standard or slightly above standard (as people usually pay more for better quality)? Would you bypass other businesses to go there at higher prices?

I often look at local businesses and especially those that are similar to make comparisons, and I'm always fascinated how sometimes things turn out to be a hit and other times something similar flops.

The most interesting one I saw only a few years ago was a very successful food business move only a few shops down and across the road (went bigger and more upmarket) and business dived - many hard core regulars stopped going.

Food was the same (very good), plus a few more lines added, at the same reasonable prices, yet customers disappeared.
 
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