mircea_popescu: i am not aware of a successful restaurant that was built as you describe. you have a) the funes style restaurants, owned and operated by an actual expert chef. these are 50-50 for roi. b) the "prestige" restaurants of very large hotel conglomerates. these always lose money and are the mud from which a sprouts and in which a goes to die. and then you have the roadside diners. and then d) you have the franchises.