We explore the highs and lows of financing your F&B dream
Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Restaurants
Photo courtesy of ÉPURE
Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Restaurants
Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Restaurants
In a city that boasts the highest per capita restaurant ratio in the world, investing in a F&B concept would appear an obvious choice. Doing this, though, isn’t exactly a piece of cake, as fickle diners and obscene rents force tides of closures and smaller spending budgets (according to the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades). But plenty of people and partners find ways to run restaurants profitably and to push the boundaries of the industry under creative impetus, from the likes of celebrity chef Bobbly Flay in America who has done so well as to invest in racehorses, to the Russian restaurant mogul who plans to open four venues in Hong Kong. The landscape is dotted with businesspersons turned restauranteurs who have used their business successes to begin passion projects, to those who have taken passions and turned them into business successes. Either way, there is a good deal of money to be made from the enterprise, and even more creativity to be explored.
Two standout F&B concepts have operated with diametrically opposed intents: founders of a pervasive cosmetic company invested their wealth in a passion project that’s become one of the better fine dining restaurants in the city; and an ex-investment banker and his partner, a veteran of the restaurant industry, have used their passion projects to create one of the more successful restaurant groups in Hong Kong.
Michelle Ma and Christopher Chan would eat at the best restaurants when and wherever their business dealings took them, from Paris to Kyoto and San Fransisco. “The more incredible dining experiences we had, the more our passion for our own restaurant grew. Hong Kong is a representative for fine selection of cuisines in Asia and we felt there should be authentic venues comparable to those in Paris and New York”, recalls Michelle. Their cosmetic brand (which they wished to remain undisclosed) had celebrated over 30 years of market leadership in Asia, and around the same time they launched ÉPURE, with chef Nicolas Boutin to facilitate the dream. Whether or not they make back their initial investment is irrelevant–for these two business leaders, this investment was one which delivers on personal aspiration.
From another lens, the empire that was built under Black Sheep Restaurants is committed to pushing the needle, and then looks to ROI. The shift of intent has fuelled a mission that’s been arguably more triumphant than if Michelin themselves formed a textbook.
“Long before we envisioned creating Black Sheep Restaurants, Chris and I would unwind and talk after service about how we’d do it differently both from a branding and operational standpoint–and then with time, when we were in the newly found position of self-employed entrepreneurs, we boldly decided we’d act upon these late night discussions–to push boundaries, take risks and ignore trends.”
The rapid growth of the group can be attributed to ‘doing it differently’ says Hussain, combined with a restlessness and want of evolution has indeed seen a 12 restaurant empire expand in just three years.
“Our definition of ‘return on investment’, isn’t a textbook one–if we can create an institution that becomes ingrained in a person’s routine that [within itself] is a return. No matter the scale of experience, dining out and spending time with “your people” is one of life’s great enjoyments. It’s like a fantastic song, novel or cup of coffee–it elevates the everyday and fosters good feelings. And is if we can continue to give the community these good feelings, that’s our motivation to keep investing time and resources not just into current and future projects, but the people that help us ‘do it differently’ as well.”