thanks again/green biz ideas?

December 20, 2003

Hi again all!

I wanted to thank you all again for the lovely responses I've

received from everyone. It's been wonderful and exciting to

hear all the great suggestions, which for the most part, everyone

pretty much agrees on the overall same idea.

i can't say that I want to have a diner theme necessarily, but in

the manner of a diner, i think to have affordable easy items that

people can relate to, would be a great start. I don't want to be

another fake meat house, so Im not headed in that direction, as well

as I just don't feel they are necessary when there is so much other

great vegan food to create without dragging in the highly processed

ingredients.

I wanted to ask another question, or just to throw it out there to

the community... that is, is anyone affiliated with or familiar

with " Green " promoting groups or businesses? I'm looking to structure

my business sustainably and to run it as a green machine! I've found

a few starts in berkeley, but any help/advice would be fantabulous.

i thank you all again, and please don't stop writing, I love to hear

your thoughts always. It's been great meeting you through emails.

Hopefully will get to meet you all in person sooner than later when

my cafe finally opens!! It's all very exciting, thank you thank you!!

December 21, 2003

Dear Howard,

You asked:

--- moogalactic <moogalactic wrote:

> Hi again all!

> I wanted to thank you all again for the lovely

> responses I've

> received from everyone. It's been wonderful and

> exciting to

> hear all the great suggestions, which for the most

> part, everyone

> pretty much agrees on the overall same idea.

> i can't say that I want to have a diner theme

> necessarily, but in

> the manner of a diner, i think to have affordable

> easy items that

> people can relate to, would be a great start. I

> don't want to be

> another fake meat house, so Im not headed in that

> direction, as well

> as I just don't feel they are necessary when there

> is so much other

> great vegan food to create without dragging in the

> highly processed

> ingredients.

> I wanted to ask another question, or just to throw

> it out there to

> the community... that is, is anyone affiliated with

> or familiar

> with " Green " promoting groups or businesses? I'm

> looking to structure

> my business sustainably and to run it as a green

> machine! I've found

> a few starts in berkeley, but any help/advice would

> be fantabulous.

> i thank you all again, and please don't stop

> writing, I love to hear

> your thoughts always. It's been great meeting you

> through emails.

> Hopefully will get to meet you all in person sooner

> than later when

> my cafe finally opens!! It's all very exciting,

> thank you thank you!!

>

Perhaps these Web sites would be of help?

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/enviro/gbus/index.html

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/sustainabledevelopment/ecobusiness/how.htm

I'd like to echo what other posters have said about

how thrilling this (i.e., your plan to open a vegan

restaurant) is for the Bay Area veg community. I think

you're well on your way to having identified the

current market saturation of some types of veg food

(e.g., mock meats/fast food) in the area in which

you're contemplating locating the restaurant. That's a

huge first step.

Everyone's comments have been great. Dennis's recent

note on the importance of appealing to an expanded

audience - veg and non-veg patrons rather than only

veg patrons - struck a chord for me. When I think of

some of the very successful restaurants in our locale,

as well as similarly successful eateries when I lived

in Austin, all appeal not only to veg diners, but they

are also destinations for non-veg folks looking for an

outstanding dining experience.

I'm very much encouraged by the amount of list traffic

your posts have generated on SFBAVeg. I sense there is

a yearning on the part of many folks in the east bay

veg community for a non-fast food veg restaurant that

has terrific food and great atmosphere. If you can

clearly identify those desires on the part of your

customer base and meet them, your restaurant will be

wildly successful.

Best of luck in your endeavor, and please do keep us

all posted on its progress!

With best wishes,

Tor Neilands

Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now

http://companion./

December 21, 2003

Great local resources on those websites, Tor. I'm not opening a business,

but I appreciate that you have made it so easy for those who need the info!

Isn't it great that a vegan is making the connection between food choices

and the environment and will set the example for other businesses!? So

inspiring.........

Marcy