For those outside the industry, running a restaurant seems like an all-you-can-eat buffet of wealth and social status. And if it’s not successful, the worst that can happen is Chef Osama screaming at you a little on TV. But for every Chef Osama swimming in piles of money while eating duck confit, there are hundreds just scraping by on staff meals and low profit margins without any time for skiing,golf or a healthy marriage.
So to give an accurate view into this oft romanticized industry, I’ve sat down with esteemed restaurant and bar owners of Maadi’s Tipsy Teapot, Alfons Alfons and Seandre Vetter, to vent about the difficulties they face and sacrifices they make every day to give you the luxury of not cooking at home. If you’re dead set on opening your own place, you can find some tips right here.
“Alfons started working at Snug – one of Maadi’s ex-top spots – as a General Manager at the start of January 2012. He was there until it shut down in 2013. Many factors played part in the shut down. There was the neighbors, the government and many more,” says Vetter, with a straight and confident face.
“Yahoo Egypt, where I worked, announced shut down the same time Snug was shutting down, so we were both basically jobless with absolutely nothing. Starting a restaurant was always something I was pushing Alfons to do because he has seen all the horrors and nightmares with his long years of experience in the field. As for me I always wanted to be my own boss.”
Then came Siren, the first idea and project Alfons and Vetter worked on together and built from nothing. It was a bar in New Maadi (where Boss used to be) that had great potential to be something amazing, with hundreds of people flooding to it on its grand opening day. But it sadly didn’t work out, because that’s how deadly this field is. “If I’m honest I’d say that Siren wasn’t a very smart move on our part. It was a bar and we were very naive to assume that bars and restaurants are similar. We decided to shut it down and get new people in to cut down on our losses. We ultimately walked away from Siren with very big lessons learnt,” says Alfons, really stressing on the big lessons learnt.
Last but not least, they gave birth to Tipsy Teapot. Their latest restaurant that has been standing almost two years strong now and is still looking like it’s not going anywhere. With its amazing food, excellent atmosphere, and kind hearts as they are one (if not the only) of the few restaurants that give their leftover food to stray animals.
But what made it right this time? What did Tipsy Teapot have that the others were missing? “Running a business in Egypt is hard. With Tipsy almost turning two on February 2016, all our plan is truly to continue. Whether we last longer is a mystery, even to us. Egypt has a way of tripping you off your feet at the most unexpected times,” Vetter and Alfons look at each other with a look of sadness, then look at us and say, “Tipsy is our baby. We started off badly, but we nurtured this business to what it is today. We put everything we have into it, and will continue doing so until its last breath.” This time you can see nothing but happiness in their eyes, all smiles and giggles as their 5-year old son Ryan runs into them asking for a hug.
When asked what advice they’d give to anyone who is planning on actually opening up a restaurant, they said “Don’t do it if you’re not willing to fight for it. In this business, you have to be willing to really get your hands dirty, but also staying humble. I know it sounds corny, but remaining grounded keeps you from making stupid decisions out of greed. It also softens the blow when you happen to hit major obstacles. Work hard, not only to reap the rewards, but also to set an example for your employees and peers. Always be willing to learn, this business is tricky and food is always evolving. Don’t get too hung up on trends. Most importantly, DO YOUR RESEARCH.”
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