The Watertower is a full-service restaurant/cafe located in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta. The restaurant features a full menu of moderately priced "comfort" food influenced by African and French cooking traditions, but based upon time honored recipes from around the world. The cafe section of The Watertower features a coffeehouse with a dessert bar, magazines, and space for live performers.
The Watertower will be owned and operated by The Watertower LLC, a Georgia limited liability corporation managed by David N. Patton IV, a resident of the Empowerment Zone. The members of the LLC are David N. Patton IV (80%) and the Historic District Development Corporation (20%).
This business plan offers financial institutions an opportunity to review our vision and strategic focus. It also provides a step-by-step plan for the business start-up, establishing favorable sales numbers, gross margin, and profitability.
This plan includes chapters on the company, products and services, market focus, action plans and forecasts, management team, and financial plan.
1.1 Objectives
- Sales approaching and surpassing £1.9 million by the end of the first year.
- Targeting and maintaining a net profit of at least 14% by the second year.
- To cultivate monthly sales to reach £167,000 by the end of the fourth month of operation, and £220,000 monthly by the end of the first year of operation.
1.2 Mission
The Watertower concept is built upon the success stories of Atlanta's many casual dining and coffeehouse venues. Located in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta adjacent to the Studioplex on Auburn residential loft development, The Watertower will provide accessible and affordable high quality food, coffee-based products, and entertainment to the thousands of residents and hotel visitors located within a five-mile radius. In time, The Watertower will establish itself as a "destination" of choice to the many residents of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, as well as numerous out-of-town visitors.
The establishment will provide a "complete, high-quality" evening experience for those searching for something that is rapidly becoming popular among Atlanta diners. Not only will patrons be able to dine on "comfort" food based upon time honored recipes from the world over, they will do so in a facility containing ample patio space for a favorite pastime of Atlanta's residents: alfresco dining. Patrons will also have the option of enjoying coffee, desserts, and live entertainment in The Watertower's coffeehouse or, a relaxed game of bocci in the gardens located adjacent to the patio space.
The cafe's aim is simple. It will provide a completely sophisticated, sensual, yet casual dining and/or coffeehouse experience for the many Atlantans and visitors who frequent the city's casual dining spots and entertainment venues. It will be an affordable venture for patrons, one that will encourage them to return on many occasions. The menu will feature hearty fare of the type that is frequently out of the reach of the typical young professional...out of reach because time frequently prevents her/him from cooking hearty meals like those featured on our menu.
Finally, and quite significantly, The Watertower will provide a much needed neighborhood-based retail food operation that is currently unavailable to the southern end of Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Not only is it projected that the business will generate 21 new jobs, the partnership responsible for creating The Watertower will generate additional revenue specifically dedicated to assisting the Historic District Development Corporation in its efforts to bring affordable housing, new jobs, and commercial activity to the Old Fourth Ward.
1.3 Keys to Success
The keys to success in this business are:
- Product quality: Food, coffee-based beverages, and entertainment are our products. They must be of the high quality and value.
- Service: Our patrons are paying to have a good time. Their experience will suffer if service is not of the highest caliber. Each member of the staff will be courteous, efficient, and attentive.
- Marketing: We will need to target our audience early and often. While the business is located in a central and accessible location, many people will have to be re-introduced to the neighborhood surrounding the Martin Luther King National Historic Site and Auburn Avenue.
- Management: We will need to have a firm grasp on food, beverage, and labor costs. The dining/entertainment/coffeehouse experience must be delivered in a fashion that will not only inspire repeat business, but encourage word-of-mouth recommendations to others. Proper inventory, employee management, and quality control is key.
