Cabarete Restaurants For Sale

[TEAM]

In July we visited Cabarete in order to check out a restaurant business that we were interested in purchasing. The deal did not work out, so we have been looking for other restaurant properties. We are becoming suspicious because there are so many for sale in Cabarete. It appears more restaurants are for sale than not. We thought that the area was an up and coming tourist spot, so why do so many people want to sell? Is there something that we should be aware of in regards to Cabarete? Does it have anything to do with the fact that you can usually buy the "business" but only lease the land/building from another party?
Anyone who can provide insight into this, please reply.
Thanks in advance,
Ed, Matt, Theresa, & Amanda

[Lambada]

According to an article in yesterday's Puerto Plata Digital it's the macuteo
Puerto Plata Digital

[TEAM]

Originally Posted by Lambada

According to an article in yesterday's Puerto Plata Digital it's the macuteo
Puerto Plata Digital

Thanks Lambada! I just finished reading your book, Quisqueya - Mad Dogs and English Couple. It was a fantastic read for a person wanting to move to DR!!

[harrydr]

The reason so many are for sale is that they are looking to sell before the next influx. I know restaurant owners both in Sosua and Cabarete and it sounds like a tough business. Specifically in Cabarete, the good restaurants do OK, the bad ones fold up after a couple of months. Please, if you are interested in the business, talk to the neighbors first.

[naturelover]

the ones on the beach do well ...but some of the food is decidedly yukky and insubstantial...... but well presented lol

[Don Pedro]

Very easy to know why so many restaurant for sale.
Count how many seats available.(offer)
Count how many people in restaurants and looking for a restaurant.

a hight % of vacancy seats every days all the long.

Why the dichonomy Land/business.
It is an excellent investment for landlord.
They ask for maximum rent in US$ , explaining you the tenant before did not know how to manage.
You do not ask for the tenant before the tenant before because you do not want to know you want to buy a dream.

[CFA123]

The one I love is Seafood World Restaurant & car wash for sale near the entrance to Callejon. On the market for $1.6 million! Never had a client there that I could see.

There are a few successful ones. But right next door are ones that have never hit it. Success of restaurants here is best judged

Without seeing the books, I'd say in no particular order and not listing all...
Doing the best: Jose O'Shays, Lax, Casanova, La Casita de Papi, Onno's, Friends, Bliss, Marabu, La Cosita (drinks only at night-no food), Locos d'Enfrente, Hexenkessel, Pomodoro
Doing okay: Ocean Taste, Bambu (drink sales at night), La Campagna
Not well: Miro, Blu, Calamar, new Steak house

Blu was dismantled this week... not sure if new owners or existing owners doing the remodeling

Onno's is rumored to be closing down in a couple of weeks for a 2 week period & re-opening 'new & improved' under new ownership.

Lot of other little restaurants around, also went to En Bocca this week for the first time. Atmosphere good, steak excellent, other dishes +/-... at 20% less price, would be fantastic. At 400-700 an entree & 300 for a salad, it should be better.

[CFA123]

Most properties along the beach you'd be buying the business, but not the land. You'd pay a lease to the property owner.

Also, I've been led to believe that some of the properties' ownership has been in dispute in the last year or so with court cases going on (down around the Onno's, Bambu area and westward for a few restaurants). Not sure if that's been resolved.

Would really pay to spend some time in the town (a year or so) living, working, and learning. You're not going to pick up all the idiosynchrosies of doing business in this town with a few holiday trips or real estate exploratory trips. There's a lot to know & learn about how the business owners do and do not get along, how promotions are or are not coordinated amongst them, how issues such as late night drink sales are resolved and paid for, etc, etc.
There's also a lot to learn about how to successfully deal with Dominican employees. Lots of tricks that make sense & work well - but you won't intuitively know them.

Then, if you're dealing with not just a bar, but a disco - well there's a s**tload of other concerns.

Not sure you'd get good books from anyone to see how they've truly done - or that other restaurant owners could begin to fill you in on all the little issues even if they were inclined to do so.

Now... people have been successful - but they've worked really hard, were very smart, and probably had pretty deep pockets to get themselves started. When Jose O'Shays moved in after replacing New Wave, their business was slow for 12-18 months. Wasn't helped by 9/11, but it still took a while for them to build up their clientele.

Good luck... we could stand to see some new restaurants with quality food and good prices!

Yup, the more I think about it... if you have deep pockets to buy a restaurant, sock that money away, rent an apt here, and become a manager at one of the existing restaurants. 6 months later if you want to go out on your own, you'd be better prepared and less likely to lose your shirt. It's a small investment of time & delayed earnings before starting your own restaurant venture.

[naturelover]

jose o shays is great if you want to stay at home.....not awfully caribbean and that rock music is in dire straights lol

[KeithF]

Originally Posted by naturelover

jose o shays is great if you want to stay at home.....not awfully caribbean and that rock music is in dire straights lol

The thing is, a lot of folk do want exactly that! To go somewhere 'unfamiliar' and yet be familiar too. Great beach, great weather and pretty girls mixed with something 'safe' feeling. If that's enough to part the tourist from their dollar, then my only problem is, it's not my bar!