The Struggle of Opening a Restaurant: A Personal Story

Brit Lawrence Davy, a 26-year-old entrepreneur, opened his restaurant, Laara La bana, 18 months ago with a £40,000 loan from his dad. Located off the beach in a coastal resort town, the restaurant had great potential to be very successful and popular. However, after a year and a half of operation, Davy has yet to see any significant success.

Davy's menu was designed to lure British customers away from their traditional egg and chips by offering a Mediterranean cuisine with a twist. His particular favorite dish is King prawns in garlic and ginger, served with his signature chocolate sauce on the side. Unfortunately, this innovative dish failed to win over the British palate, resulting in significant financial losses.

The restaurant initially lost £22,000 in its first year of operation, leaving Davy wondering if he went about it the wrong way or if people simply weren't ready for such an adventurous menu. Since then, Davy has broadened his menu to a massive 72 dishes, cooking everything from Chinese chicken to Turkish kebabs. However, even with this increased variety, Davy still struggles to keep the restaurant afloat.

One of the most bizarre dishes on the menu is chicken nuggets and chips, which Davy serves to adults, much to his dismay. He absolutely hates serving this dish, but it's become a necessary part of the restaurant's offerings due to customer demand. Despite these challenges, Davy remains optimistic about his restaurant's potential.

Recently, Davy found himself in Spain, seeking advice on how to save Laara La bana from going under. During his visit, he shared with the interviewer that he started noticing significant declines in business around September last year, where the restaurant suddenly lost its momentum. The decline has continued ever since, leaving Davy with little hope for survival beyond the summer.

Before opening his restaurant, Davy claimed to have a solid understanding of the industry, having completed a degree and worked as a nightclub manager and restaurant manager in London. However, he admits that he's struggling to replicate his success in Laara La bana. He wonders why he can't achieve similar results for himself, despite feeling confident about his abilities.

Davy is now facing significant financial difficulties, with an estimated €102,000 in debt and a monthly payment of €2,000. This leaves him with little room for error, as the pressure to succeed is mounting. With his loan agreement set to expire, Davy must either find a way to save Laara

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enone more steak garnish please and a lamb shank I'll get that one restaurant owner who thought he spotted a gap in the market is 26-year-old Brit Lawrence Davy 18 months ago he borrowed £40,000 from his dad and open laara La bana 500 M off the beach in the coastal Resort of n this restaurant has great potential to be very successful very popular um it's in a great location but I've been doing it for a year and a half now and I haven't seen any success whatsoever armed with his K and degree and a few years managing nightclubs and restaurants Lawrence designed a Mediterranean menu with a Twist to lure the Brits away from their egg and chips my particular favorite King prawns in garlic and ginger and chili served with our signature chocolate sauce on the side not very popular um which kind of proves The Adventurous side of my customers with the prawns in chocolate sauce failing to win round the Brits he lost 22 Grand in his first year I don't know whether I went about it the wrong way or whether people don't want it or aren't ready for it I don't know since then he's broadened his menu to a massive 72 dishes cooking everything from Chinese chicken to Turkish kebabs I've even served chicken nuggets and chips to an adult and I absolutely hate it I really hate it but we taking down on last year he'll be lucky to survive the summer let alone the winter I'm in Spain to stop laara from going under hello hi Hi how are you Hi very well how are you very well yes it is good to see you and you when did it start going really quiet when did it um we suddenly snapped about September last year suddenly just went you know the light as if the light was switched off um and it was just it just died um ever since then we've been losing money what did you know about restaurants before you opened um I said I did my degree did my internship in America in terms of that's training in terms of sure sure um it was a nightclub in Shelton and then became restaurant manager of a big restaurant in London and that's when I've like really said you know I'm doing it I'm doing really well I'm succeeding in every you know what I'm doing why can't I do it for myself they need it they need me in nura they really need me to do great stuff yeah and now you're 26 Y and in the yeah how bad in I'm € 102,000 in debt €2,000 yeah so 7 Grand yeah so the Noose is really on your neck I've either got to make it here or go back to London and pay back my father signature dishes or what would you say signature dishes um we do a great prawns dish with a chocolate sauce which I've done from day one prawns with chocolate sauce PRS with chocolate sauce yes so star and dessert at the same time well FR me that sounds differentone more steak garnish please and a lamb shank I'll get that one restaurant owner who thought he spotted a gap in the market is 26-year-old Brit Lawrence Davy 18 months ago he borrowed £40,000 from his dad and open laara La bana 500 M off the beach in the coastal Resort of n this restaurant has great potential to be very successful very popular um it's in a great location but I've been doing it for a year and a half now and I haven't seen any success whatsoever armed with his K and degree and a few years managing nightclubs and restaurants Lawrence designed a Mediterranean menu with a Twist to lure the Brits away from their egg and chips my particular favorite King prawns in garlic and ginger and chili served with our signature chocolate sauce on the side not very popular um which kind of proves The Adventurous side of my customers with the prawns in chocolate sauce failing to win round the Brits he lost 22 Grand in his first year I don't know whether I went about it the wrong way or whether people don't want it or aren't ready for it I don't know since then he's broadened his menu to a massive 72 dishes cooking everything from Chinese chicken to Turkish kebabs I've even served chicken nuggets and chips to an adult and I absolutely hate it I really hate it but we taking down on last year he'll be lucky to survive the summer let alone the winter I'm in Spain to stop laara from going under hello hi Hi how are you Hi very well how are you very well yes it is good to see you and you when did it start going really quiet when did it um we suddenly snapped about September last year suddenly just went you know the light as if the light was switched off um and it was just it just died um ever since then we've been losing money what did you know about restaurants before you opened um I said I did my degree did my internship in America in terms of that's training in terms of sure sure um it was a nightclub in Shelton and then became restaurant manager of a big restaurant in London and that's when I've like really said you know I'm doing it I'm doing really well I'm succeeding in every you know what I'm doing why can't I do it for myself they need it they need me in nura they really need me to do great stuff yeah and now you're 26 Y and in the yeah how bad in I'm € 102,000 in debt €2,000 yeah so 7 Grand yeah so the Noose is really on your neck I've either got to make it here or go back to London and pay back my father signature dishes or what would you say signature dishes um we do a great prawns dish with a chocolate sauce which I've done from day one prawns with chocolate sauce PRS with chocolate sauce yes so star and dessert at the same time well FR me that sounds different\n"