Openings

How Many Sausages Before DBGB Turns a Profit?

Photo: Gabi Porter

On Saturday, we gave you a glimpse of DBGB Kitchen and Bar, menu and all (the above photo comes from Metromix’s gallery). The Times now follows up with a feature delving into the nickles and dimes of the place. Daniel Boulud reveals that it often takes him five years to clear the debt from starting a restaurant, and that he hires bookkeepers to make sure gross margins at his restaurants don’t drop below 10 percent (at Café Boulud, a reduction sauce was once found to be an unlikely money guzzler). So how will DBGB rake in the $4.5 million per year necessary for turning a profit?

“It needs to fill each of its 140 dining seats twice on high-traffic nights (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) and 1.25 times on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Anything in excess of those numbers — say 2.25 seatings on a Saturday night — is money in the bank. There are similar calculations for lunch.” Also interesting: Boulud is making sure the playlist contains mostly old-school tunes, to keep out the trucker-hat-wearing riffraff. Which explains why when we left the preview on Saturday, “Glory Days” was playing.

From Frisée to Finance, It Has to Be Perfect [NYT]
Earlier: Daniel Boulud Shows Off DBGB Menu and Space, Weighs in on Obama Burger

How Many Sausages Before DBGB Turns a Profit?