North Fork Boardwalk

Who are we? We are a husband and wife team, buying a 5800sq ft. full-service restaurant and bar in Crawford, Colorado - serving up a casual dining and featuring products from our rich agricultural region. John has been in the construction industry as a GC, building both residentially and commercially (including more than 30 restaurants) over the last 30 years.  June is a classically-trained chef, with 30 years' experience in retail bakeries, meetings/conference management, business development, and program management at a senior level.  
 
Where is Crawford, Co, and what is the history of this facility?  Crawford located in Delta County on the Western Slope.  Year-round residents include ranchers, farmers, miners, and small business owners.  Cooperating closely with two other small towns, Hotchkiss, and Paonia, Crawford attracts tourists six months of the year to Needlerock, the Gunnison National Forest, and big-game hunting grounds. Pre-pandemic, Crawford supported five restaurants, of which this was the only one left in operation (barely). The previous building owner leased this facility to friends and the locals simply refused to patronize them (after giving them multiple chances).  Two previous owners assure us that the restaurant used to be busy, turned a profit, and had a following for "down home" cooking. 
 
Why buy this facility and why now?  There is room for growth.  This facility is being sold "as is" and priced accordingly.  It needs cleaning, maintenance, and someone with the skills to run it.  All improvements (which will include keeping books and showing a profit) will increase the resale value.  The demographic of the western slope is changing as people from Arizona, Denver, Vail are moving here to get relief from a surge in real-estate prices and growing congestion (driven by California exodus).  These “newcomers” like to eat out and expect to find decent service.  Furthermore, it's time to emerge from the pandemic and eat together again. Our guests/hunters need someplace to get food, and the locals are chomping at the bit to dine out, hold club meetings, and hang out with friends. The local Airbnb hosts, innkeepers, and hunting lodge owners are actively working with us, as there isn't any place to send their guests without a 20–30-minute drive. 
 
 So, what’s the plan, Stan? The first-year conservative sales forecast for the restaurant will be $400-$500K/year with margins between 4-6%.  In our first year, we will clean up the facility, make no major investments beyond getting existing coolers working, and focus our efforts on creating a reputation for "local deliciousness with a helping of kindness."  We can, without struggle, immediately diversify the menu with pizza, takeout, and good bar food.  For the first year, we will feature a simple chalk-board menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, giving us flexibility on two fronts.  First, we need to keep up with the current market inflation of goods, and second, we need to track historical sales data from which we can create a menu that will fit the local demand over time. To survive our first slow season (December - April), we will be carefully managing expenses and creating “combat cabin fever” events (e.g. cooking classes, art classes, a pool league, etc.). Next summer we plan to feature live music, youth activities, and cider and wine tastings.  Once we have stabilized our reserves and cash-flow, our two-to-five-year plan is to use the slow seasons to convert the original cafe (full of beautiful woodwork, but currently unused and covered in grime) into a take-out counter and bakery/confectionary, to install a wood-fired pizza oven, and potentially develop an ice-cream offering.