> Along those lines, you might want to look into the Chipotle restaurant
> phenomenon here in the U.S. They make fast food burritos (and other
> stuff, but mostly burritos) to order. Although they're now owned by
> McDonalds, they got their start on a small scale, growing through an
> emphasis on quality ingredients, authenticity, decent employment
> conditions, etc. I assume there are McD's where you are. If so, and if
> what you're attempting is successful, Chipotle or some other clone may
> not be far behind. Maybe you could look into getting whatever the
> Brazilian equivalent of a trademark is for your "rech " if you sell more
>
> than a few a day...
>
> Bob

Thanks. Actually I found the Chipotle website while googling
chipotle peppers. I borrowed a couple of ideas from them; for instance
I didn't know you could make fajitas in advance and keep them in a
warmer, so I added that to the lineup but with a localized name-- more
than one of my guinea pigs commented that it's like chicken xadrez,
xadrez meaning chess or checkered:

http://culinaria.terra.com.br/receit...-EI171,00.html

Also, I plan to pay my employees a bonus based on store sales, so
they should do considerably better than other fast-food workers. Given
the location, demand, and efficient setup, I expect we'll all do well.

Thanks, too, for the heads-up about McDonalds. There is a McD's two
blocks away. Anything American has prestige, so that must be how they
get by-- their prices are absurd by local standards. I have nothing
against McD's (really!), but rarely go there. I went in last month
just to get a feel for competition, and paid R$8.75 for a basic combo,
which in the local economy is like paying around U$20 given that
minimum wage here is about R$1.50 (U$.50) per hour. Something like
that-- it costs six hours' pay at minimum wage, vs. whatever a Big Mac
combo costs in the U.S. Anyway, the burger wasn't even that fresh;
they were obviously breaking company guidelines to cut corners and
save a little money. McD's biggest selling point is consistency of
experience worldwide, but this local unit isn't quite playing the
game. But getting to my point, my prices will be about 40% less than
McD's for better food. If they brought Chipotle here, would their
prices be competitive?

IB