Conceptualizing a Business Heavy Henry\'s

Conceptualizing a Business

Heavy Henry's Hogs is a restaurant dedicated to the finest in barbequed pork. The vision for Heavy Henry's is to be America's finest purveyor of pork products, smoked, grilled, cured and otherwise. The restaurant will take its cue from fine dining establishments that specialize in tip-to-tail dining, a big trend in the restaurant business right now (Church, 2008). Heavy Henrys' mission is to be a destination restaurant that changes how everyday Americans think about the food that they eat. For too long, food has been a homogenized product, far removed from its agricultural origins. Heavy Henry's seeks to restore the fine tradition of country food, authentic and using the whole animal. Just as important as the social mission of Heavy Henry's is the fact that the food is going to be amazing. There are a lot of barbeque restaurants, but Heavy Henry's will be differentiated from them all by virtue not only of Heavy's dedication to going whole hog, but because Henry's will have the best barbeque on the planet. The finest ingredients, combined with authentic techniques, will combine to give guests the most astonishing culinary experience they have ever encountered. This means heirloom hog breeds, organic vegetables and sugars, a real smoker and a real barbeque pit, and the top chefs in the area working hard to bring this to the table. It will not be cheap, and it definitely will not be fast, but what Heavy Henry's will be is the absolute best.

This business is not intended to grow into anything more than one spectacular destination restaurant. One cannot franchise quality like this, nor would one want to. People will come from miles, if not entire counties and states around to eat at Heavy Henry's. Little boys will hear the story from their fathers of eating at Heavy's and grow up dreaming of one day eating there themselves. Ultimately Heavy Henry's should find itself on lists like this: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/travel-restaurants-2011

The culture of the organization will be dedicated to all forms of gustatory excellence. The staff will be exceptionally well-trained and have high levels of knowledge and experience. The ingredients will only be sourced through suppliers with high standards and ethics -- so no industrial suppliers will be needed. The restaurant will be a fun one in which to work, however, because that sense of fun is then conveyed to the customers. They are dining for pleasures, for an indulgence, and it is desired that the staff is able to deliver that to them. The staff, if tense, will be unable to do so.

Heavy Henry's will be dedicated a strict code of values. Our values include respect for the animal that gave its life to feed our customers, which means no wasting of food product. Respect for the customer is also a key value. The customer is who we are in business to please, and we can do that by giving them what they came for, the best meal of their life. Lastly, the values at Heavy Henry's will incorporate a healthy disrespect for the conventions of fine dining. Food is not about appearances, or putting on airs. Food is about performing a basic act of nature, and Heavy Henry's is about optimizing that experience. It might be boisterous, it certainly will be messy, but if our customers are not having the time of lives then we are not doing our job. That means putting them at ease -- no reservations, no dress codes and no snobbery.

It is believed that the key competitive advantage for Heavy Henry's will be in delivering this exceptional experience. In order to deliver this experience, inputs and throughputs are critical. The key inputs are ingredients and labor. The ingredients will be sourced from the best suppliers, but ultimately our competition can do the same. Where we will exceed is in delivering the best dining experience from top to bottom. The food will be the best because we will hire the best cooks. The service will be the best because we will cull the best front-of-house staff from the area. Our management will be the best because they are the most experienced and dedicated in the industry. Thus, human resources is probably the single most important source of competitive advantage for Heavy's -- it is how we will get the right people to outperform the competition.