6 ms·

The best starter restaurant is those little lunch places with no seating: just a counter and a long line, you see them around downtown. Less risk on many levels

The best starter restaurant is those little lunch places with no seating: just a counter and a long line, you see them around downtown. Less risk on many levels. Every desk in those office towers is a person who needs to get lunch. A friend in the business says that's usually the second restaurant business someone opens.

irrational 9y ago
>Every desk in those office towers is a person who needs to get lunch. Do you have any insight into why so many people buy lunch instead of bringing it? I've had a desk job for about 20 years now and I think I've bought lunch maybe 10 times when for some reason I wasn't able to make my lunch that day. It seems to me that buying lunch is more expensive and a person will probably eat more calories. I can't imagine it is a time issue, I probably spend less than 5 minutes putting a lunch together every day. That is far less than the time required to go somewhere for lunch. I assume it also isn't an issue of wanting to get away from the desk - most office places I've seen have lots of places a person can go and eat.
- nstj 9y ago
  Socialisation is a big part of it - going as a team to grab lunch from a specific place; I'm sure there are plenty of anthropological studies on groups sharing food as part of bonding etc.
- bookmarkacc 9y ago
  If you work downtown SF you are likely making 80-100k and have a bit of disposable income that you can spend socializing with other people while eating out.
- cm2012 9y ago
  At least to my palette, whatever I can buy is going to be tastier than what I can make. It's also fun to spend money on things and get out of the office.
  - RussianCow 9y ago
    For me, it's the exact reverse. :) I rarely buy a lunch that I couldn't have made better myself, for less money. But then again I also find cooking fun, whereas for others it's a time sink.
    - dagw 9y ago
      I love cooking. And sure I could, possibly, make a better burger or taco at home than the one I buy at the food truck, but I'm not going to be able to do so at work.
      - splicer 9y ago
        I wish I could cook at work!
      - RussianCow 9y ago
        There are plenty of meals that you can make in advance and reheat at work, but I see your point. Working remotely makes this a non-issue, though. :)
- iaabtpbtpnn 9y ago
  I go out for lunch basically every day. Price: Within reason, who cares? I don't have a wife or kids or any obligations really. What good is a six figure salary if I have to micromanage what I'm spending on food? Calories: Diets don't work, so who cares? If the meal is too big to finish then I'll take half home for dinner, like I did today. Time: IDK if you eat a cold turkey sandwich for lunch every single day or what, but it would probably take me 30-60 minutes to make the things I often eat for lunch, if I even had the ingredients. I don't have the benefit of hours of kitchen prep before the restaurant opens. Getting away: This is a big part of it actually. Not just leaving my desk, but leaving the office entirely. Walking around the downtown, remembering what it's like to be a human being in the sunlight. I realize these answers may not match your lifestyle but I'm just trying to give the insight you asked for, from a person who does this.
  - grecy 9y ago
    > Price: Within reason, who cares? I don't have a wife or kids or any obligations really. What good is a six figure salary if I have to micromanage what I'm spending on food? This mentality always blows me away and I am genuinely curious. Has it not occurred to you that if you spend less, you can work less? (i.e. part time or retire sooner) I cut things like this out of my spending, now I work a couple of years then travel a couple of years, first time I drove to South America, now I'm driving around Africa.
    - iaabtpbtpnn 9y ago
      To be honest, I like my job, it brings me fulfillment in my life and I don't have a lot of other sources of that (as stated no wife/kids). I'm not really interested in restricting my lifestyle now to hasten my retirement, although I'm certainly not so stupid that I don't save for retirement. I just don't bother to minmax my finances. I find the type of travel you describe stressful. I also don't like the insecurity of part-time work. Maybe I'll feel differently later, but at age 31 that lifestyle is just not for me.
      - ice109 9y ago
- bby 9y ago
  I can honestly say I've never brought my lunch and almost no one I work with brings their lunch except Asian people for some reason.
- exolymph 9y ago
  > I can't imagine it is a time issue, I probably spend less than 5 minutes putting a lunch together every day. It's not a time issue, it's an organization and mental energy issue.
- curun1r 9y ago
  I've always viewed it as a work expense. The guy bringing his lunch misses out on the conversations that happen and friendships that form over lunch. Whether it's technical conversations, office gossip or just discussing life events, it's an important bonding experience that more easily leads to becoming a close-knit team. There's something subconscious going on with conversations over food that bypasses some of the filters/walls we put up and isn't really replicated in normal work conversations. It's a bit like storytelling that way. I'm guessing it's because primitive humans only shared food with members of their tribe. At $15/day, 200 days per year, it costs around $3k/yr, which really isn't that much when you consider tech salaries and the benefits it brings. The only downside is I have to be hyper conscious about eating healthy since meals out are optimized for taste, not health (i.e. lots of butter and salt and other stuff that makes it taste really good but not particularly good for me to eat).
- dagw 9y ago
  Do you have any insight into why so many people buy lunch instead of bringing it? I'm one of a handful of people at my office who never brings lunch and for me it's all about getting away from my desk leaving the office building, getting a walk in and looking for something interesting to eat. I'll often walk to one of the places where food trucks tend to congregate and see if there's something good there. Sometimes I'll take the chance to try out that new restaurant I know I'll never get to otherwise. Yes, it costs a fair bit, but eating a brought lunch in the lunch room would destroy the entire joy of lunch for me.

irrational 9y ago

>Every desk in those office towers is a person who needs to get lunch. Do you have any insight into why so many people buy lunch instead of bringing it? I've had a desk job for about 20 years now and I think I've bought lunch maybe 10 times when for some reason I wasn't able to make my lunch that day. It seems to me that buying lunch is more expensive and a person will probably eat more calories. I can't imagine it is a time issue, I probably spend less than 5 minutes putting a lunch together every day. That is far less than the time required to go somewhere for lunch. I assume it also isn't an issue of wanting to get away from the desk - most office places I've seen have lots of places a person can go and eat.

nstj 9y ago
Socialisation is a big part of it - going as a team to grab lunch from a specific place; I'm sure there are plenty of anthropological studies on groups sharing food as part of bonding etc.
bookmarkacc 9y ago
If you work downtown SF you are likely making 80-100k and have a bit of disposable income that you can spend socializing with other people while eating out.
cm2012 9y ago
At least to my palette, whatever I can buy is going to be tastier than what I can make. It's also fun to spend money on things and get out of the office.
- RussianCow 9y ago
  For me, it's the exact reverse. :) I rarely buy a lunch that I couldn't have made better myself, for less money. But then again I also find cooking fun, whereas for others it's a time sink.
  - dagw 9y ago
    I love cooking. And sure I could, possibly, make a better burger or taco at home than the one I buy at the food truck, but I'm not going to be able to do so at work.
    - splicer 9y ago
      I wish I could cook at work!
    - RussianCow 9y ago
      There are plenty of meals that you can make in advance and reheat at work, but I see your point. Working remotely makes this a non-issue, though. :)
iaabtpbtpnn 9y ago
I go out for lunch basically every day. Price: Within reason, who cares? I don't have a wife or kids or any obligations really. What good is a six figure salary if I have to micromanage what I'm spending on food? Calories: Diets don't work, so who cares? If the meal is too big to finish then I'll take half home for dinner, like I did today. Time: IDK if you eat a cold turkey sandwich for lunch every single day or what, but it would probably take me 30-60 minutes to make the things I often eat for lunch, if I even had the ingredients. I don't have the benefit of hours of kitchen prep before the restaurant opens. Getting away: This is a big part of it actually. Not just leaving my desk, but leaving the office entirely. Walking around the downtown, remembering what it's like to be a human being in the sunlight. I realize these answers may not match your lifestyle but I'm just trying to give the insight you asked for, from a person who does this.
- grecy 9y ago
  > Price: Within reason, who cares? I don't have a wife or kids or any obligations really. What good is a six figure salary if I have to micromanage what I'm spending on food? This mentality always blows me away and I am genuinely curious. Has it not occurred to you that if you spend less, you can work less? (i.e. part time or retire sooner) I cut things like this out of my spending, now I work a couple of years then travel a couple of years, first time I drove to South America, now I'm driving around Africa.
  - iaabtpbtpnn 9y ago
    To be honest, I like my job, it brings me fulfillment in my life and I don't have a lot of other sources of that (as stated no wife/kids). I'm not really interested in restricting my lifestyle now to hasten my retirement, although I'm certainly not so stupid that I don't save for retirement. I just don't bother to minmax my finances. I find the type of travel you describe stressful. I also don't like the insecurity of part-time work. Maybe I'll feel differently later, but at age 31 that lifestyle is just not for me.
    - ice109 9y ago
bby 9y ago
I can honestly say I've never brought my lunch and almost no one I work with brings their lunch except Asian people for some reason.
exolymph 9y ago
> I can't imagine it is a time issue, I probably spend less than 5 minutes putting a lunch together every day. It's not a time issue, it's an organization and mental energy issue.
curun1r 9y ago
I've always viewed it as a work expense. The guy bringing his lunch misses out on the conversations that happen and friendships that form over lunch. Whether it's technical conversations, office gossip or just discussing life events, it's an important bonding experience that more easily leads to becoming a close-knit team. There's something subconscious going on with conversations over food that bypasses some of the filters/walls we put up and isn't really replicated in normal work conversations. It's a bit like storytelling that way. I'm guessing it's because primitive humans only shared food with members of their tribe. At $15/day, 200 days per year, it costs around $3k/yr, which really isn't that much when you consider tech salaries and the benefits it brings. The only downside is I have to be hyper conscious about eating healthy since meals out are optimized for taste, not health (i.e. lots of butter and salt and other stuff that makes it taste really good but not particularly good for me to eat).
dagw 9y ago
Do you have any insight into why so many people buy lunch instead of bringing it? I'm one of a handful of people at my office who never brings lunch and for me it's all about getting away from my desk leaving the office building, getting a walk in and looking for something interesting to eat. I'll often walk to one of the places where food trucks tend to congregate and see if there's something good there. Sometimes I'll take the chance to try out that new restaurant I know I'll never get to otherwise. Yes, it costs a fair bit, but eating a brought lunch in the lunch room would destroy the entire joy of lunch for me.