Let's drink to that!

Aurora

Coffee Shop and Restaurant

49 Lexington Street, London W1R 3LG.

Tel: 0171-494 0514

Restaurant opened:1997

Seats: 70

Estimated turnover for 1999: £650,000-£700,000

Average spend: £25

Gross profit on food: 75%

Corkage: £2.50

Zamani

11 Rushton's Yard, Market Street, Ashby de la Zouche, Leics LE65 1AL

Tel: 01530 560719

Opened: 1996

Investment: £45,000

Seats: 48

Average spend for dinner: £12

Turnover: £175,000

Gross profit on food: 70%

Corkage, roll and butter: £1.50

Rafters Restaurant

220 Oakbrook Road, Nether Green, Sheffield S11 7ED

Tel: 0114 230 4819

Opened: 1993

Investment: £20,000

Seats: 38

Average spend with extra wine, aperitifs and liqueurs: £30

Turnover: £185,000

Net profit: £60,000

Corkage: £2 per bottle

PEJMAN Zamani admits that the annual turnover of £175,000 on his 48-seat restaurant Zamani's in Ashby de la Zouche, Leicestershire, is half that of a comparable licensed restaurant. He won't change, though. He prefers to see customers returning two or three times a week and creating a better atmosphere because they can afford to drink and eat more.

"My aim was to have a restaurant offering unique food at average prices where a customer can eat dinner for a minimum of £15," says Zamani, whose bring-your-own bottle (BYO) policy has been so successful that he is opening a similar restaurant in Burton on Trent.

The menu is Mediterranean with an Italian bias and specialities are game, venison and duck. Dishes are priced at £5.25 for a warm salad of barbary duck with winter berries, £5.95 for spaghetti al pesto, sliced calves' liver grilled on a bed of roasted shallots, fresh mint and honey costs £11.95, and pizzas from £3 to £9.30. Zamani adds £1.50 to the bill for corkage plus bread and butter, and gross profit on food is 70%.

"There's more to life than finance. The fact that we were busier in the first two weeks of this January than in December shows that people like to eat out in the right atmosphere at the right price," says Zamani, adding that he does little advertising. Ninety per cent of business is repeat and there are waiting lists for tables on Fridays and Saturdays.

Zamani was already running a popular pizza take-away on the main street at Ashby when the adjoining shop became vacant in 1996. He snapped it up, extended the pizza kitchen and opened the restaurant, targeting wealthy residents in the surrounding villages. In 1997, he and his chef, John Skellett, opened the Maranello wine bar next door. Smart move. But Zamani rejects the idea that it was opened to encourage BYO customers to pop in for their bottles.

"We were refusing so many people that we thought if they could wait in the wine bar until tables became free, it would be more convenient. They can buy wine there if they need to, but most bring their own," he says.

Licensing problems

But not all BYO restaurateurs are content. Greg Kukich, part-owner of Aurora in London's Soho, is without a liquor licence because his restaurant is in a 300-year-old grade II-listed building that had been categorised as a shop. Although getting a liquor licence is not normally a problem, changing the building category, plus having to deal with bodies such as English Heritage, has meant a long haul through countless committees to get permission.

Once it is granted, he intends to stop the BYO policy. "BYO might cut a customer's bill by about £10, but the profit margin is greater on wine than on food and there's less labour involved. We're still aiming to get our business paid off in three years, and BYO is costing us, so enough is enough," says Kukich, pointing out that as local off-licences close at 8pm, customers turning up without their own wine have nowhere to buy any.

Aurora opened as a coffee shop in 1995 selling breakfast and cakes, and became a fully fledged restaurant with facilities for private dining in 1997. Described as "contemporary European with a Palestinian influence", dishes range from sweet chilli and pumpkin soup at £4.50 to stewed beef bourguignonne, candied yams and cavolo nero at £10.95. Corkage is £2.50 for wine and £2.30 for two or three bottles of beer, depending on the size. Annual turnover is estimated at about £650,000 for 1999, with the average spend at £25 per head and the gross profit on food at 75%.

The upstairs restaurant seats 28, although 70 covers are served on busy evenings between Wednesday and Saturday when there are two sittings. The room downstairs can take up to 16 overspill restaurant customers, or it can be hired out for private functions of up to 20 people. Most lunchtimes are full and evening trade builds towards the end of the week when booking is essential.

But if the restaurant is full most lunchtimes and evenings, won't the abolition of BYO affect business negatively? Kukich is prepared: "We're going to have a three-month period phasing out BYO, but if it looks as though we need to reintroduce it at certain times, we will," he says.

Wayne Bosworth, co-owner of Rafters restaurant in Sheffield, is already taking this middle route.

"The trend is moving towards a mix of BYO for part of the week because competition is high. Food is now produced with skill and flair in England but with wine, it can be expensive. With BYO, people can go out twice a week to eat rather than once," explains Bosworth, who claims to have pioneered BYO dining in the city.

Bosworth, former sous chef at Odette's in Regent's Park, London, is co-owner with brother and pastry chef, Jaimie. He opened the restaurant in 1993, when he took over an existing business that was open on Saturdays only, for about 14 diners. To boost sales and make it more affordable, he decided to introduce BYO from Monday to Thursday.

"Although we have a wine and bar licence, it was a matter of getting bums on seats. Since then, several similar local restaurants have done the same," he says.

Rafters is now in the Michelin, AA and Good Food guides. Most weekdays it is full of what Bosworth calls "serious foodies" and there is a two- to three-week waiting list for Fridays and Saturdays.

Situated in an unusual hexagonal, grade II-listed Georgian building, the cuisine is "modern British" and includes a speciality bread-and-butter pudding with apple and sticky toffee sauce, and home-made breads such as black pudding bread and orange zest bread. The menu is a set price at £23.95 for three courses with a choice of seven starters, mains and desserts.

"I can't increase last year's turnover of £185,00 unless I open for lunch or put up the prices and I don't want to do either. I have low overheads, make a good living, and I'm happy," says Bosworth. n