(Photo: Columbia Spectator)
The ninth Rule of Acquisition states: "Opportunity plus instinct equals profit." Jonah Reider, a student at Columbia University in New York City, saw opportunity where other people didn't. He had room for a table for four people in his dorm room. He had access to a shared kitchen. He had excellent cooking skills. He combined these to form a new business: a restaurant.
Pith, as Reider's restaurant is called, is already booked through November. He calls it a supper club, which it technically is. Reider dines with his guests. But in an interview with Grubstreet, he discusses his goal to making a profit:
You're just charging for ingredients, and not turning a profit. Will that change?
That is great, but it’s also unsustainable. I don’t think I could continue, for a very long time, to spend two or three hours a day doing this, and just getting paid back for ingredients. As a student, it’s great, and I’m happy to do it. It’s such a good excuse to practice cooking. But I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to make this ever so slightly profitable. It’s so frustrating that eating in New York is so prohibitively expensive. Only a specific slice of the city gets to go out to eat. I don’t think that experience is what many people are looking for. It also doesn’t need to be a formal thing.
-via Super Punch