Here’s my great business idea. Have you ever noticed how people tend to go to restaurants that have a lot of people in them already, and tend to avoid the ones that are empty? As a visitor to a new city, or even when I’m wandering around Downtown or Hillcrest, if I’m looking for a place to eat I will totally avoid a place that is empty.
So my idea is to supply “extras” to new restaurants that have not yet built up a clientele. You could hire college students or retired seniors at minimum wage (plus meals) and pay them to sit and eat at restaurants for 4 hour shifts, making the place look like a “happening” spot.
You would of course charge the restaurant enough to cover your expenses plus enough profit for you. But the overhead should be quite low. Advertise on Craigslist for “actors”. The hard part would be convincing the restaurant owners to hire your actors/patrons.
I thought of this years ago, and I still think about it every time I walk by an empty restaurant, especially when the restaurant next door has a line of people waiting out the door.
