TREVOR BROWN, partner in Ranelagh eaterie Tribeca and Upper Leeson Street sister operation, The Canal Bank Cafe, started in the restaurant business 10 years ago.
Dish, he and his partner Ger Foote's first premises, opened its doors on Crow Street in Temple Bar in 1997.
"Access was always a problem, and while we were busy at weekends we had very little lunch trade," says Brown.
A chance encounter with the Pronto Grill owner made him jump at the chance of opening his American-style restaurant, Tribeca, in Ranelagh.
"From the day it opened it's been full every day and night. The semi-suburban trade is easier to handle and more enjoyable."
Another chance meeting saw him move his Dish restaurant from the city centre to Upper Leeson Street. However, the formal restaurant was quiet for lunch and weekend days. They rebranded the business, deformalising it into a more casual cafe-type establishment and turned it around.
Then in 2003 he took on a lease of a 150-seat restaurant in Stillorgan. "The projections looked great on paper, but we realised quite quickly that the business wasn't there, and we pulled the plug after 15 months. In my experience, it's not that easy to co-ordinate several restaurants. We were better off concentrating on what we had and making it as profitable as possible."
Business is thriving. Brown has a net profit margin of 10 per cent. Is he bothered by the number of competitive businesses in Ranelagh?
He welcomes it: "The more eateries you have on the same stretch, the more confident the public is about getting a decent bite to eat."
