Temporary Restaurants?

As discussed in this Wall Street Journal article, there are many costs involved in attempting to open a new restaurant or store, especially in San Francisco, and the Wise Brothers have undertaken a clever process to avoid these costs: the pop-up restuarant.

We have all seen pop-up - or temporary - stores in malls where they inhabit the paths on which people walk, taking advantage of their location to test new products or to avoid the costs of purchasing a store. This same idea applies to the pop-up restaurants, which have existed in London since the mid-2000's. These restaurants have many different goals: they can be used by start-ups such as the Wise Brothers who want to cut down on costs or they can be used by existing restaurants who aim to test their new products but do not want to risk trying them in the actual restaurant, where a product flop could negatively affect their business.

Start-up companies who employ the pop-up have used this to their advantage by building a clientele and getting their name out to the community. They can then build up revenue and eventually open a store when they have the necessary money and customers to succeed.

The article goes on to discuss the procedure used to purchase and run a pop-up restaurant, but I would like to take the discussion in an alternate direction. While I believe that it is ideal for a new restaurant to employ the pop-up technique early on, I am curious as to whether or not this should be considered a simple "stepping stone" to becoming a real restaurant.

Part of the allure of pop-up restaurants is the simplicity and unique aura that they present. It is very easy for customers to be walking or driving past and get their food. They see a small boutique set up and it appeals to the customers who are in a rush or just don't want the hassle of sitting down and dealing with waiters, etc. This customer in a rush is a very specific type of consumer that these pop-ups would bring in. They would not appeal to families who want a nice environment, sitting down and enjoying a meal.

This is where the difficult transition would take place. If the pop-up restaurant succeeds and makes profits high enough for management to consider opening a full-time restaurant, they will have to dramatically change their clientele. They have built brand loyalty and have built a name for themselves, but they have done it with the consumer who does not have time to sit down for a meal. It will be tough for a restaurant to switch its target customers so quickly. This could be a Snapple-esque disaster, where the change in distribution process helped doom the product.

The only way for this alteration to be successful in my opinion would be to keep the pop-up store while also opening their full-time restaurant. This will allow the transition to be smooth and they will still be able to capitilize on the unique quality of their pop-up restaurant while also getting revenues from a full restaurant.

Do you think this transition will be easy, or do you think we will see more pop-up restaurants start to make a name for themselves?