Right on the heels of a high-profile Forbes article on the difficulty of opening a restaurant comes a first-hand example of the soaring costs of restaurant development during the ramp-up phase: it seems that Pat Kuleto's pair of posh waterfront restaurants—Epic Roast House and Waterbar—are already costing at least $2 million dollars more and two months longer than originally planned. Reports Ryan Tate:
Originally slated for a November opening and construction cost of around $18 million, the restaurants are now expected to open by the end of January at a construction cost somewhere above $20 million, said Pete Sittnick, general manager for both restaurants. Sittnick said the overall complexity of the project had contributed to a wide variety of delays.Complexity? Yeah, it's probably safe to classify Fishneyland's enormous water columns in the dining room and nearly a thousand gallons worth of fish tanks as complex. And let's not forget about that outdoor BBQ area at Epic. Suffice to say, as the projects near completion, the holidays will be very interesting down by Kuleto's little bayside colony.
· Kuleto running up tab at two new restaurants [SF Business Times]
· Plywood Special Report: Outdoor BBQ Pit at Epic [~ESF~]
· Oh Yes, There Will Be Fish at Waterbar [~ESF~]
