Yes, can confirm MSFH rent prices are actually ABSURD. I was working for a local small business that did a pop-up over the holidays one year, had a decent deal for that (because they literally provided everything for themselves, MSFH just charged them for taking up space), but they talked with other vendors to see if it’d be worth trying to get a permanent spot… the smaller booths (like where the rolled ice cream is/was) was at minimum $4,000 a month. For a tiny space in the middle of the floor - so no storage, no back office, no “kitchen” - just a space, where they plugged in their own freezers etc - four thousand dollars a month. Needless to say, my people just eventually opened their own brick n mortar elsewhere lmao
to add: this was YEARS ago, so who knows, they could be charging $5-6k a month for those useless little booths now. So @largesevan’s $12k for the bigger spaces sounds about right. Pretty stupid IMO.
I think it’s more than that. Because there is a base monthly rent, and then they also charge a % of the gross receipts above a certain threshold. I’ve done some free consulting work for a friend around the time MSFH just opened, who was looking at a stall for their business, and those were the terms.
It’s actually even worse when you realize that the alcohol sales of that place goes through that central bar and you don’t get a cut of it.
Yeah, MSFH is pretty much worthless for a prospective new food/drink business. I honestly can’t believe how little turnover they’ve had… and they’ve had a LOT of turnover lmao
Any chance you can highlight some of the main differences between Transfer Co and MSFH’s business model? Just wondering if there are dramatic differences in rent/fees/etc.
I’m not privy to how much Transfer Co. charges for rent, but I’m sure it’s considerably less. And when I referred to the business model I was mainly talking about the vibe differences as well as the types of events/programming offered at both (Transfer Co has a rentable ballroom + hosts considerably more local groups and events, while MSFH is more corporate in every sense).
Stopped in Birdie’s for a coffee and croissant this morning.
Turkey havarti stuffed croissant and 12 oz coffee was $12 + tip…
Definitely lux restaurant pricing.
However…
That was a downright luscious croissant
Isn’t there a difference in the back of house between MSFH and Transfer? I remember seeing something like MSFH only has catering kitchens (no major cooktops, fryers, ovens) so food needs to be prepared off site, while Transfer has full kitchens.
Call me crazy but a LUSCIOUS croissant stuffed with turkey and cheese AND a coffee for $12 doesn’t sound bad at all… given the current economic climate with inflation and whatnot…
It was smaller than Boulted’s Ham and Gruyere croissant for about the same price, so that was my litmus test… but it was equally good and debatably more luscious.
Yeah, but that Bolted croissant just shatters…damn delicious…
Hopefully Birdie’s earns its place. Heard some rumblings that their build up to opening / friends and family was kinda rough (but I take that with a grain of salt because it’s supposed to help work out the kinks / jitters).
