kevin wu OctOber 2014 BCBusiness 57
W
hat do harrison
ford, Martha
stewart and
Pierre trudeau
have in com-
mon? they've all cooled
their heels waiting in line
to get into vij's west 11th
restaurant, which famously
doesn't take reserva-
tions—no matter how
famous you are. sure, the
lineups can take an hour
or more but you'll be fed
with complimentary hors
d'oeuvres and given chai to
drink, and who knows who
you'll bump into? but does it
make good business sense
to give away free food and
drink at a restaurant?
vancouver restaura-
teur James iranzad has a
distinct take on this. his
acclaimed gastown eatery
wildebeest takes reserva-
tions but his new project,
bufala in kerrisdale, does
not. "from a business
perspective, not taking res-
ervations does guarantee
all of your tables are full
with no downtime, which
is very attractive to a
restaurant for which there
is a great demand. My
other restaurant, abigail's
Party, is first-come, first-
served with brunch but we
take reservations at dinner,
which works because table
turns are faster at brunch
and that allows us to
maximize our revenue-
generating ability." he
says, "i think vikram is very
smart; he has the most
democratic way of accept-
ing guests. usually if some-
one was a celebrity or was
staying at the penthouse
at the Pacific rim, the
concierge would get them
the best table in the house
and you or i would have to
wait. but not at vij's. and
the appreciation of his
generosity and hospitality
to the queue is far greater
than the cost."
ex-Vancouver magazine
food editor Jamie Maw
agrees: "not many
restaurants can do it, but
vij's can because vikram
is as much a draw as is the
food and the wine list. he's a
very good businessman; he
understands the needs and
wants of his clients and has
taken aspirational dining to
a very egalitarian place. the
restaurant brand is as aspi-
rational as the cars some
people drive. if they want
to hang out with their own
tribe or aspire to hang out
with another tribe, for $100
or $300 they can buy that
choice for the evening. i've
sat on the terrace waiting for
a table with a german prince
next to blue-collar folks. that
terrace on a summer night
was so fun you almost didn't
want to go in for dinner."
– N.B.
Wait in line!
the business case for vij's no-reservations policy
