I originally was going to do a spa/makeup store called “Chemical Love,” but I was having trouble trying to decide what my focus would be on. I then decided that I wanted to create a restaurant called “Around the World in 80 Days” based on the idea of amusement park rides. When you go to Universal Studios or Disney World, there are various rides in which you get in and the ride takes you around in a “world” that has a certain theme, ie. Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a small world, etc. I loosely based my idea on the Peter Pan ride, where you get in a small boat that is hooked to tracks so that you are given the impression that you are flying. In my restaurant, which utilizes hot air balloons instead of little boats, customers are seated in a table inside a fake hot air balloon and they get to enjoy a beautiful scenic view as they eat. The name of the store, “Around the world in 80 days” is obviously taken from Jules Verne’s book by the same title; the book talks about a man called Phileas Fogg who sails around the world in his hot air balloon. While this restaurant is not very realistic because of the costs that it would entail, I think that it would be a really fun idea that would appeal to lots of people.

    I thought that this restaurant would be a lot like the Cheesecake Factory in terms of customers. It is a fancy, nice restaurant, but at the same time, not horribly expensive and a lot of fun. Therefore, I think that it appeals to all ages of the family, but primarily teens to middle aged people. Younger or older people might be scared of heights, but the “ride” would be fairly slow, so it would not be scary. If a mall would be large enough to accommodate such a restaurant, I would place it in a mall in St. Louis. I think this is appropriate because St. Louis is where the world fair took place, and lots of cool innovations were brought to and presented here. It could also be expanded like Hard Rock Café to have several different locations. If a mall could not accommodate the restaurant, another location I would propose is to actually be in Disney World or Universal Studios. The restaurant would fit in nicely among all the different rides, and people could eat a nice meal as well.

    The foods that I chose were of four different cuisine types: Thai, Japanese, English, and Italian. I know that Phileas Fogg landed in England, but since I have not read the book in a long time, I just decided to choose the other foods to be from countries that I think would appeal to people. I also made two of them from “Western” sides of the world, and two from the “Eastern” side of the world. Japanese, Thai, and Italian are all very different foods that I think would give the restaurant distinct flavor and character. The different types of food, I think, are suitable because the “ride” takes you around the world.

    The way that the restaurant works is that people would come into a foyer with a waiting area. They would reserve a spot with the waiter/waitress, and when called, they would walk through a pathway to where the hot air balloons are. The “family” would then file into the basket/table area, and be given water and a menu. They would then drift along the ride. At various “monuments” like the Statue of Liberty and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, they would stop and place their orders or get drink refills from waiters/waitresses that are stationed there. The “family” would get to control the path along the tracks of the balloon and be able to stop wherever they wish, but they are not allowed to backtrack, as they might bump into another balloon. They are also given a limited speed, so that they do not go too quickly. If the family does not operate the system for a long period of time, then the balloon will go into an automatic programming similar to that of “cruise control” and go the normal route. A certain area near the “loading dock” would be where they get off the balloons and leave the store. Before they leave is a small gift shop where they can purchase T-shirts or other accessories.