There has been a recent surge of ethnic restaurant openings in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  According to the BBC, this is a sign that the area is on the up (we’ll see about that).  What puzzles me is that an Egyptian restaurant opened on the same block as a Lebanese eatery.  A Japanese restaurant opened across the street from another Japanese restaurant.  An Indian restaurant replaced a failing Indian restaurant.  (The Egyptian place is almost always empty.  Both Japanese places seem to be doing fine).

I was just noting these events as they were happening, filing them in memory for future use.  Then last week a friend of a relative tells me that a group of buddies are considering opening yet another ethnic restaurant in New Brunswick.  The business justification?  Quote: “A [member of XYZ ethnic group] would travel 50 miles to eat [XYZ] food, and there are no [XYZ] restaurants within 50 miles of New Brunswick.” 

Validity of such a statement aside (I doubt that anyone would travel 50 miles to a restaurant, except maybe to try it out once), does this group of budding restaurateurs know how many XYZ residents live within 50 miles of New Brunswick?  Did the Egyptian restaurant owner conduct similar, or any other research, before opening his business within 236 ft of a very similar establishment?

Probably not.  GIS has the answers, of course.  I hope these folks read my blog and call ENTCHEV early in the business planning process.