Ever think of preselling special meal packages online to help raise cash to open your new restaurant? Chef/owner John Brandt-Lee tried this tactic and got 112 customers to respond, enabling his Avalon Pasta Bistro to open in Downington, PA last week. Could this financing method work for other operators, too?

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Never made any money off of Red Bull? Miss out on the Four Loko craze? Maybe your restaurant should stock one of two new libations backed by celebrities who bring a built-in following: Rush Limbaugh’s Two If By Tea and Snoop Dogg’s Blast by Colt 45. No mixologist required.

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We already know that reality show America’s Next Great Restaurant winning concept Soul Daddy is the fastest chain restaurant failure in history. Now, courtesy of an SEC filing, we’re getting an inkling of how much money was lost in the process, at least by Chipotle Mexican Grill and its boss, Steve Ells: $2.5 million.

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