When Theresa was studying in Germany, the first place she took me when I came to visit was to the doner stand. Somewhat like a gyro, but with a little more bread and a different sauce, the donor is the fast food of Germany, having taken on new life from its Turkish origins. And it is oh so delicious. But why do I bother to inform you on the fast food habits of the Germans? Because we found a doner stand in Cordoba, called Mega Doner.
Theresa attested to its relative authenticity (as real as one can expect 5000 miles and a hemisphere away) by demanding we go back a second time, and on that visit we saw the signs selling Mega Doner franchises to expand into other areas of South America. There are currently three in Cordoba and they are looking to expand. This was the germination of Scheme #2. Buy a Mega Doner franchise and locate it somewhere in Chile or Argentina. It’s brilliant! As Mega Doner’s own website says, it requires no cook or training, has no direct market competition, and is delicious.
We haven’t figured out the where part yet, because we need to find a good market of students mixed with an enjoyable city. We are currently in Salta, and while lovely, I don’t think it has the youth we’re looking for. Mendoza would be a fine choice but I don’t know if we could compete with the wine bodegas. And of course there’s Buenos Aires or Santiago.
Our other problem would be our own inability to keep ourselves from literaly eating our profit. The only growth may well be found in our bellies.