Kazazian said he and his partner have a good thing going. "I handle the business, the design, the licenses. My partner handles policies and procedures, and things like employee handbooks. He's operations, I'm development."

Two days into the life of Apex, North Carolina's first barbecue restaurant, Richard Kazazian says he could not have cooked up a better opening. He and partner Steve Adams bought an old Burger King restaurant October 11, 2004, renovated it, and on December 6 reopened the place as Dixie Belle's Bar-B-Q.

The restaurant project is just the latest for Kazazian, who owned a barbecue catering business and incorporated it into Dixie Belle's. He's operated a family food and fun center -- complete with animatronics -- and owned a couple of smaller restaurants. And Dixie Belle's isn't the only project on the table. In March he hopes to open Peak City Grill, another restaurant, in Apex's historic downtown area. Kazazian has a habit of opening, building up, and selling restaurants. "I get bored easily," he said.

Dixie Belle's Bar-B-Q is the first of what Kazazian hopes will become a franchise. Two sites are being considered for an additional restaurant, and someone has inquired about buying the concept. Kazazian said he and his partner have a good thing going. "I handle the business, the design, the licenses. My partner handles policies and procedures, and things like employee handbooks. He's operations, I'm development."

Eight weeks is all that separated the building's purchase from the opening of Dixie Belle's. Training lasted two weeks. "You can never have enough training," he said. He encourages restaurateurs to resist the temptation to scale back training in order to save a few dollars. Thanks to lots of experience in opening restaurants, Kazazian is a rarity: an independent restaurateur who could acquire a restaurant, renovate it and open it in eight weeks. He designed the kitchen, set up the vendors, and was able to get it done quicker and make it more profitable for himself, he said. For other new restaurant owners, Kazazian suggests hiring a general contractor with experience building restaurants. "It's not like building a house," he said. "It's a whole different animal."

Kazazian relied on other ways to draw attention to his restaurant. First, Dixie's opened at a visible location. It's along a major highway, across the street from a high school, and near a few other restaurants. Second, the scent of barbecue in a town without a barbecue restaurant has been a powerful draw as well. Before the first slab of ribs had been served, Kazazian said several people stopped in thinking that because the parking lot was full, the restaurant must be open. In fact, the cars belonged to employees who were inside for training.

An approach Kazazian said he has used in all his startups involves what he calls the "critical path."

"We would sit down and list every item form the beginning -- permits to the bandaids, and everything in between -- required for a successful opening and then work backward from opening day, week by week," he said. Not only does it make it easier to track who is responsible for completing each task, he said, it holds people accountable and eliminates a lot of fingerpointing. What can be especially daunting to new restaurant owners, Kazazian said, is the process of obtaining permits and licenses. He encourages new restaurant owners to talk with other area restaurants.

Letters of appreciation to city staff and others didn't hurt his cause, either. Most business owners don't do that, but he said it's good for your business to set yourself apart. He said many restaurateurs make the mistake of considering a customer a one-time visitor to the restaurant. He lowers his prices a bit with the idea that good value, good prices and good service will turn one visit into a lifetime of business.

"Always price for value and repetitive customers," he said. "I believe in that very much. Do that correctly and you won't have a problem, he said.