I once had an entire meal at an exclusively vegan/vegetarian Malaysian cuisine restaurant. The people serving were apparently staunch Buddhists. It was unconventional and great.

Was the restaurant itself unconventional in some meaningful way? Did it not have table service? Was it in an outdoor pop-up space?

I guess I'm wondering:

The comment at the root of the thread suggests restaurant aspirants can address the risks of opening a new place by adopting the "MVP" ethos of startups.

Some discussion ensues suggesting that's unlikely to be the case.

Someone suggests that diners are likely to accept "MVP" restaurants, without the dominant expenses (notably: commercial real estate, staff expenses), if the dishes are original enough.

I'm wondering, outside of food trucks, does that ever happen?

It happened quite frequently in my hometown of Buffalo, NY – I think. I want to double check before I write up some examples, what do you envision that isn't a food truck, yet has no commercial real estate? Does opening a restaurant in a residential district count?

EDIT: I remembered one of them was featured in the NY Times this week, that makes it very to explain :) They started without a store front, selling bread to co-ops and food markets. It became a cult favorite, then it became a staple at local restaurants and coffee shops. They partnered with a excellent coffee shop, Public Espresso, to do a food truck, and launched this beautiful restaurant, in a light commercial corner in a heavily residential district. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/travel/breadhive-buffalo-r...