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The state of the restaurant industry

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Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#131

Post by pinkfoot »

himinlomax wrote: post #41
vkou wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think any other country would have been able to contain this outbreak?

Other countries don't have those filthy wet markets. They ARE absolutely filthy. They're on the same hygiene levels as the bushmeat markets in the poorest African countries. You know, Ebola? Isn't it amazing that poorer, even denser countries like India or Bangladesh haven't originated the same deadly pandemics? The PRC deserves the blame for this. Scientists have known about the issues with those markets for a long…

Whilst I would love to join you in your racist-freebie rant on the Chinese, I am reminded that 170 odd people died from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, caused by feeding hitherto vegan cows the brains of other dead cows.

In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 2012.

Twit

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#132

Post by Ensorceled »

mNovak wrote: post #31
drpgq wrote: post #16

I own a small share of a bar and we closed yesterday. Definitely hurts financially before St. Patrick's Day. We're lucky that our rent is low and we're a pretty small operation with limited food service. I can imagine for places in downtowns where rent is bigger percentage of sales, that's going to be tough.

SBA will be distributing low-interest, long term loans, if it helps any. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

Restaurants typically run at 3-5% margins, how low are these interest rates?

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#133

Post by pinkfoot »

himinlomax wrote: post #105
danenania wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Industrial farming practices in the US and many other countries could easily lead to similarly dangerous animal-to-human transmissions.

The point is, industrial farming HASN'T. (There is plenty to say about industrial farming; the use of antibiotics in it is probably largely responsible for MRSA and the likes. But it has not resulted in a wartime-like conditions in the whole world.)

> The point is, industrial farming HASN'T.

Except for the wee Mad Cow Disease thingie that jumped to people.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#134

Post by jcranmer »

the_economist wrote: post #8
wmeredith wrote: post #6

That's about to completely crater. My city issued guidance just yesterday (3/16) that all dining room service is to stop. Drive through, delivery, and curbside only.

What city?

The jurisdictions I'm aware of that have banned dining room service include:

Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, several places in the Bay Area, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, Ohio.

Basically, at this point, whenever a few large jurisdictions announce their intentions to take some coronavirus measures (such as closing schools or closing restaurants), everyone else follows through within 48 hours.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#135

Post by whatshisface »

selectodude wrote: post #76
smallgovt wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there's a silver lining, it's that takeout is higher margin for restaurants and I'm sure takeout revenue is spiking during city shutdowns.

No it’s not. The margin on one beer is more than two entrees put together.

But a takeout beer would be higher margin than a sit-in beer.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#136

Post by vxNsr »

overcast wrote: post #61
tylerchilds wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your suggestion for improvement?

How about a neat line graph? There's only 8 data sources. Most of the space on their table is wasted by large left/right padding.

You can switch to City view and State view... those have a lot more than 8 data sources. This is pretty good UX if you're paying any attention at all.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#137

Post by neltnerb »

I'm always a little surprised that so many people never picked up the ability to even do basic cooking.

Of course, as recently as Sunday people like Nunes were telling people it was important to support their local businesses by eating out as if it were their patriotic duty. It might be different now that even Fox and Trump are saying the same thing as the CDC finally.

Maybe not if people literally cannot feed themselves without eating out, though I think that's pretty embarrassing.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#138

Post by lemax »

standardUser wrote: post #92
threatofrain wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would argue that an interesting intervention has to come from something more, because the restaurant industry has been suffering terribly and consolidating already, perhaps due to an increasingly unhealthy middle class.

How exactly has the industry been "suffering terribly"? In places I frequent (SF Bay Area, NYC) I see hundreds of long-term restaurants persisting, plus a constant stream of brand new places, all in the face of increasing minimum wages and other employer mandates/regulations. I'd also argue that the quality of both food and service have never been better. I'm not saying you're wrong (I have no clue), but it feels to…

Expensive as they may be, restaurants have terrible margins. James Beard nominated, objectively successful places with >$1M gross are netting the annual income of someone who washes dishes [1]. They are operating on a fine line and I would imagine most of these places do not have the cash to weather through even a minor hitch in business.

https://www.eater.com/2020/3/9/21166993/how-much-to-run-a-re...

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#140

Post by 51Cards »

dylan604 wrote: post #110

>the cascading economic impact from just this one sector will be enormous. The entire hospitality industry is going to take a huge hit. I do work in the convention, corporate travel/event space, and my calendar up until June has been wiped out. Cascading is the key thing people seem to gloss over. Sure, servers and kitchen staff are obvious. The food delivery people will not be needed. Companies like Aramark that pro…

I also work in the conventions/trade shows/consumer shows space... we're also 100% cancelled for awhile. Had to lay off a bunch of staff this week, some who live paycheck to paycheck. Going to be a rough ride for a lot of people for awhile.
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