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The state of the restaurant industry

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Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#541

Post by Chris2048 »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #470
yibg wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone knowledge about the probabilities of getting infected from takeout / delivered food? Either via handling at the restaurant itself or en route. All indications are that the virus can survive quite a while on smooth surfaces like plastic bags.

I have a lot of procedures in place for dealing with it if someone at the store coughed, sneezed, etc. Things get eaten promptly. We typically order as close to exactly as much as we will eat. We rarely keep leftovers. Trash always goes out promptly after the meal is finished. I don't even own a trash can. Everyone washes hands promptly. If there was an incident and we feel things are contaminated, we don't keep empt…

> Things get eaten promptly

Isn't this protection against bacteria, not virus (virii?) ?

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#542

Post by Chris2048 »

jlangenauer wrote: post #518
lopmotr wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is personal charity to business owners really an effective way to help prevent a recession? What if you're supporting one of the weaker businesses that could barely survive anyway? Those are usefully killed off in a recession, improving overall efficiency. The more that close down, the better business will be for the survivors.

Why is "overall efficiency" in any way important? As compared to people having stable livelihoods, diverse and wonderful local businesses instead of "efficient" and monotonous chains. The obsession with efficiency at the cost of other, far more worthy virtues is what has brought us to this point, where "efficient" global supply chains cannot now produce urgently needed goods at a time of crisis.

What guarantees stability? Killing off the competition in favour of business owners who are able to balance the books is one way.

> The obsession with efficiency at the cost of other, far more worthy virtues

Having many competing businesses does not ensure these other virtues arise. Having a mechanism whereby the better businesses rise make it more likely they have the income to explore.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#543

Post by Chris2048 »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #466
senordevnyc wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are buying triple or quadruple their normal weekly amount in anticipation of being locked down and not being able / willing to go out. That’s not “panic buying”, it’s quite prudent given what has happened to China and Italy.

It's not prudent, or cautious, it's exactly panic. People are irrationally afraid, and as a consequence are buying crazy amounts of things with little reason. Even in Wuhan the lockdown wasn't severe enough to make that type of hoarding necessary. The only common thread in discussing quarantine in the US is that Wuhan is far more drastic than would ever happen here. Consider for instance the absolute run on bottled w…

> are buying crazy amounts of things with little reason

Seems like there is a good reason to buy more than usual - what constitutes "crazy amounts"?

> Consider for instance the absolute run on bottled water

Water being one of the most essential requirements for human life beyond breathable air?

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#544

Post by Chris2048 »

yibg wrote: post #468
quickthrowman wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps China forbid grocery store visits, but Italy did not and the US will not either. It’s panic, pure and simple (unless you’re in a high-risk category, then it’s simply preparing to truly isolate) I’m 36 and I’m not worried about catching the coronavirus, I’m worried about spreading it.

As far as I'm aware people in most / all Chinese cities can go get groceries. At least that was the case in Beijing. Not sure about Wuhan itself though.

> As far as I'm aware

To what extend do you expect your awareness of what's happening in China to be accurate?

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#545

Post by Forgeties79 »

kingbirdy wrote: post #449
Forgeties79 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We’re feeling it baaaad here in New Orleans. Roughly 8% of our workforce is in the service sector and our film/television industry has ground to a halt. I work in video production. My friends/colleagues and I are basically just sitting around now hoping productions can get back up again in a safe but still somewhat timely manner. It’s going to be rough for a while.

A friend works at a large chain hotel in NOLA, the entire hotel staff was furloughed for 2 months a few days ago.

Hope your friend is doing alright. I’m talking to my sister about a project for small businesses and gig economy workers today. Hopefully we can get something going. Let them know that the New Orleans Business Alliance has also set up a fund for people out of work for 7 days or more!

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#546

Post by mcv »

bentcorner wrote: post #463
nxc18 wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you thought about keeping your pantry full as a reserve and still eating out / getting delivery a lot? It’s what I’ve been doing since I want my favorite restaurants to still be around when this is all over.

Fair question - my wife is too nervous about getting us sick since both my daughter and I are in risk categories. We're fine with the occasional trip to the store but are holding off restaurants for now. And I get it - there's some local restaurants that I love and I feel bad for them, but the risk right now isn't worth it.

I think I'd actually rather order delivery than go to a supermarket where everybody touches the same carts and baskets. Do they wash those things down regularly? I sincerely hope so.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#547

Post by senordevnyc »

quickthrowman wrote: post #433
senordevnyc wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are buying triple or quadruple their normal weekly amount in anticipation of being locked down and not being able / willing to go out. That’s not “panic buying”, it’s quite prudent given what has happened to China and Italy.

Perhaps China forbid grocery store visits, but Italy did not and the US will not either. It’s panic, pure and simple (unless you’re in a high-risk category, then it’s simply preparing to truly isolate) I’m 36 and I’m not worried about catching the coronavirus, I’m worried about spreading it.

I expect grocery stores here to remain open but I still want to avoid going out as much as possible. So I’ve stocked up on extra food to accommodate that. It’s pretty simple, I’m not panicked, and I’m bewildered as to why this is difficult for you to grasp.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#548

Post by senordevnyc »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #466
senordevnyc wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are buying triple or quadruple their normal weekly amount in anticipation of being locked down and not being able / willing to go out. That’s not “panic buying”, it’s quite prudent given what has happened to China and Italy.

It's not prudent, or cautious, it's exactly panic. People are irrationally afraid, and as a consequence are buying crazy amounts of things with little reason. Even in Wuhan the lockdown wasn't severe enough to make that type of hoarding necessary. The only common thread in discussing quarantine in the US is that Wuhan is far more drastic than would ever happen here. Consider for instance the absolute run on bottled w…

Grocery stores don’t need to close for me to not want to visit them. I’m safe and sound at home with supplies so I don’t need to go to the store for awhile. I feel calm and prepared. The only person spinning out of control here is you.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#549

Post by traitsnspecs »

spookthesunset wrote: post #281
coldtea wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Stop with the doomsday panic. This lockdown thing isn’t going to last more than a few weeks at most—at least without massive social upheaval. Social upheaval against a "lockdown" becomes a moot point if people you know keep dropping dead.

People will start dropping dead from social unrest, addiction, substance abuse, suicide, etc. this “lockdown” isn’t free. It has massive health impacts that could easily outweight any lives saved by the lockdown. People need to put on their critical thinking caps around here. What is the end game of this lockdown? What data is it based on? How will we know when to end it—given all factors, which include vastly more t…

Yup, my gut feeling is that follow on effects from rampant unemployment and financial insecurity will have a much larger effect (via stress-induced heart attacks, suicide, etc.) than the 3.4% mortality rate among reported cases (WHO numbers, not all infected, maybe not even most infected.)

I would love to see an actual statistical comparison. spookthesunset is making an excellent point. Unless we know that deaths from the virus are greater than the deaths caused by the second-and-third-order effects of panicking, you can't say for sure that the lockdown is the best thing to do right now.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#550

Post by imtringued »

markdown wrote: post #476
chii wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rental payment from a shop is income for the landlord. The income from the landlord is payment for his/her obligations - all the way up the chain. If you force rental payments to stop, then who gets hit? The landlord is going to default on their obligations. So do you then bail them out? If the landlord defaults, the banks (presumably) will repossess the property. So it's just somebody else suffering, rather than…

> The income from the landlord is payment for his/her obligations Read my post again. The rent holiday goes hand in hand with a debt holiday. That's the only way this works. Tenants don't have to pay rent, and landowners don't have to pay a mortgage. Sure some businesses will fail as a result of this , but far more (on a massive scale) will fail if you don't do this.

I don't think you've thought this through. What are the banks going to do if they don't receive their payments? How are you going to bail them out? With a loan? Why not give that loan to those who need it instead of kicking the can down the road?
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