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Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

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Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That part seemed strange to me. According to people I know that have worked in food/beverage industry, the most expensive part of a cup of Coke at a movie theater or fast food restaurant is the actual cup itself. The liquid inside the cup costs pennies.

My first boss said the ice was the most expensive part. But that just may have been his occasionally flakey ice machine.

Possibly because the machine costs a bit, the constant running costs, and maintaining of course as well.

Also maybe because you don't want to use tap water...

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#372
post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how about this? https://medium.com/@joelleparenteau/wolfing-it-down-f703a3cf... "We are looking for people who love food and crave the experience of working in a restaurant that operates more like a tech startup — after all, that’s my background and we are backed by the Shopify founders." who craves the experience of working in a restaurant? wtf is wrong with that woman? it's a job and they enjoy it if the boss treat…

I crave the experience of working in a restaurant. I did full-stack back-of-house in busy kitchens and it sure beat sitting around pushing buttons all day. I just haven't been able to afford to do it for the past ten years because building web sites pays so much better.

[deleted]

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#373

Restaurants are fucked but the underlying costs associated with real estate are insane. Where I live, treasured restaurants close at a regular cadence due to rent hikes. Nobody can afford to run a restaurant at the prices being charged here. The end result is a cocktail that is $25 or a pint thats $10. High real estate prices are essentially forcing every commercial space to become a chain restaurant unless they can…

The real estate sector hasn't made sense to me in years. No matter what happens, prices either stay intact or go up. Nothing seems to move the prices down.

Greed. It's just that.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#374
We basically have had a bubble in restaurants.

Based on Yelp and google we have about 29 Indian restaurants here and 25 craft beer breweries.

There is not a big Indian population here. I love Indian food but 29 restaurants is absurd.

10 years ago we didn't even have ten Indian restaurants and no craft breweries.

I wouldn't doubt whenever you have a really long business cycle expansion you end up with far too many restaurants open.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#375
The article does not make much sense, starting with the unsupported statement that "restaurants have been competing on price." That's really not correct. In any economy, some actors compete on price, others on quality or other differentiators.

The competition is on price only in commoditized markets, and even there margins vary based on demand and offer. If you have a gold mine, you have fixed extraction costs, but the price of gold is floating.

In the restaurant business, shops have different categories. A Michelin star, for example, allows you to be in a different "price bracket." Some of this, of course, is reflected in ingredients, location, and skills, but usually, a restaurant doesn't need to change location or chef to get an extra star, they just need to improve quality.

The "street food" or "comfort food" business does compete on price and generally uses marketing and location as a differentiator. You buy a cheap hot dog at the stadium because it's there. Competition for the cheapest street food is what she refers to, assuming that a niche is a whole market.

A market where there's too much competition on price means that there is more offer than demand. If several restaurants close, it means the number of restaurants and the number of people that need one rebalance, and this will mean higher margins for the remaining ones.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#376

I really dislike the way in which this article has been written - it reads as the typical piece from the "bro culture" that massively ignores the rest of the world. Besides this, which is not the point... 1) most restaurants in US and high-end Europe that survive and thrive do so by having big margins on alcohol. Their margins are not single-digits. (edit: just saw other comments mentioning this). 2) Many restaurateu…

Good restaurateurs will manage to find a way, IMHO.

That’s literally what the article is about. More importantly many restaurants cant sell alcohol. Sounds like you and the article are talking about two very different things.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#377

I really dislike the way in which this article has been written - it reads as the typical piece from the "bro culture" that massively ignores the rest of the world. Besides this, which is not the point... 1) most restaurants in US and high-end Europe that survive and thrive do so by having big margins on alcohol. Their margins are not single-digits. (edit: just saw other comments mentioning this). 2) Many restaurateu…

Is everyone who writes an article about anything suppose to be an expert from a worldwide perspective?

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he's saying the passion factor will increase the supply. I think the same thing happens some with programming, it's just a lot fewer people have the passion (and ability?) than for cooking food. The same thing happens with teachers, nurses, firemen, police... I think the reason they generally don't make more money is many people have a passion for doing those jobs (ask ten kids what they want to be when they…

>The same thing happens with teachers, nurses, firemen, police Maybe there's something different going on there since government salaries don't respond normally to market supply and demand. Perhaps a better way to track the true value of those jobs is by looking at private sector counterparts, such as security contractors or teachers at private schools.

Also, as far as I know (that would depends on the country, but I believe it is generally true), those professions (except for teachers) can't go on strike too much, they have to keep a minimum service running, which vastly limits their negotiating power.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A "bro culture" article written by a female entrepreneur who isn't from Silicon Valley… right. I think you need to check your prejudices. 1) plenty of restaurants don't sell alcohol, including it seems this one. she also had a point about how drinks aren't a great revenue generator given the price you can expect to charge in a fast-casual setting vs. the costs (higher than grocery stores) 2) how is the restauranteur'…

Ref 3: 1. Prices in USD 2. Quotes Philly Mag. (Philladelphia?) 3. Mentions how generous tipping is required to help servers survive Yeah, of course one would assume it’s about US. I’m honestly very surprised if it isn’t.

It is in Ottawa, Ontario. In reality, the things people claim are US only often are true in Canada as well.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one is expected to understand the context oneself or else the first time one's spouse says "There aren't any eggs" one may receive a terrific fright at the thought of the impending doom of all sexual reproduction on the planet.

The issue here is that the vast majority of American articles make no effort to convey the fact they are talking about America. The internet is a _global_ space and there's very little effort required to make the distinction. I would argue that the writers of these articles are the ones not understanding the "context of oneself" given how they think their readership is entirely American.

So now should every article written in the Atlanta Journal Constitution published on the internet mention that they are talking about Atlanta in the headline?
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