Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

351–360 of 498 posts

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#351

Post by Symbiote »

distances wrote: post #289
freeone3000 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cash-only means no card reader rental, which saves a couple hundred per month and at least 5% of every transaction, and possibly no internet bill, either... But you can't go cash-only because so few people carry cash, that our would drive out your sales.

> at least 5% of every transaction In EU 0.3% or 0.2% depending on card type: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-payments-cards-idUSKBN...

The company supplying and supporting the card machine adds a fee, so it's more like 1-2%.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#352

Post by Symbiote »

gambiting wrote: post #244
MattGaiser wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this just a buffet?

Buffet for me means one of these restaurants where you pay a fixed price and then eat as much as you like. That's not the kind of restaurant that is common in Central/Eastern Europe(in fact those all-you-can eat restaurants have never caught on here)

Buffet means self-serve, the price can be fixed ('all you can eat') or by weight.

Canteen or cafeteria is the word you want, where they serve you at a counter and you walk away with a meal on a tray.

Sometimes there's a combination, with only a salad buffet.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#353

Post by jen20 »

willvarfar wrote: post #320
andybak wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are no longer any normal classic pubs in England! A slight exaggeration, no? Whilst it's uncommon to find a pub that doesn't do food, I can think of several not far from me. (just outside Brighton). And "a pub that does food" is still quite far from being a restaurant. Some only do food on Sundays, some have limited menus run by guest kitchens and some get the food cooked by a nearby takeaway with whom they p…

“Pubs that do food” is the kind of thing I’m talking about! :) It starts with Sunday lunches, and slips into weeknights. It starts with order at the bar, and slips into little “reserved for diners” signs on most of the tables. It starts with the barman working the sandwich toaster and slides into teenagers in white blouses and knee length black skirts with name tags saying “trainee” asking you to wait to be seated as…

My own local pub doesn’t do food, and (was) incredibly popular. CAMRA has a good guide to these places!

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#355

Post by downtide »

willvarfar wrote: post #312
simonebrunozzi wrote: post #215

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…

Re point 1, there has been a major change in pubs in the U.K. All are trying to migrate into dining, as the margins on alcohol have fallen. Those that didn’t become restaurants have basically gone bust. There are no longer any normal classic pubs in England! I know a couple that tried to rejuvenate a failing “free house” in a tourist hotspot and failed. Passing the spot recently I saw it is now a pub restaurant like…

My local does not do food. But you can bring it in. So that is simply not true.

However, I do know some pubs that have mainly tried to become restaurants.

We once tried to run a small cafe/restaurant, with only about 8-10 tables. And it ultimately failed. After a few months we ended funneling the business to booze and coffee, with as fast a turnover as possible, which was not what the initial place was about. We were an original organic veggie food outlet. Raw ingredients were expensive.

This shattered previous dreams about running my own. But given a cheap ground rent, I might be tempted to give it a go again, but not really for profit. Totally and utterly fried me, very long days, mostly spent at the sink. Not glamorous at all. The co-owners ultimately had to trade up ethics and risk their homes.

We might have done better if deliveroo had been about then.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#356

Post by Raed667 »

gambiting wrote: post #239
kinkrtyavimoodh wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the passion argument is that valuable. For a LOT of people programming is their passion. Yet they command some of the highest salaries. The labor market doesn't care about passion. It will settle where it needs to based on demand and supply.

May I introduce you to the video games industry? While there are good paying jobs out there, I'd risk saying the vast majority of people working in games are hugely underpaid. At my first job I was literally told "yeah the pay is crap, but you get to work on big titles so it's fine". And it's not just demand and supply - we're having a very hard time recruiting for senior positions as there just aren't any candidates…

I got approached by a big AAA game studio. The offer was (much) lower than my at-the-time salary.

With a straight face they responded to my objection that i would get access to all their PC game catalog and a limited-discount for consoles.

I still laugh when i remember that conversation.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#357

Post by anpago »

hnick wrote: post #278
JackFr wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah it’s funny that she ever mentions booze, where the markups are 200-500%. If you can use your tables and food to sell bottles of wine, you can really improve your bottom line.

Now that just makes me wonder how the economics pans out in an Islamic country.

Well for some cafe and restaurants Shisha.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#358

Post by learnstats2 »

Restaurants are always fucked.

It's said that only 40% of restaurants last a year, and only 20% last 5 years.

If a restaurant has proven to turn a profit in normal times, it will likely be able to survive coronavirus. If not, it will be replaced by someone else who thinks they can run a restaurant (and is probably wrong). Business as usual.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#359

Post by rv-de »

kenneth wrote: post #332
simonebrunozzi wrote: post #215

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…

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'…

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 treats them fair, they get along with their colleagues and the customers are friendly. "crave", "love", ... that vocabulary is already sickening and pretentious in this context.

Re: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked

#360

Post by mprovost »

virgilp wrote: post #345
kenneth wrote: post #332

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.

Canada also uses (their own) dollars. (As do Australia and NZ among others.)
Post reply on HN