Restaurants, success and failure
Those of you who frequent KTK know I'm extremely fond of the restaurant experience. I diaried one not-so-good experience here, and from that diary I cited this statistic:
The statistic depicts the number of restaurants in the U.S. from 2011 to 2013. The total number includes chain and independent restaurants (quick-service and full-service restaurants). In spring 2012, the number of restaurants in the U.S. was at 614,460.
I've heard for years, and believed it, that 90% of restaurants fail in the first year. Research shows that this has been debunked by many studies. An example:
In September of last year, the online Dayton Business Journal reported that Ohio State University researchers debunked "the common business wisdom that restaurants fail at 90 percent to 95 percent in the first year." According to H.G. Parsa, associate professor of hospitality management at the university, a longitudinal study of restaurants indicated the failure rate for restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, was 57 percent to 61 percent for a three-year period from 1996 to 1999. The highest failure rate was noted during the first year, when about 26 percent of the restaurants failed. About 19 percent failed in the second year and 14 percent in the third year, according to the analysis.
The closest restaurant to our house is about two miles out of town, isolated but on a well traveled road to the coast. The site has contained a number of restaurant venues through the years; the penultimate was the longest and very good. I was surprised at its closure, which I believe was due to the owner just getting tired of it. Then remodeling began for a new restaurant, ongoing for many months, a giant hand-painted sign and lots of promise. I waited a few weeks, then checked the Yelp reviews. They were absolutely devastating.
Just two examples:
The food is tasteless, the service is terrible, and this restaurant is not ready to be open. They are absolutely clueless about how to run a restaurant. I give them two months and they will be out of business.
I rarely post on Yelp, but I feel I must warn my neighbors about the catastrophe that awaits them should they decide to give this place a chance.
This is by far the absolute WORST dining experience I've ever encountered. These people have no idea about service, good food (sign says "heritage" food), organization, customer service, etc. There was a point during dinner that I actually thought we were being punked - i.e. nobody could really be this clueless.
There were a few that were more gentle, and even gave them strokes for having the courage and energy to rise to the difficult challenge of opening a restaurant, but most were negative, though not as vitriolic as the first two I cited.
The restaurant is closed. This after only a few months. Every time I drive past my heart goes out to the owners who put so much time, energy, and money into pursuing their dream.
The rapid demise of the restaurant was no doubt exacerbated by the Yelp review and who knows what other social media. Word of mouth could do the same but not with such speed. Perhaps with more time the deficiencies could have been corrected or improved upon.
Have any of you dreamed of opening a restaurant? Would you still wish to do so in light of the (revised) failure rate and under the possible onslaught of critical social media?
I have had a slight fantasy of creating a purely BBQ oyster restaurant, curiously at the same location of the above failed location, but my fantasy was very very slight. My BBQ oysters are so good, however, that I know for sure it would have been a success.
I use my pool room as a perfect place to dry onions and garlic. It smells great in there at present. I'm almost ready to open my new restaurant:
Side Pocket's Garlic Grotto
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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