Are Your Favorite Restaurants Being Shut Down? Who Is To Blame?

[Thinker101]

I wouldn't care if every single chain in the OP video closed, except Arby's .

Without chains, Florida turns into a vast swamp. It's all there is.

That is way so many people think, but so not true. Spent a week at Ponte Verda beach this past August and ate like kings and never once looked at a chain!

The Reef on South Ponte Verda Beach was simply amazing, if you are ever in that area I would recommend it 100%.

I have to be paid to even set foot in Florida. Heavily.

It is a nice place to vacation, especially since my daughter now lives there and her brother wants to follow her when he graduates.

You may want to consider telling your kids that Florida is the sinkhole capital of the US.
Florida's Top 10 Sinkhole-Prone Counties

 

[francoHFW]

All around, I see my favorite chain restaurants and once popular sole proprietorship restaurants closing its doors. It's due to the Millennials and their preference for fast, casual dining and home cooking. Now, I know these people work hard and long hours, so how is it that they cannot afford to treat themselves to a longer, better, more formal or buffet dining experience? These types of restaurants are more expensive than fast or fast-casual foods and one usually leaves a tip, but these places aren't exactly budget busters. If the US had more than 3% annual GDP growth during the Obama years, then we may not be in this mess now. These restaurants didn't see it coming. This is a trend in the USA, not so much the wealthier other nations.

It seems that it is important to vote for the right POTUS and politicians. Obama may have ruined it for one generation as they could not get decent jobs. Once the Millennials graduated, they ended up with high college loans and high taxes in order to support the poor immigrants. The lesson? Never vote for a socialist POTUS or politician again. Let the Canadians eat the fast-casual and fast foods. Now, I'm not against immigration. To the contrary, I am for it. Immigration is one of the keys to real GDP growth, but we can't just let anybody in like criminals and terrorists. Moderation is key and that means border control and immigration management. These restaurants need workers and people who will pick their foods and people who are willing to make better of themselves -- the working poor. These are the ideas that the USA was founded upon. Capitalism works.

Actually in the real world, most people have less and less money to go out and eat after 35 years of giveaway to the rich and screwing the rest. People have jobs maybe but they don't pay as much on average...

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

My favorite Asian joint here was shutdown by the board of health.. bummer, classy place and great food.

 

[Thinker101]

All around, I see my favorite chain restaurants and once popular sole proprietorship restaurants closing its doors. It's due to the Millennials and their preference for fast, casual dining and home cooking. Now, I know these people work hard and long hours, so how is it that they cannot afford to treat themselves to a longer, better, more formal or buffet dining experience? These types of restaurants are more expensive than fast or fast-casual foods and one usually leaves a tip, but these places aren't exactly budget busters. If the US had more than 3% annual GDP growth during the Obama years, then we may not be in this mess now. These restaurants didn't see it coming. This is a trend in the USA, not so much the wealthier other nations.

It seems that it is important to vote for the right POTUS and politicians. Obama may have ruined it for one generation as they could not get decent jobs. Once the Millennials graduated, they ended up with high college loans and high taxes in order to support the poor immigrants. The lesson? Never vote for a socialist POTUS or politician again. Let the Canadians eat the fast-casual and fast foods. Now, I'm not against immigration. To the contrary, I am for it. Immigration is one of the keys to real GDP growth, but we can't just let anybody in like criminals and terrorists. Moderation is key and that means border control and immigration management. These restaurants need workers and people who will pick their foods and people who are willing to make better of themselves -- the working poor. These are the ideas that the USA was founded upon. Capitalism works.

Actually in the real world, most people have less and less money to go out and eat after 35 years of giveaway to the rich and screwing the rest. People have jobs maybe but they don't pay as much on average...

Yup, good thing we got that tax cut.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

I wouldn't care if every single chain in the OP video closed, except Arby's .

Without chains, Florida turns into a vast swamp. It's all there is.

That is way so many people think, but so not true. Spent a week at Ponte Verda beach this past August and ate like kings and never once looked at a chain!

The Reef on South Ponte Verda Beach was simply amazing, if you are ever in that area I would recommend it 100%.

I have to be paid to even set foot in Florida. Heavily.

It is a nice place to vacation, especially since my daughter now lives there and her brother wants to follow her when he graduates.

You may want to consider telling your kids that Florida is the sinkhole capital of the US.
Florida's Top 10 Sinkhole-Prone Counties

Every state has its problems.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

I wouldn't care if every single chain in the OP video closed, except Arby's .

Without chains, Florida turns into a vast swamp. It's all there is.

That is way so many people think, but so not true. Spent a week at Ponte Verda beach this past August and ate like kings and never once looked at a chain!

The Reef on South Ponte Verda Beach was simply amazing, if you are ever in that area I would recommend it 100%.

I have to be paid to even set foot in Florida. Heavily.

It is a nice place to vacation, especially since my daughter now lives there and her brother wants to follow her when he graduates.

I don't know, I've heard the downhill and xcross country skiing stinks there. . . . .

I have never tried it there, but I will take your word for it!

 

[james bond]

All around, I see my favorite chain restaurants and once popular sole proprietorship restaurants closing its doors. It's due to the Millennials and their preference for fast, casual dining and home cooking. Now, I know these people work hard and long hours, so how is it that they cannot afford to treat themselves to a longer, better, more formal or buffet dining experience? These types of restaurants are more expensive than fast or fast-casual foods and one usually leaves a tip, but these places aren't exactly budget busters. If the US had more than 3% annual GDP growth during the Obama years, then we may not be in this mess now. These restaurants didn't see it coming. This is a trend in the USA, not so much the wealthier other nations.

It seems that it is important to vote for the right POTUS and politicians. Obama may have ruined it for one generation as they could not get decent jobs. Once the Millennials graduated, they ended up with high college loans and high taxes in order to support the poor immigrants. The lesson? Never vote for a socialist POTUS or politician again. Let the Canadians eat the fast-casual and fast foods. Now, I'm not against immigration. To the contrary, I am for it. Immigration is one of the keys to real GDP growth, but we can't just let anybody in like criminals and terrorists. Moderation is key and that means border control and immigration management. These restaurants need workers and people who will pick their foods and people who are willing to make better of themselves -- the working poor. These are the ideas that the USA was founded upon. Capitalism works.

I hated to see BlackEyedPea shut down.

When I first read in the news about a historic sewing/fabric company shutting down on the East Coast, and then a historic "General Store," I thought there should be program to buy out historic businesses and create training storefronts for Vets or student interns on how to run operations. So while the business may still operate
at a loss or nonprofit breaking even, the value of keeping it going would be as an educational workshop to train people in what steps
and processes are involved in management. That way they can learn what fails and loses, without having to really set up and lose a business. The business storefront or factory grounds can be part of a campus program, similar to the Hotel/Restaurant at UH campus that is part of its management program but actually run as a business serving customers and clients.
Once they learn how to operate successfully, THAT's when they can branch off and set up their own business having already gone down that curve.

So why not use sites left behind by Walmart's moving out of towns.
Why not buy out restaurants and businesses that close, and set up campuses for
Vets, disabled or disadvantaged students to learn on hands work and management skills
while they are earning their education as interns?

Maybe we can still save historic sites and districts by using the shells left behind,
and the business following to support education in property mgmt and financial viability.

Not a bad idea, but it depends on the economy. My best friend's son graduated with a Hotel/Restaurant management degree from a prestigious university and could not find work for two years. He ended up moving close to where I live and took an entrance job at a hospital. It was lower pay, but at least he had a job and a start to his career. The key is to have an economy which puts demands for jobs. An example is shale oil and gas drilling in North Dakota. That industry boomed and the workers who moved there needed places to stay and eat. Suddenly, they didn't have enough fast food workers, so they ended up getting more than the $15 minimum wage proposed. Jobs attract people and fuels the economy. We learned that we need a breadth of jobs to have a sustainable economy including manufacturing. It wasn't prudent to give up these types of jobs to globalization.

 

[DrLove]

I still miss Sizzler's. Sigh.

If you miss E. coli poisoning, there's always Jack in the Box and Chipotle!

E. Coli Cases Linked to Sizzlers Soar
Jack in the Box E. coli Outbreak – 25th Anniversary | Food Poison Journal
Just as Chipotle Comes Back from Its E.Coli Meltdown, It Has Yet Another Food Safety Scare

 

[james bond]

"This is a trend in the USA, not so much the wealthier other nations."

What other nations have an overbuilt segment of corporate owned, cookie-cutter restaurants like the USA does?

Look at the research on how often people dine out. It is still high. It is just that people want more than a fern bar with a cheesy menu.

All around, I see my favorite chain restaurants and once popular sole proprietorship restaurants closing its doors. It's due to the Millennials and their preference for fast, casual dining and home cooking. Now, I know these people work hard and long hours, so how is it that they cannot afford to treat themselves to a longer, better, more formal or buffet dining experience? These types of restaurants are more expensive than fast or fast-casual foods and one usually leaves a tip, but these places aren't exactly budget busters. If the US had more than 3% annual GDP growth during the Obama years, then we may not be in this mess now. These restaurants didn't see it coming. This is a trend in the USA, not so much the wealthier other nations.

It seems that it is important to vote for the right POTUS and politicians. Obama may have ruined it for one generation as they could not get decent jobs. Once the Millennials graduated, they ended up with high college loans and high taxes in order to support the poor immigrants. The lesson? Never vote for a socialist POTUS or politician again. Let the Canadians eat the fast-casual and fast foods. Now, I'm not against immigration. To the contrary, I am for it. Immigration is one of the keys to real GDP growth, but we can't just let anybody in like criminals and terrorists. Moderation is key and that means border control and immigration management. These restaurants need workers and people who will pick their foods and people who are willing to make better of themselves -- the working poor. These are the ideas that the USA was founded upon. Capitalism works.

It is not that they cannot afford them, it is they have different dining preferences. My daughter is a Millennial and she and her boy friend eat out a lot, way more than I do or even ever did. But they are not looking for a fancy, sit down take 2 hour meal.

When we went to visit her this summer (the first time we went to her, normally she came home to us) she took us to all of her favorites places, it was the best food I had eaten in a long time. Yeah, they were loud and a couple had more drink choices than food choices, but the food was amazing in everyone of them.

Did you have avocado toast? Yeah, I have a millennial son and his eating places are much different. His idea of going out is ordering online, free delivery and eating in. Even going out, these were places I wouldn't normally try, let alone know about, so that's how I got into looking at where they frequent. What popped up were the long-time chains and buffets going out of business including Subway. The downside. There may be other reasons, but one of the reasons was high college debt and not being able to get a job for months, years after graduation. It could be these places are going to pop up on Instagram, too. Yelp, yes. Instagram, no.

Okay, one of the big things is millennials have to learn how to save or spend less than what they make. I even looked at one gal and what she spent money on. She spent too much on things that you and I would've scrimped on while on our first jobs. Part of it could be they don't know how to save or make do with less. I can't find the article again, but here are a couple of examples.

Good and Bad
10 Things Millennials Buy Far More Often Than Everyone Else

Fitness?
This Study Says Millennials Spend More Money On Fitness Than On College, But Do They?

We wouldn't rent that long
Millennials Spend About $93,000 on Rent by The Time They Hit 30

They are different that is for sure. They view the world differently than we did, but than I do so differently than my parents did. I think they are given a bad rap far more than they deserve. My daughter called me a couple months ago because in the craziness that is nursing school she was 3 days late paying her electric bill and she was worried it would hurt her credit!

When we were visiting last month she took us to what was essentially a tequila bar with a food menu. They had about 9 varieties of street tacos and it was some of the best food I have ever eaten. Would have never walked into the place on my own, but they knew about it and the food was simply to die for.

We saw houses as the goal, as the sign we made it. Today more and more people see owning a home as an anchor they do not want. If a job opens up 3 states away they want to be able to go get it. Multiple studies have shown that home ownership slowed the recovery as much as anything. People were upside down on their homes and could not move to where the jobs where.

I am in my mid-50s and have chosen to rent the current house I am in vice buying. My wife and I knew we only wanted a house this large for 4 years till my son graduated high school. large kitchen for me to cook in and a huge basement for the teenage boys to spend their time in. Our rent is less than what a mortgage and property taxes would be and we live worry free. When the roof needed replaced, it was not our $3500, or our $1000 to fix the water main in the front yard.

The tequila bar sounds like a place I'd like to try. Was it in a poorer neighborhood? My go to place for taking visitors used to be a fishing boat turned into a surf and turf restaurant and docked on the river. The city doesn't allow that anymore, so they have a differential advantage. However, lesser management has let it run down a bit, so it's hit and miss. I guess it gets harder as time goes on.

I agree every generation is different and that's why I started looking into this "trend." It's not OUR world anymore. I couldn't understand why some chains and local eateries that stood the test of time were now closing their doors. My former neighborhood burger restaurant could be in danger of closing even though being there a couple generations. They were ones who served fresh hamburgers, fries and shakes before In-N-Out. How often do you find these diners or restaurants? They added curly fries, a fried chicken sandwich, ubereats and grubhub and the like, but they're considered "old fashioned." The next time I go there, I'll order a neapolitan shake (secret menu item at In-N-Out) and see what they do ha ha? Bill’s Place - Outer Richmond - San Francisco, CA