Your Favorite Restaurant Is In Trouble

How do I know?  Because all restaurants are in trouble right now.

KOIN did a great feature on this, and you can watch the video above, but it boils down to 4 main problems.  First, obviously, the pandemic.  Not as many people are going to restaurants as there used to be, and as we are setting new records for infections every day, this is justifiable.  Second, the labor shortage.  Companies are shelling out big bucks to draw new talent to their workforce, and because of this, companies with slimmer profit margins (like restaurants) can’t afford to retain workers.  Third, supply chain.  Ingredients cost more than they used to; in some cases, twice as much.  And finally…  it’s the New Year, and people are making resolutions and trying to save money/eat healthier, etc.  Restaurants always take a hit around this time.

So what’s that mean for you?  Nothing…  except when you want to go back to visiting restaurants, your favorite one might not be there anymore.  They already struggle to keep the lights onk, and with a cascading problem tree like this, they are unlikely to survive.

You can buy some gift cards for later.  Float them a little money to get by on.  Cash ’em in when times are less tight.  But the truth is…  a little effort on your part ain’t gonna cut it.  You’d need hundreds of people to get on board.  This is a matter of encouraging a community effort to get past these problems together, and frankly, that’s unlikely these days.

~Jake from 98.7 The Bull