Poll of the Day > Is Covid-19 the end of independent restaurants?

(+) Yeah! (+)

As it stands right now, most restaurants have sunk into deep debt versus closing altogether as some have had to do.

Restaurants aren't getting a bailout from the federal government and are left to their own devices. If they make 80% of normal income, it's a great day, but there are days when it's actually cheaper to close the doors.

The fluctuations in rules and regulations hurt more than anything in an industry that relies on predictability.


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Not if people actually wear masks, so we can go back to normal.

Course, we've been waiting for people to mask up, so we can get this over with since march....

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I go to restaurants all the time and theyre pretty full. People wear masks to and from tables so its fine. Most places have large dividers or distance between tables also.

Not by a longshot. Many of them may shutter, but once this pandemic is under control you'll see these independents come back and/or you'll see new places open up.

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Likely new ones will show up.

For many of them it is unfortunately which makes it even more messed up that so many wealthy individuals got bailed out by the government while many who were really struggling never got a dime

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Mead posted...

For many of them it is unfortunately which makes it even more messed up that so many wealthy individuals got bailed out by the government while many who were really struggling never got a dime

Remember when the Lakers got a bailout?

The fucking Lakers!

They paid it back (allegedly), but they never should've been given a loan to begin with

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Nightwind posted...

Not if people actually wear masks, so we can go back to normal.

Theres no going back. And its only going to get worse. Just wait.

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I don't think anything could ever kill restaurants, the demand is simply too high. They're one of history's oldest businesses.

Restaurants have always popped up and died at a super high frequency, this is just contributing to that. I wouldn't want to run a restaurant right now, but I don't think this will stop others once the pandemic is over.


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Not for hindsight or anything since many have no choice in the matter.... but they probably should have closed 6~8 months ago to save money and then reopen next year.

Note: I do know that some of them don't have a choice in the matter, their entire life savings are invested in their business and such.

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zebatov posted...

Theres no going back.

Speaking as somebody who lives in a province that was able to mostly lift restrictions because everybody complied well enough early on that we were able to get the virus under control, there absolutely is going back. Things didn't completely return to normal, obviously (masks still needed, distancing measures in place), but most places were able to reopen back in like June, and we've only just shut down some sectors again on a very temporary basis because there's a second wave raging that's primarily been spreading via restaurants/bars (which are still able to offer take-out) and gyms (which are actually closed for the next week or so).

This "doom and gloom" mentality is just silly. Keeping Covid in check is absolutely possible, if people commit to doing so instead of throwing tantrums over being told to wear a mask. It's a whole lot harder for areas that are actually raging out of control than for areas that started early (that "raging second wave" peaked at 37 cases in one day here, which was a substantial outlier from the 10-15/day we saw before/since), but if you commit to taking the problem seriously (and hold people who don't accountable for their wanton disregard for the well-being of their neighbours), there's still hope.

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Am I the only one that I know of who believes that, even before Covid, there were too many restaurants and too many stores? To me it seemed like every time I turned around a new restaurant and/or store opened in my neighborhood. All of the stores, even the new stores, carried the same goods at the same price, if not a bit lower or higher (depending on their overhead costs); it was the same with the restaurants. While there was demand, I never received the impression that there was enough demand to justify keeping a restaurant and/or store open, especially as far as stores were concerned due to Amazon's presence. If Covid hadn't come along and knocked a few of the smaller restaurants and/or stores out of the market, I believe a lot of them would've folded sooner rather than later.

I challenge adjl to agree with one thing I say once in his life.

If there is going back, then Ill skip out on the vaccine this round and wait that out, mmmmkay?

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GastroFan posted...

Am I the only one that I know of who believes that, even before Covid, there were too many restaurants and too many stores?

Yes and no. It is very true that the retail and food service markets are generally very crowded, especially with establishments trying to chase current trends (a few years ago, something like 6 or 7 gourmet burger places opened within a year of each other here, a city of 350,000 people). That's why so many end up folding as the local industry evolves, leaving only the ones that do actually manage to stand out (or have enough capital to weather the rough early years) while the unsuccessful ones have their locations taken over by a new business (it's pretty much natural selection, really).

On the other hand, that constant turnover and evolution is what allows a population to shape their local business community to be optimal for them. In order to have the best local restaurant scene possible (to focus on food service), you need new businesses coming in with new ideas to shake it up with meaningful competition. Proponents of capitalism are always fond of praising the concept of the free market, but the fact of the matter is that a free market can really only work when that market is quite large. If there are only one or two restaurants occupying a given niche in an area, the lack of competitors means you don't really have the option of denying them business unless you also want to give up whatever they offer. Redundancy gives consumers choice, and that choice in turn allows them to shape their community, which is generally a good thing.

Now, the tragedy of Covid (or any other recession event, really) is not simply that small businesses are going under. Small businesses go under every day, Covid or no (something like 50% of new businesses don't make it past their first year). It's that businesses that the community has chosen to support and that had cemented a solid place in the local scene - meaning they would otherwise have survived - are dying, which is an irreplaceable loss in many cases. In time, the economic side of things will be rebuilt (commercial properties leased, people employed again, etc.), but the faces of neighbourhoods will be changing, which is sad. So... buy local and order take-out more often than you otherwise might, if you can. That's all any of us can really do until this blows over.

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It's highly probable since the US gave the bulk of covid relief to corporations and not small businesses.

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I hope not. I was just saying that I'd gladly donate to my favorite steakhouse to keep it open. It's too good to let it go. They offer pick up options now so it's a plus.

GunslingerGunsl posted...

I hope not. I was just saying that I'd gladly donate to my favorite steakhouse to keep it open. It's too good to let it go. They offer pick up options now so it's a plus.

There's a taco place near my apartment that I haven't been to yet, and one of the retail news facebook groups for the city made a post about how they've got excellent food, but have really been struggling with the recent shutdowns of restaurants (take-out only for a few weeks, and this place is pretty obscure). Every evening since then, the place has had a lineup around the block, which is just fantastic to see.

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adjl posted...

There's a taco place near my apartment that I haven't been to yet, and one of the retail news facebook groups for the city made a post about how they've got excellent food, but have really been struggling with the recent shutdowns of restaurants (take-out only for a few weeks, and this place is pretty obscure). Every evening since then, the place has had a lineup around the block, which is just fantastic to see.

That is great. I would hope something like that happens here.

They might disappear for awhile, but they will come back. Not the ones that are currently around, but new restaurateurs will come by

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Not forever sure but its gonna be a long time before new restaurants are opening up. Between the recent protests/riots and covid I'd bet the vast majority of small business restaurants have shut down. I know more have than haven't in my area even with the rules being relatively relaxed.

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No, nutball leftist governments is the end of independent restaurants.

xjayguyx posted...

No, nutball leftist governments is the end of independent restaurants.

Your low IQ is to blame

It's on the fucking floor.

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Having been in 'the industry' for ten years (no longer)...unfortunately I have sympathy for like, 1/10 restaurants.

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Although I've still been getting a shitload of takeout, personally.

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Hopefully not.

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I wouldn't be surprised if 1/3 of the restaurants were zombies anyways, with a massive debt load to a break-even deal, and those places are gonna be finished off. Ones with food that doesn't travel well or that rely on businesspeople now working from home instead are probably screwed, despite how well they did before. I just hope the owners don't throw good money after bad in some sunken cost fallacy. 2021 will be worse than 2020, economically. Things aren't going to properly recover for many years.

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