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Chris Muller

The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
September 21, 2008

Restaurant operators have been betrayed by our friends in government over the past decade.

If you didn’t believe it before, you certainly have to after the roller coaster week that we just lived through.

Remember when you used to hear that the restaurant business was too risky and banking was stable and secure? Remember when all an entrepreneurial small business wanted was a fair chance to compete?

Forget trying to get a loan to grow your business, have you just tried to get a short term loan to carry you through the tough times caused by a growing unemployment number and rising energy prices? On the other hand did you happen to notice that you, and every other citizen, basically now own or guarantee more than half of all the mortgages in the country?

You know the statistics, the Restaurant Industry is the largest retail business sector of the United States economy with 13.1 million employees (9% of all workers) In 2008 the industry will have over $550 billion in total sales, which equates to just over 4% of the entire Gross Domestic Product. 113 million Americans will be customers in a foodservice outlet on any given day, with typical daily purchases exceeding $1.5 billion.

Of the roughly 945,000 restaurants in the U.S.A. about 25% are owned by women, and about 70% of all restaurants are independently owned single-unit operations. Nearly half of all adult Americans will work in a restaurant during their lifetimes, with 32% starting their first work experience in one.

So why isn’t the industry given the respect it deserves?

The way things have been going, the 60,000 members of the National Restaurant Association, and the tens of thousands of members of each state restaurant association, and even you if you contact your local city and town politicians by yourself, have been told that your voice doesn’t matter.

So, here are some of the reasons for the betrayal. You know that as hard as you work you can’t compete if:

* FDA inspectors allow tainted meat, produce and fish to enter the food chain and your units take the blame;
* The SBA isn’t fully staffed and funded (or even goes technically bankrupt as in 2003) and denies worthy loans to otherwise sound businesses;
* Health care costs continue to climb so millions of uninsured restaurant workers cannot afford care which directly increases the risk of food-born illnesses;
* Unregulated banks lead to defaults on consumer loans while tightening credit for all small businesses;
* Employees and customers are in constant military rotation to two wars challenging unit labor costs and local communities;
* Real customer income has declined leading to declining unit revenues
* The national economy has been allowed to recede with little expectation for a turnaround for many months.

Look again at the list. This could be a time to find new friends.

Posted by Chris Muller on September 21, 2008 | Comments (8)

Industries: Commercial, Food & Beverage, Noncommercial

September 22, 2008
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
Doug Ferguson commented:

The Republicans must not own stock in the food service industry or they would support us. The Republican party should re-examine it's agenda and quit their self serving ways.

September 22, 2008
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
Restaurant Owner commented:

I am getting by--certainly not getting rich-- and working very hard. I feel terrible about my employees frequently holding down 2 jobs to get by, not having health insurance and paying way too much taxes for what they get in return. I agree--Washington has betrayed restaurant operators and the working class. Their trickle down policies are not working.

September 22, 2008
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
Republican commented:

You blame the republicans?? Why? We choose small goverment over large, we did not choose to inflate the average minimum wage and we do not choose to carry sick days and pay health insurance for our employees. Just because Bush is in office you listen to the media and blame the republicans for this. Open your ears, do a 'little research' and you would see who supports the 'restaurant biz and who doesn't'. Put the democrats in charge and see if you are in business very long, after picking up 'the tab'. Yes I am in the biz and I have researched how today's economy affects my business.

September 25, 2008
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
Jesse T. commented:

I am a republican, and yes, I did vote for Bush, both times, but I am sick and tired of Bush serving the rich and saving the rucn from their own mistakes and bad business decisions! I own a small restaurant, I work 80 hours a week and all this year, I have not paid myself a single dollar! Can't believe it? well I'm sorry but it is the truth. Chris Muller's article above is %100 the truth! President bush, instead of paying the big guys hundreds of thousands for their sallary, why not help me out with a $100K or 200K? That would bail me out and help me stay in business, and help keep 8 to 10 people employed, and help me and my employees to pay our mortgage, instead of having it paid by a credit card! Would George Bush and all the other big bosses really understand my situation, and realize that their eyes are not focused on the issues that matter?

October 1, 2008
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
grizzles commented:

My brother and I owned a restaurant and we got out a long time ago. I never blamed anyone running the government for the state of affairs as they were be they a Democrat or Republican. No one forced me to go into business, no one put a gun to my head and said this is the way for you to go. I CHOSE to go into business. If it isn't what it once was, then get out... get out and stop the complaining. Get out and get a job if you can, if you can't then live off the the fat of the land somewhere, if you can't do that, then live off the government. But please stop complaining about the bailouts OTHERS are getting, but not poor you. You'll find no sympathy on this end. Find a place where you'll get paid for putting in 70-100 hours a week; at least you'll have a paycheck to take home at weeks-end.

November 7, 2008
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
Happy? commented:

Now you seem to have gotten what you wanted. If Obama even does half of what he promised, I believe you will have even more to cry about. How about the pizza tossers union or the McDonald's Grill workers union? That should help with costs, right? You'll soon have the privilege of providing health insurance for all of your employees, part-time, full-time, no matter. Social Security needs to be saved so prepare to open up the checkbook for that as well. Oh yeah, Change. Great. Seems to me that is about all you'll have in your pocket. Woo Hooo! I'm off to Galt's Gaulch. Later

December 1, 2008
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
KP commented:

Waaahh. Unions, minimum wage, health insurance for all! These are things you should promote for your employees (and yourself). What you should be crying for is tax cuts for small businesses, tax relief for tipped employees and healthcare reform.

January 7, 2009
In response to: The Betrayal of the Restaurant Operator
Steve Smith commented:

Bottomlline is that not many really understand what it takes to run a restaurant and most think it is easy and therefore not necessary to offer support