Our First Restaurant Meal

Concart said:
My wife and I took the plunge. Our favorite local restaurant re-opened their patio and bar area for dinner and drinks. The best way to describe the experience is 'surreal'. Everyone was wearing masks (including us, until the meal was serverd). Half of the tables were unavailable. The place was about 25% of the normal Thursday happy hour crowd. I think this is the 'new normal' I felt safe, but I'm just not sure how the restaurant remains in business. I left a 50% tip because those restaurant workers are in a really tough spot. They need to work, but there are people that aren't concerned about their safety. Bottom line, this model will work to keep people relatively safe, but I just don't know how the restaurant can survive with that model. If it was more crowded, we would have just turned around and gone home. Very strange experience.
'
Click to expand...

We had our first meal at a brewhouse in the Mat-Su valley two Sundays ago , then again last Sunday once again in Mat-Su both times after playing a round of golf. It was good to be back and enjoyed the spacing.
Reservations were required so we stood at the entrance, called and made reservations for 30 seconds into the future . No problem.
 
Geeko Sportivo said:
If you think the Bistros and Burger joints are suffering- HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE THE OWNER OF A CHINESE BUFFET RIGHT NOW!

That industry may be done! POOF! GONE WITH THE WIND!
Click to expand...

We were wondering about that too. We have a great buffet here in town (the only one as well). We thought they might stay open for carry-out since you can order specific dishes to go, but they didn't. I hope they come back.
 
anonymoose said:
We had our first meal at a brewhouse in the Mat-Su valley two Sundays ago , then again last Sunday once again in Mat-Su both times after playing a round of golf. It was good to be back and enjoyed the spacing.
Reservations were required so we stood at the entrance, called and made reservations for 30 seconds into the future . No problem.
Click to expand...

What place did you go to?
 
Hawkeye10 said:
I figure a good 50% of the not fast food places are gone in two years, and 20% of the fast food.

It gets worse after that.
Click to expand...

Try 90%. If you have children, the concept of a restaurant will be as foreign to them as the idea of riding a horse to work is for us.
 
Penderyn said:
In your case, you stick it up your arse, obviously. No Nazis can read, can they. ' Everyone was wearing masks (including us, until the meal was served). '
Click to expand...

You sad, pathetic triggered Marxist moron. You really should kill yourself. You're a nobody. You'll always be a nobody. You're a moron. You will always be a moron. No one will miss you. No one would care. The worlds collective IQ would increase and it would save the valuable oxygen you waste with every breath.

#Retarded
 
I'm not sure that restaurants will have to permanently raise prices, but it's logical to assume that there is a sweet spot where a restaurant can draw 25% of it's capacity and stay afloat.. Prices will be set by demand. What will impact that demand is a) capacity, b) the amount of discretionary disposable income people have, and c) the willingness of the customer base to go to a restaurant. Here's the problem, though. Some large chains have the financial wherewithal to keep prices artificially low while small restaurants cannot. So we might see the old airline model, where larger players can merge and put the competition out of business. So unless we get these restaurants some help, the landscape will change. I suspect our favorite locally owned restaurant will probably go out of business. But the Olive Garden and Red Lobster and Chili's will not. But at some point, capacity and demand will increase, prices will come down, and entrepreneurs will begin to open restaurants again. It's a long haul to getting back where we were, but it will happen.
 
Truth Detector said:
You sad, pathetic triggered Marxist moron. You really should kill yourself. You're a nobody. You'll always be a nobody. You're a moron. You will always be a moron. No one will miss you. No one would care. The worlds collective IQ would increase and it would save the valuable oxygen you waste with every breath.

#Retarded
Click to expand...

#triggered #loudobnoxiousstupid
 
Concart said:
I'm not sure that restaurants will have to permanently raise prices, but it's logical to assume that there is a sweet spot where a restaurant can draw 25% of it's capacity and stay afloat.. Prices will be set by demand. What will impact that demand is a) capacity, b) the amount of discretionary disposable income people have, and c) the willingness of the customer base to go to a restaurant. Here's the problem, though. Some large chains have the financial wherewithal to keep prices artificially low while small restaurants cannot. So we might see the old airline model, where larger players can merge and put the competition out of business. So unless we get these restaurants some help, the landscape will change. I suspect our favorite locally owned restaurant will probably go out of business. But the Olive Garden and Red Lobster and Chili's will not. But at some point, capacity and demand will increase, prices will come down, and entrepreneurs will begin to open restaurants again. It's a long haul to getting back where we were, but it will happen.
Click to expand...

Yeah maybe in 80 or 100 years there will be enough disposable income and economic activity again to create such a environment, but nobody living today will see it.
 
Concart said:
My wife and I took the plunge. Our favorite local restaurant re-opened their patio and bar area for dinner and drinks. The best way to describe the experience is 'surreal'. Everyone was wearing masks (including us, until the meal was serverd). Half of the tables were unavailable. The place was about 25% of the normal Thursday happy hour crowd. I think this is the 'new normal' I felt safe, but I'm just not sure how the restaurant remains in business. I left a 50% tip because those restaurant workers are in a really tough spot. They need to work, but there are people that aren't concerned about their safety. Bottom line, this model will work to keep people relatively safe, but I just don't know how the restaurant can survive with that model. If it was more crowded, we would have just turned around and gone home. Very strange experience.
'
Click to expand...

Good for you, servers need all the tips they can get. Salute
 
Some owner of a chain was on one of the cable shows recently. He said the idea of restaurants running at half capacity or anything like that is fantasy from a financial perspective. They just won't be able to make ends meet.

We're tipping heavy too, as I'm sure many are, but it's hard to see how many of these establishments will make it through this.

I keep hoping for a dramatic headline. Obviously, a vaccine is out for awhile - but if they could find a treatment that took the mortality rate way down, people wouldn't have the fear that they do now, and that keeps them from going out even when their state is reopening.
 
Bill said:
I went to a pizza place last week but we ate outside as well (to go).. The patio area was blocked but we found ways to make ourselves comfortable from our hike..

I did a a 50% tip & my friends were commenting the lady running it was kinda gruff.. It was empty inside(usually packed on a Friday) & I could only feel she was pretty depressed thinking this just aint going to work..

If they are required to run @ half capacity I don't see how most of them are going to make it..

There was a new Tea shop(Boba style) that just opened~had their grand opening & gave out tea all day to lure customers-next day they had to close.. I have not talked to her since but I can't see them being around after this, they put everything they had into that little place.....:(
Click to expand...

Does she have a website?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top