Seeing a bar or restaurant
close and then reopen under another name has become old hat these
days. Right here in my small town, there are two restaurants that
closed with a new one re-opening in about a week! I feel that there
are three forces are at work that allow for an establishment's
eventually demise after a nice long slide downhill. One of them is
evident to anyone who has ever been a small business owner; taxes and
regulations! Piles and miles of taxes and regulations are constantly
being passed at all levels of government; local, state and Federal,
and have put the kibosh on many a business persons dreams and
aspirations. Let's face it, when your operational margin is slim to
begin with, it doesn't take much in the way of new fees to totally
kill it. In the meantime, owners are doing all they can to just get
by. And getting by means seeking out the cheapest labor, booze and
food that's available for public consumption. So, that's number two.
Marginal food served by poorly trained, incompetent men and women all
in a setting that attracts the likes of the Health Department way too
often.
Lastly, and perhaps the most
important factor affecting the survival of many businesses, not just
restaurants and bar, is the all pervasive sense of doom that seems to
have settled like a cloak over the country these past five years!
With millions out of work for extended periods of time, while
millions more having given up looking for work entirely, the stage is
being set to make failure the new success story for many
Americans. Suddenly, a lot of your friends are now not only not
working, but are learning how to game the system to elk out a more
comfortable living off the backs of those who still pay taxes. And
that number is dwindling and dwindling rapidly....
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