Restaurant Survival – Mom & Pop Restaurants, Heart of America
There is no question this year will end with a record number of closed restaurants. Chains and independents alike are feeling the three pronged attack of escalating food costs, less consumer spending and predatory fuel costs. While it saddens me to see any business shut down, the mom and pop restaurants struggling to compete with the McDonalds, Burger Kings and KFC’s up and down the street hit a soft spot.
Small businesses are the heart and soul of America and small restaurants still outnumber the chains. They are the diners, the little breakfast nooks, the small town luncheonettes, the crab shacks along the coasts, the chicken and rib joints, and the neighborhood deli’s that dot the country. These restaurants are more than just a place to eat. They serve as the center of interaction between real people who gather for more than just a good meal. Politics, religion and good old gossip keep traditions and the very foundation of our society solid in these small but powerful centers of discussion. The smell of coffee, grease, apple pie and fresh baked bread mix with friendly greetings. They are disappearing. Doors are being padlocked and the stack of unpaid bills are stained with tears of sadness shared by communities across the country.
The survival of our fundamental American belief that this is a land of opportunity is at stake. Can the small restaurants survive this economic blow? I don’t have the answer, but I have two propositions.
First, the next time you opt for that quick $1.00 value meal as a loss leader to get you through the drive through, think! Can you spare another dollar or two for some home cooking and good old American spirit? Can you slow down long enough to sit down and enjoy other people as our past generations did? You might be part of the solution.
Second, to Mrs. Mom and Mr. Pop, restaurant owners, you have to rethink the way you do the mechanics of your business. You are going to have to do things you have never done before. Good food and great conversation isn’t enough anymore. The Starbucks, IHOPs, Subways and Dunkin Donuts up and down the streets of America have changed generations of people. The thing today is to conform and be trendy. Certainly not because of quality food, but from wooing the fast paced life style of Americans through constant advertising 
and stylish conformity. Small restaurant owner, you can change too.
So Mrs. Mom and Mr. Pop, here are my suggestions:
- You have to learn to communicate with your customers and prospective customers in more ways than just that friendly greeting at the door. You have to think about direct mail, email and flyers that get to your customer. Forget that ad in the local newspaper. It won’t be seen. The Internet, cable television and cell phone have become media choices of the next generation(s).
- You must experiment with new and fresh ideas that coincide with changing American taste buds. Our land is more of a melting pot of ethnicities than ever before. Be a little more receptive to new flavors, twists on old classics and spices you have never had on your racks.
- You have to become more of a business person than you want to be. That means you have to start negotiating prices, watching every penny of waste, pricing according to cost, turning your inventory, dealing with new suppliers, training staff better, learning that there is a story behind each day’s sales. Product mixes, percentage of labor to sales and cost controls can’t be out of the hip pocket anymore.
- Computers aren’t your nemesis. If you are intimidated, you have two choices. Learn to use them or hire a server, cook or helper that can assist you to find ways to inexpensively do tasks that have been labor intensive or non-existent such as marketing, tracking sales, cost comparisons, more frequent menu changes, accounting and automated functions.
- Get help from your customers. They don’t want to see your doors closed. Enlist their help. You might be surprised what a free slice of homemade peach pie might get you. The quickest way to new business is from old customers.
- Finally, put pride in the storeroom. Hiding your struggles from family, friends, staff and guests won’t work. When the business is on its last legs, it is too late. There is no advantage to keeping a secret that results in the embarrassment of failure.
Mrs. Mom and Mr. Pop, it is a different world today, whether we like it or not. You may think you can’t change, but creating, running and operating a restaurant indicates you can learn. The challenge of owning a restaurant was daunting when you started. You can do it. You know what hard work and personal satisfaction at the end of the day means. America needs you and our basic values hinge on small businesses that continue to beat the odds.
Larry Edger
Restaurant Owner, Author
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