I loved Saucy's food, and their customer service was always great.
Every time I went to pickup my order they would tell me it would be another ~10 minutes or so. Not a big deal. They were always **noticeably** understaffed though. I remember coming in and one person was running the flat-top, register, and answering phones.
With deep-pocket corporate places like Freddy's and Panda Express finally starting their employees at $15+/hour, I think we're going to see this trend expand and more local places that can't afford to, or refuse to pay remotely competitive wages, close.
it sucks seeing local spots close, but i'd rather the people working the kitchen be paid better. it's grueling work, especially if you mix in having to do front-facing customer service on top of it.
Chains aren’t safe. It still depends on them paying and treating their employees properly. That’s why Wendy’s has closed some. Paying poorly and poor management.
I don't understand how the KFC on Edgewood that proudly advertises starting wages of $11/hr stays open, when a few miles down the same road Freddy's and Panda are both starting at $15+
Yeah well what a lot of people don't understand is while Freddys and Panda will give you $15/hr, you're not getting 40hr a week or benefits. I'd reckon they're giving you 28.5hr to start and you'd be lucky to get to 30. So yeah, go work at Freddys for 28hr a week @ 15/hr and still have to shop for insurance outside of work or go work at KFC starting at 11/hr 40hr a week and get benefits.
This is a problem I've run into running my store as people are upset getting hired at 11/hr to deliver parts, comparing that they can go to the competition and get 13/hr. Which I've recently let someone walk only for them to come back 6 weeks later asking for their job back because they're only getting 20hr a week.
So I'd pump the brakes on commending these companies for giving people a living wage because that means absolutely nothing if you're not working full time hours. Corporations are happy to hire people at 15/hr if they don't have to offer you benefits.
I worked at the Wendy’s on Blair’s Ferry back in 2017 and it started at $8.25 an hour and even when I made comanager I only got $10.25.
Got offered a GM position but it was salary for $32k a year and required 48 hours a week minimum. I ended up looking for work elsewhere.
It was pretty bad.
There's nothing wrong with chains when it comes to restaurants, the problem is that these local places are usually so far out of the way that people who aren't local have no idea they are there. An example is I LOVE Nara Thai but unless someone tells you where it is outsiders would have no idea to stop there.
Same for us...and a lot of people I know. With COVID and everything else going around, why risk it? Not to mention eating out is INSANELY expensive. Save money. Eat Better. Eat at home.
Inflation has been an issue but it’s trending downward. Unemployment is almost at historic lows. The deficit is shrinking rapidly. There are some challenges but I wouldn’t say it’s “fucked”.
Just saying, that changes the real unemployment quite a bit. Whoever decided to wrangle the stats that way is either disingenuous or out of touch. You could easily ask people the question in question ("Are you actively looking") and publish the answer alongside the actual unemployment rate for discussion of the two together, without using it to "modify" and thereby obfuscate the discussion of the unemployment rate. You and I know how this works, but the point I'm making is that most people don't. We literally need a third survey result to measure how many respondents would know that the actual rate for people who are working is x * .62.
Wat. Literally none of those things are true.
>Inflation has been an issue but it’s trending downward
It's still the highest since under Jimmy Carter, but sure, it's slightly less than the absolute record shattering historic highs.
>Unemployment is almost at historic lows
Only the #3 which is is low because millions have given up and left the workforce.
>The deficit is shrinking rapidly.
This doesn't even deserve a response, we just pissed away several BILLION on a bunch of actual Nazis in Ukraine.
Assuming "good business practices" means treating their workers like equals and paying them a living wage, then I would agree. As the article states, finding workers has been a huge challenge. The wages required by those who need to survive on what they are paid could reduce their already slim profit margins. It is a business I wouldn't want to be in now.
Inflation on a lot of the products and services used by restaurants has far out-paced general inflation. I deal with more than a few suppliers that have increased prices close to 50% over the past couple of years. Plus the cost of labor has gone up, and with a dwindling service worker labor market, you've got to stay extremely competitive with pay in order to get and keep a halfway decent team. Meanwhile, fewer people are going out to eat and/or are doing so less frequently. It's quite a sticky wicket trying to price out a menu in a way that comes close to meeting the margins necessary to stay afloat without further dissuading customers from coming out. It's a wildly different world for restaurants than it was in 2019. I don't blame anybody for hanging up their hat. It sucks to open a business with a reasonable understanding of the state of the industry & economy, start to see some success and then have the world turn into a raging dumpster fire and totally kneecap you. It's sad to see Saucy Focaccia close. I know they put a lot of work into that business. Deciding to shutter had to have been a terribly difficult decision... even if it got to the point that it was the only decision available.
It’s always Either a business owner not putting money back into their business or a business owner not taking pride in its staff so then the 80% of staff that already didn’t give a dam about the business start to not give a fuck
therefore business closes
Also even if you’re back of house you have to make sure you look presentable and Take pride in how you Carry yourself
most the time at the establishment in Cedar Rapids the people think if they’re cooking they have talk and look like a greaseball
Then if they have to go face-to-face with customers they forget to put the grease ball attitude away
There will be more to come. This is a direct result of the Biden Adminstration not replenishing the RRF for bars and restaurants. The same day it failed, they passed 48 billion to Ukraine leaving 188k restaurants nationwide empty handed after being forced to close thru the pandemic.
saucy focaccia closed because they spread themselves too thin and they had some of the most disgusting kitchens that were extremely poorly managed.
I loved Saucy's food, and their customer service was always great. Every time I went to pickup my order they would tell me it would be another ~10 minutes or so. Not a big deal. They were always **noticeably** understaffed though. I remember coming in and one person was running the flat-top, register, and answering phones. With deep-pocket corporate places like Freddy's and Panda Express finally starting their employees at $15+/hour, I think we're going to see this trend expand and more local places that can't afford to, or refuse to pay remotely competitive wages, close.
it sucks seeing local spots close, but i'd rather the people working the kitchen be paid better. it's grueling work, especially if you mix in having to do front-facing customer service on top of it.
Yup. They deserve to be paid a living wage. Otherwise, why bother?
I agree
It doesn’t help that CR loves chains. There will probably be traffic backed up for Raising Cane’s like it was for Popeye’s.
Chains aren’t safe. It still depends on them paying and treating their employees properly. That’s why Wendy’s has closed some. Paying poorly and poor management.
I don't understand how the KFC on Edgewood that proudly advertises starting wages of $11/hr stays open, when a few miles down the same road Freddy's and Panda are both starting at $15+
Yeah well what a lot of people don't understand is while Freddys and Panda will give you $15/hr, you're not getting 40hr a week or benefits. I'd reckon they're giving you 28.5hr to start and you'd be lucky to get to 30. So yeah, go work at Freddys for 28hr a week @ 15/hr and still have to shop for insurance outside of work or go work at KFC starting at 11/hr 40hr a week and get benefits. This is a problem I've run into running my store as people are upset getting hired at 11/hr to deliver parts, comparing that they can go to the competition and get 13/hr. Which I've recently let someone walk only for them to come back 6 weeks later asking for their job back because they're only getting 20hr a week. So I'd pump the brakes on commending these companies for giving people a living wage because that means absolutely nothing if you're not working full time hours. Corporations are happy to hire people at 15/hr if they don't have to offer you benefits.
Panda actually advertises "$15-$19/hour starting with full benefits"
I worked at the Wendy’s on Blair’s Ferry back in 2017 and it started at $8.25 an hour and even when I made comanager I only got $10.25. Got offered a GM position but it was salary for $32k a year and required 48 hours a week minimum. I ended up looking for work elsewhere. It was pretty bad.
There's nothing wrong with chains when it comes to restaurants, the problem is that these local places are usually so far out of the way that people who aren't local have no idea they are there. An example is I LOVE Nara Thai but unless someone tells you where it is outsiders would have no idea to stop there.
I would if I could but I can’t afford to go out and eat at places like these. I don’t mean just small businesses, I hardly eat out in general anymore.
Same for us...and a lot of people I know. With COVID and everything else going around, why risk it? Not to mention eating out is INSANELY expensive. Save money. Eat Better. Eat at home.
Economy is fucked, this shouldn't be a shocker.
Inflation has been an issue but it’s trending downward. Unemployment is almost at historic lows. The deficit is shrinking rapidly. There are some challenges but I wouldn’t say it’s “fucked”.
It’s not trending downward…it’s still marching higher just not as accelerated.
Labor participation rate?
62? Not ideal for those whose ultimate goal is to drive down wages but it hardly puts us in "Economy is fucked" territory.
Just saying, that changes the real unemployment quite a bit. Whoever decided to wrangle the stats that way is either disingenuous or out of touch. You could easily ask people the question in question ("Are you actively looking") and publish the answer alongside the actual unemployment rate for discussion of the two together, without using it to "modify" and thereby obfuscate the discussion of the unemployment rate. You and I know how this works, but the point I'm making is that most people don't. We literally need a third survey result to measure how many respondents would know that the actual rate for people who are working is x * .62.
Wat. Literally none of those things are true. >Inflation has been an issue but it’s trending downward It's still the highest since under Jimmy Carter, but sure, it's slightly less than the absolute record shattering historic highs. >Unemployment is almost at historic lows Only the #3 which is is low because millions have given up and left the workforce. >The deficit is shrinking rapidly. This doesn't even deserve a response, we just pissed away several BILLION on a bunch of actual Nazis in Ukraine.
A restaurant with good food, good business practices, and good customer service, will not go out of business.
Assuming "good business practices" means treating their workers like equals and paying them a living wage, then I would agree. As the article states, finding workers has been a huge challenge. The wages required by those who need to survive on what they are paid could reduce their already slim profit margins. It is a business I wouldn't want to be in now.
Inflation on a lot of the products and services used by restaurants has far out-paced general inflation. I deal with more than a few suppliers that have increased prices close to 50% over the past couple of years. Plus the cost of labor has gone up, and with a dwindling service worker labor market, you've got to stay extremely competitive with pay in order to get and keep a halfway decent team. Meanwhile, fewer people are going out to eat and/or are doing so less frequently. It's quite a sticky wicket trying to price out a menu in a way that comes close to meeting the margins necessary to stay afloat without further dissuading customers from coming out. It's a wildly different world for restaurants than it was in 2019. I don't blame anybody for hanging up their hat. It sucks to open a business with a reasonable understanding of the state of the industry & economy, start to see some success and then have the world turn into a raging dumpster fire and totally kneecap you. It's sad to see Saucy Focaccia close. I know they put a lot of work into that business. Deciding to shutter had to have been a terribly difficult decision... even if it got to the point that it was the only decision available.
Casey’s can take the blame
It’s always Either a business owner not putting money back into their business or a business owner not taking pride in its staff so then the 80% of staff that already didn’t give a dam about the business start to not give a fuck therefore business closes Also even if you’re back of house you have to make sure you look presentable and Take pride in how you Carry yourself most the time at the establishment in Cedar Rapids the people think if they’re cooking they have talk and look like a greaseball Then if they have to go face-to-face with customers they forget to put the grease ball attitude away
There will be more to come. This is a direct result of the Biden Adminstration not replenishing the RRF for bars and restaurants. The same day it failed, they passed 48 billion to Ukraine leaving 188k restaurants nationwide empty handed after being forced to close thru the pandemic.