How do small, independent restaurants stay open if they're crap?

[Chronos]

Not that that’s necessarily a sign of bad quality - there’s a place near here that has had the same thing going on - it’s been at least 2 different pizza places, 2 different burger places, and an Indian place in the last 10 or so years.

This is true, though in this particular case all of the places have been pretty mediocre. And the location is hard to pin down as good or bad: “Just off campus” is a good location, but “In the middle of the triangle formed by Columbo’s, Pickle Barrel, and Casa Sanchez” is not a good location.

[RickJay]

I’m surprised at the notion that small non-chain restaurants would be expected to have worse food. In my experience they’re almost invariably better and cheaper. I’ve gone into a few that weren’t good, but my experience with them is certainly more consistently positive than it is with chains.

Now, of course, most restaurants fail, anyway. It’s an astoundingly low-margin, high-risk business that can sap the energy from all but the most dedicated entrepreneurs.

[Gangster_Octopus]

@RickJay

I’m surprised at the notion that small non-chain restaurants would be expected to have worse food. In my experience they’re almost invariably better and cheaper. I’ve gone into a few that weren’t good, but my experience with them is certainly more consistently positive than it is with chains.

Now, of course, most restaurants fail, anyway. It’s an astoundingly low-margin, high-risk business that can sap the energy from all but the most dedicated entrepreneurs.

I think you are missing something. THe thread isn’t that small, non-chain restaurants are bad, just that it seems ineveitably there are some in each area that are bad, but seem to be around for no reason.

Of course, generally bad individually owned restaurants will go out of business because they are …bad. But sometimes one slips through for some reason and we are trying to figure out why that is.

[MPB_in_Salt_Lake]

@BlinkingDuck

A friend of mine is a revenue agent for the IRS.

As we were driving by…he points out a store. The store is very small. It has a broken sign.

All the business is…is selling golf balls and room out back for 2 people to wack at balls into a net.

That’s it.

They gross $6 million a year.

Pure money laundering. The reason my friend knew about them is that while they wanted to launder money, they decided paying the taxes was a bit too much. :

That takes a lot of balls!!!

(sorry, I couldnt resist)

[Lok]

Well, locally we have 3 Chinese places (all owned by Chinese immigrants), 3 Mexican restaurants (at least 2 of which are owned by Mexican immigrants), and assorted American type food places that have been around for decades. I know people that absolutely hate food at that Chinese place, but the other two are okay. And you can switch the name of the Chinese place depending on who is talking. The same is true of the Mexican places.

I have found that each place has their own strengths and weaknesses, none of them are outstanding in anyway. But they have decent food. The worst Chinese food is from the buffet place, but hey, its a buffet!

[gaffa]

@Lok

Well, locally we have 3 Chinese places (all owned by Chinese immigrants), 3 Mexican restaurants (at least 2 of which are owned by Mexican immigrants), and assorted American type food places that have been around for decades. I know people that absolutely hate food at that Chinese place, but the other two are okay. And you can switch the name of the Chinese place depending on who is talking. The same is true of the Mexican places.

One thing about Chinese restaurants is that they often have two menus - one for the tourists and a different one for regulars and their fellow Chinese. I’ve encountered this a few times in both Kansas City and Chicago (Lissener had his own menu at one, and some of these off-menu items were amazing). Invariably, the food on the “secret” menu is better than the “tourist” one. If you go to one of these places and eat from the default menu, you’ll have no idea that the food is any better than mediocre.

[Mister_Rik]

@kiz

In my experience it’s because 1) the restaurant itself has been around a long time

This.

3. it’s “safe”, familiar. The public in general dislikes change, so they’ll keep patronizing the business, no matter how awful the food.

And this.

In my 26 years in the business I’ve discovered that there are some little restaurants (and I’ve worked in a few of them) that have been in place literally for decades. The owners change, the name changes, the staff changes, but the same people are in there eating every single day, and have been for a very long time, through all the changes. They come in and eat with their friends and sit at the same table or the same stool at the counter. Every. Single. Day.

I worked at a diner like this, and we were only closed two each year - Thanksgiving and Christmas - and I had this image in my head of the regular customers (mostly older, retired men) milling about aimlessly on the sidewalk in front of the place on those days because they didn’t have anything else to do, and their routine said they were supposed to be there at such-and-such time.