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Robin Garr

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Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Robin Garr » Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:57 am

Interesting book review in The Washington Post. What do you folks think?

We’ve just lived through the greatest period of restaurant growth in U.S. history. Here’s why it’s ending.
A new book explains the sudden death of the golden age of dining out in America

By Laura Reiley
The Washington Post
July 8


We’ve just been through America’s belle epoque of restaurants.

What’s more, the party is over and most of us are blithely unaware. The restaurant industry is frequently the precursor for a market correction, an early harbinger of a bear market or even a recession to come. And some experts are saying that an unfortunate confluence of factors — oversaturated restaurant markets, rising labor and food costs, weak sales, changing consumer tastes and loyalties, a shrinking middle class, declines in mall traffic, bank and investor skittishness about returns on investments — means the near future looks bleak.

This is the thesis of “Burn the Ice: The American Culinary Revolution and Its End,” a new book by James Beard Award-winning food journalist Kevin Alexander.

Alexander argues that, starting in 2006, we experienced a transformative period for the U.S. restaurant industry.

He ticks off some of the innovations: the rise of “fine casual dining” (those restaurants with dangling Edison bulbs and exposed brick and in-your-face ambitious food that doesn’t lean overmuch on fine linens or fancy stemware), craft cocktails, farm-to-table dining, the hipification of non-Western food, the audacity of food truck culture, the democratization of criticism via social media.

But now we should prepare for a shake-up. ...

Full story in The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... bow&wpmm=1
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Jeff Cavanaugh

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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Jeff Cavanaugh » Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:22 am

The vitality of Louisville's better-than-average-for-its-size restaurant scene seems to keep it always on the boil somewhat, with a constant rotation of places opening and closing. Business First recently tallied 49 openings and 31 closings to date across the city, including places like Ward 426 and Waylon's Feed & Firewater just this month.

So, while we wouldn't be immune to national trends, I wonder if our restaurant sector has a lower, but constant, state of self-correction that might mitigate the effects of a bubble collapse. Maybe not, though.
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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Robin Garr » Mon Jul 22, 2019 11:35 am

Jeff, from your lips to Lord Quetzalcoatl's ears. From what I'm hearing lately, though, the big issue around town now isn't consumer demand, it's finding enough good servers, line cooks, table runners and dishwashers to fill the need. Without naming names, I've heard a bunch of complaints about keeping recent openings adequately staffed.

Maybe what this town needs is something like an affordable Sullivan for folks who want to get into restaurant work but don't care whether they get right on to Chopped? :)
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Andrew Mellman

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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Andrew Mellman » Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:13 pm

Robin Garr wrote:Maybe what this town needs is something like an affordable Sullivan for folks who want to get into restaurant work but don't care whether they get right on to Chopped? :)


Ever hear of JCTC (Jefferson Community and Technical College)? I can't speak to comparable quality, but it's MUCH more affordable!
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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Robin Garr » Mon Jul 22, 2019 3:24 pm

Andrew Mellman wrote:Ever hear of JCTC (Jefferson Community and Technical College)? I can't speak to comparable quality, but it's MUCH more affordable!

You bet I've heard of it, Andrew! I wonder, though ... do they offer training for servers and front-of-house? That seems to be the most critical need for new sit-down restaurants right now, in Louisville at least.
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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Andrew Mellman » Mon Jul 22, 2019 3:37 pm

Robin Garr wrote:
Andrew Mellman wrote:Ever hear of JCTC (Jefferson Community and Technical College)? I can't speak to comparable quality, but it's MUCH more affordable!

You bet I've heard of it, Andrew! I wonder, though ... do they offer training for servers and front-of-house? That seems to be the most critical need for new sit-down restaurants right now, in Louisville at least.

Sullivan's catalog focuses on chef training, mentioning (in passing) the various places where chefs are employed.

JCTC's catalog talks about moving ahead as a chef, as a restaurant manager, and in various other restaurant, food service, and catering positions (although they do not specifically talk about service).
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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Robin Garr » Mon Jul 22, 2019 5:16 pm

Thanks for doing the research, Andrew. It's true that with Sullivan's publicity they tend to get the name identification around town.
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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Carla G » Wed Jul 24, 2019 3:07 pm

Restaurants don’t train in-house anymore?
"She did not so much cook as assassinate food." - Storm Jameson
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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Robin Garr » Wed Jul 24, 2019 3:15 pm

I'm sure they do, Carla, but I'm also sure they love to get people in who know what they're doing on Day One. And high-end places that want suave, competent service might not figure training someone off the street is the best way to get there.
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Re: Golden Age of restaurants coming to an end?

by Carla G » Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:52 pm

It seems no one wants to invest time in much of anything anymore.
(Sigh)
"She did not so much cook as assassinate food." - Storm Jameson

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