Restaurants in the Bay Area of San Francisco were hit hard by the recession, just as everyone else had. However, restaurants are very vital to San Francisco because they draw in many of the tourists. Employment in San Francisco has declined about 6% over the past year, a result of restaurants unable to adjust to the changes in the economy.
Several restaurants have adjusted to the economy by increasing comfort foods, like fried chicken and pizza, and and cheaper menu items on their menus. Those who have failed to do this, have gone out of business. Even restaurants who have adjusted their menus have not all found success.
Anne Le Ziblatt, owner of Tamarine in Palo Alto, has added more affordable dishes to her menu. Rather than serving the same dishes that range from $14 to $28, she began selling Vietnamese dishes that sell for $13 each. This has helped Ms. Le Ziblatt's business to increase 15% from last year.
These kinds of changes have made the future look promising for the Bay Area restaurants. Restaurant employment has decreased at a slower rate than overall employment has in the Bay Area over the past two years. Some restaurants have even found the opportunity to expand higher end restaurants. The most important fact however, is that customer numbers are increasing to pre recession numbers. For without the customers, restaurants can not make a comeback.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704141104575588982760967058.html?KEYWORDS=restaurant+industry
I agree, all these changes will restaurants in the Bay Area. Adding less expensive foods to menus will enable people who are not as fortunate to eat out more often. Therefore, business in the restaurants will increase.
ReplyDeleteCustomers are definitely looking for a deal when they are going out so it is necessary for restaurants to adapt to the current economic environment. By altering their menus, employers are widening their customer pool and hopefully increasing profits. These strategies are definitely attractive to customers and will help to keep the businesses running and profitable.
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