Why your fav restaurant closed - or is about to.
In SF, restaurants are failing and closing. Worse, the future doesn't look good
At least we can conclusively say one thing about the restaurant business in San Francisco.
Nobody’s happy.
From North Beach to the Castro and up and down Hayes Valley, restaurants are shuttering up. And, with a nod to presidential candidate Andrew Yang, we can say it’s all about math.
As a restaurant veteran explained it the other day, eateries were able to make it on a 30-30-30-10 formula. That’s 30 percent food, 30 percent rent/mortgage, 30 percent staff and 10 percent profit.
“Now,” he said, “I doubt many places are making five percent.”
The problem is with two of the 30 percents — staff and location. Rising rents, of course, are a constant problem. And rent rates seem to be unaffected by a glut in supply. There are lots of vacant storefronts, but investors aren’t biting. In theory, rents would drop to encourage renters, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.
But there’s a larger problem. One that goes to the heart of the city.
The service staff simply can’t afford to live here. Which is staggering. You’d think the problem would be finding people to do a service job. It ain’t an easy gig. There are a lot people who are jerks before they have their first drink. They don’t get any better after it.
Yet I am constantly impressed with wait staff who are all-in on making the meal enjoyable. The kind of person who will reliably fake a laugh when someone (raises hand) asks the bartender if he doesn’t want to check my ID.
They are a part what drives this town’s vibrant culture. Those service workers create and sustain the young, big-city energy of San Francisco.
And they can’t afford to live here. Which is remarkable, since in other parts of the country there is a debate about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. We’ve already done that.
“And,” says my restaurant vet, “anyone who thinks $15 an hour is a living wage in San Francisco is kidding themselves.”
Would-be workers have to rent a place outside of the city. Then even farther outside the city. And eventually, when you factor in the travel and the time, the job just doesn’t make sense. As I often hear them say, “I thought by the time I reach this age I’d at least have my own apartment.”
All of which goes back to Issue #1 for San Francisco. A way has to be found to bring down housing costs for wage-earning, steadily-employed San Franciscans. I applaud efforts to give teachers, cops and firefighters breaks on rent and mortgages. But the people who staff our stores and restaurants deserve help too.
Instead, things seem to be becoming more polarized. Unhappy workers at trendy Tartine have announced plans to unionize, which is a process that is is always fraught with management-staff tension. And, unfortunately, another consequence of the money crunch is the closing of restaurants, which we are seeing.
My restaurant veteran’s group just closed one of their locations. They plan to open another one soon — but with a twist. The new place will be more at-the-counter service.
That cuts down on the number of staff, and allows the restaurant to pay a higher salary. But sadly, those other wait service jobs are gone.
Like I said, nobody’s happy.
I can’t stop thinking if this hit on Jimmy G. affected the Super Bowl outcome
We’ve been over the Super Bowl from every possible angle. But I was surprised how little discussion there was about a helmet to helmet hit on Jimmy Garoppolo in the last five minutes of the game.
I mentioned it in my column in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. It looks pretty clear. Looking at third-and-five with 5:20 left, Garoppolo goes back to pass and the 49ers fail to pick up a blitz by linebacker Ben Niemann.
Garoppolo gets the throw off, but Niemann lowers his head and nails Jimmy G right below the ear hole on his helmet. Garoppolo goes down and the camera catches him flat on his back, holding his head with both hands — classic brain injury reaction.
Take a look. (Sadly, until I improve my “add video” skills, you’ll have to click on this Tweet and then play the video in Twitter.)
Before that play Garoppolo was 20-31 for 195 yards, a TD and an interception. After it he went 2-8, including the infamous overthrow of Emmanuel Sanders in the end zone.
Washington D.C. writer Rudy Gersten Tweeted about the shot as soon as it happened.
And NFL Network analyst and former player Bucky Brooks said Garoppolo “wasn’t the same” after that hit.
Now, let’s don’t get carried away. Kansas City won that game, fair and square.
But in a league that is at least pretending to care about head injuries — and on the biggest stage, in front of the largest audience — you’d think someone would have said something.
Fox announcers Jack Buck and Troy Aikman had slow-motion looks at the play and two different shots of Garoppolo holding his head. And they came up with nothing stronger than Aikman saying it was a good job by the Chiefs to disrupt the offense.
Not good enough. Not by the TV talking heads. Not by the NFL officials.
Speaking of restaurants, let me see that bill again
Last week we decided to splurge a bit for our anniversary and booked a Russian Hill restaurant that isn’t easy to get into.
The food didn’t wow us, but it was fine. We liked the pasta, which was clearly house made. It was an expensive meal, but we knew that coming in. We didn’t feel like we were getting ripped off.
Until the check arrived . . .
After years of undeniable proof that I am not the person to calculate the tip, the bill was handed over to my wife. She took a moment to look it over.
And that’s when she noticed that we’d been charged for three $16 carpaccios, only one of which we’d actually ordered and eaten.
“Oh geez,” the waiter said when it was pointed out, “I meant to take that off the check.”
Wait. You meant to? You knew it was there? How did that happen?
It seems pretty obvious this wasn’t an accident. And it made us wonder how often this scam works. How often do you get the bill, throw down a card and sign for the total without checking?
I’ll bet it happens a lot. In an age of pay by plastic, it’s pretty foolproof. If the customer doesn’t catch on, it’s a bonus. If they do, just say it was a mistake. But as a customer, when you realize that the restaurant appears to be trying to pull a fast one, it definitely puts a crimp in your evening.
Like I said about the restaurant biz in San Francisco. Nobody’s happy.