Current economics of the food biz

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

I was thinking back to my days of studying Economics. I am sure that many of these restaurants are losing money but they lose less by being open than they would by shutting down. As long as they can pay employees, pay for the food used and utilities and put a little toward the rent they lose less than they would by shutting down.

 

and the public will remember them.

 

it only works short term.

 

got that? There will be a quiz on Friday.

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

Don't quite follow. Here they can open for takeout, and my favorite local pub with good food tells me they're doing a lot better with takeout than they thought they would be.

 

An article in today's NYTimes business section showed that grocery sales in March were up about 80% from the same period last year. Not just the 'prep' buying-- but an indication of how much food was consumed in restaurants before.

[Ramblin Gambler]

21 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

I was thinking back to my days of studying Economics. I am sure that many of these restaurants are losing money but they lose less by being open than they would by shutting down. As long as they can pay employees, pay for the food used and utilities and put a little toward the rent they lose less than they would by shutting down.

 

and the public will remember them.

 

it only works short term.

 

got that? There will be a quiz on Friday.

 

It's not a given that they can cover labor and food costs with takeout services.  Margins are razor thin in that business.  A number around here tried it and it didn't work out.  I know of some who wound up staying open long enough to use up the food they had on hand and then closed. 

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

7 minutes ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

 

It's not a given that they can cover labor and food costs with takeout services.  Margins are razor thin in that business.  A number around here tried it and it didn't work out.  I know of some who wound up staying open long enough to use up the food they had on hand and then closed. 

 

I think that's true; it won't work long for most, and in any event just might let someone keep the doors open, rather than make any real money..

 

The particular local pub I mentioned has a strong long-time neighborhood presence, and has 'take-out' type food: burgers and fish and chips and such, anyway. It has a physical setup that is conducive to takeout. When I ordered last week, they had lots of folks popping in to pick up telephoned orders. They told me that it was helping to keep the place alive, and that they were busier than they thought they'd be.