2/3 of restaurants will go out of business & would you pay extra fees?

**rennigade** · 07-05-2021, 02:38 PM

No, I wouldn't go to a restaurant that requires a minimum spend amount.

As for reservation deposit, I'm surprised that hasn't happened sooner. Golf courses have been doing that for years. If you're a no show, they charge you. I know doctors offices in DC did it too. No show, you get billed a certain amount. Holds people responsible, which isn't hip nowadays.

**bjl584** · 07-05-2021, 02:44 PM

I wouldn't go to a restaurant that requires a minimum spend.
I don't eat at restaurants much anyways, so minimal impact to me if establishments start to enact this.

**ua_guy** · 07-05-2021, 04:32 PM

I wouldn't mind going to a restaurant with a minimum spend, as long as there was a very good chance we'd spend that much, or close to it.

Restaurants around here appear to be doing just fine. Many have perfected takeout/pick-up service, or made it well-known they offer it, which I think will benefit them. I've seen a few which have streamlined their menus to focus on their core/ most popular offerings, which will probably be good for them as well.

Of course, these are not formal restaurants with a dress code, just popular casual places. I was helping my sister find reservations for her kid's graduation get-together with our family. Nicer restaurants were very booked up.

I'd be really surprised if the prediction in the article turned out to be true.

...most of this guy's youtube stuff looks like sensationalist clickbait garbage bordering on getting a certain base riled up in fear of doomsday scenarios. Yawn....

**JoeP** · 07-05-2021, 05:21 PM

Not for us. Just that image shown has far too many conditions, and like any contract written by Party A, it protects Party A's interests.

**ua_guy** · 07-05-2021, 05:35 PM

Also... notice that the image mentions "special event". Usually this applies to a party of 8+ such as a corporate gathering or "large group" which requires assembly of tables and a significant portion of restaurant that may not be seeing normal revenue, so to reserve that much space, conditions apply. I don't think this is new to the pandemic as I've come across stuff like this at popular places before.

**disneysteve** · 07-05-2021, 06:49 PM

I did not watch the video.

That said, I'd be okay with a minimum charge as long as it reasonably reflects what we expect to spend there.

As for a reservation fee, Disney has actually done that for years. They charge $10/person if you don't show up for your reservation. They used to have a lot of trouble with people booking multiple places at the same time because they didn't know where they'd end up that evening. I assume the fee discouraged that though I'm really not sure.

But I think a fee is reasonable. If I book a hotel room and don't show up, I get charged. If I buy a plane ticket or a movie ticket and don't show up, I still pay. I've got no problem with them charging me for booking space in a restaurant and then not showing up. I would just hope that the cancellation window is reasonable as if we do have to cancel a meal, it's often relatively last minute. If they want me to cancel 24 or 48 hours in advance, that would be a problem.

I do think many restaurants will fail. Thousands already have. Just because things are reopening doesn't magically fix the massive losses they took during the earlier months of the pandemic. Many only managed to stay afloat because of government aid, which has now ended.

There were also temporary changes to laws which benefited many restaurants but those changes are now being reversed, which in some cases is making the situation even worse. For example, many places started allowing restaurants to serve alcohol to go, a practice that gave them a great new source of revenue during the pandemic. However, that option is being taken away, sometimes with no notice. I believe NY state did that. They just stopped it all of a sudden. But lots of restaurants had come to depend on that to go business for 5 or 10% of their sales. They had bought thousands of dollars of supplies - bottles, labels, etc. - that they're now stuck with.

I think we haven't seen the full impact of COVID on the restaurant industry yet.

**Fishindude77** · 07-06-2021, 05:22 AM

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

I did not watch the video.
I think we haven't seen the full impact of COVID on the restaurant industry yet.

Agreed, they have been hammered.
I don't think the restaurant business will ever get back to the level it was at a couple years ago. Even with the fed loans they received and things being back to near normal occupancy, etc. you see formerly busy restaurants with near empty parking lots. I suspect many more will close their doors soon.

**disneysteve** · 07-06-2021, 06:40 AM

Originally posted by Fishindude77 View Post

Agreed, they have been hammered.
I don't think the restaurant business will ever get back to the level it was at a couple years ago. Even with the fed loans they received and things being back to near normal occupancy, etc. you see formerly busy restaurants with near empty parking lots. I suspect many more will close their doors soon.

Of course, I've also seen numerous new places open in recent months. So we will continue to lose existing places that are now buried in losses and debt, but new ones will emerge. I don't think the restaurant culture is going away. It's just going to take a few years to repopulate.

**JoeP** · 07-06-2021, 07:41 AM

Not sure how much this is related, but I've noticed a trend over the past 8+ years where restaurants are giving out larger portions, relative to what I recall seeing prior. I don't know if prices scaled linear with this, or if prices jumped more. In other words, if portion size went up 20% I'm not sure if prices went up 20% or if they went up more. I'm curious if this has been observed by others here.

Don't get me wrong, large portions mean I'll be taking some home to enjoy later on, so I'm actually OK with it!

**QuarterMillionMan** · 07-06-2021, 08:20 AM

I'm seeing a scale down in portion size but prices remaining the same or prices increasing higher for a smaller portion.

**disneysteve** · 07-06-2021, 08:40 AM

Originally posted by QuarterMillionMan View Post

I'm seeing a scale down in portion size but prices remaining the same or prices increasing higher for a smaller portion.

Yes. Smaller portions, higher prices. I think that's totally understandable given the situation. They are struggling to stay afloat.

**disneysteve** · 07-06-2021, 08:41 AM

Originally posted by JoeP View Post

Don't get me wrong, large portions mean I'll be taking some home to enjoy later on, so I'm actually OK with it!

I don't like that at all. I want a portion appropriate for my meal at that time. Most restaurants serve way too much.

**kork13** · 07-06-2021, 09:42 AM

I think one way in which restaurants will change is a reduced footprint. Just as many companies are finding people can work remotely with little impact, I think many people are valuing take-away more than previously. That could be good for restaurants (need to pay for less space & serving staff), or bad (less opportunity for the upsell or add-on/impulse sales).

A great feature of American business is that they will always find a way. Businesses will adjust, compete, grow, flounder, etc. Where one restaurant fails, new ones with new ideas will typically fill the void.

**disneysteve** · 07-06-2021, 09:51 AM

Originally posted by kork13 View Post

I think one way in which restaurants will change is a reduced footprint. Just as many companies are finding people can work remotely with little impact, I think many people are valuing take-away more than previously. That could be good for restaurants (need to pay for less space & serving staff), or bad (less opportunity for the upsell or add-on/impulse sales).

Just the opposite may be true. I think it's the little places that will get hurt the most. There are economies of scale with a big restaurant. It's a lot harder to turn a profit when you have 10 tables vs. 50 or 100. Food and supply costs are lower in bulk. Servers can handle multiple tables. Alcohol sales are a big part of a restaurant's profit so take out eliminates that (unless they change the laws as I mentioned earlier). Bigger places can also do catering events and parties which little places don't have the space for.

2/3 of restaurants will go out of business & would you pay extra fees?