Intro

Restaurant: A business establishment where meals or refreshments may be purchased. This derives from the French verb restaurer, meaning “to restore.”  

Game: A field of gainful activity.

Duck Soup: (slang) Anything requiring little effort, easy to do, and often remunerative; a cinch.  

The: For emphasis before titles and names or to suggest uniqueness.

I just thought…

For many people, the idea of owning a restaurant conjures up images of fun and easy money.  In short, they think that it’s all going to be “duck soup.”  Truth is, running your own restaurant takes long hours and hard work, often with little monetary reward.

Referring to the restaurant business as a game is not to be flippant or taken lightly, as I well know; but it takes the edge off in hindsight.

That sums up my story. Judging from the stats – anywhere from 17% to 90% of restaurants close within the first year, depending on who you ask – it’s the story of many others. And this was long before COVID-19 wreaked havoc on dining out.

What’s your story?

In that spirit, I started this blog to share my experiences with other risk-taking (are there any other kind?) restaurateurs. With each anecdote or insight I post, I know there will be feedback, opinions, and escapades of others who’ve waded into or jumped in the deep end of this crazy business of foodservice. The good & the bad, the funny & the sad.

The blog is categorized by restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, business, therapy, plus a section called The Quack, which allows me to deviate a bit in my posts. And questions on food & drink will pop up once a week to test your knowledge. I stopped posting questions & answers as I work to develop my board game into an online version.

I will also use snippets of music lyrics frequently to add a thread that links to the theme of my posts. Music Info.

Masculine Pronoun Form

I will be using the masculine pronoun form (he, his) in my posts, so don’t bark at me for being sexist. I have the utmost respect for my wife, daughter, and late mother as well as all women. My wife is an English major and she told me that this is formal English format (the Queen’s English). I’m not arguing with her.

Oh, I’ll be using British spelling too. Thus, words like colour and honour will contain the letter “u.”

A very serious game

The personal attachments can overwhelm and be destructive with the wrong attitude. Knowing that playing the game can mean real loss cannot be ignored. It doesn’t make it less hurtful, but it allows for survival.

I love being an entrepreneur, but it’s not an easy choice as it’s loaded with lots of what-ifs and WTFs. Hopefully, relating my stories and observations might benefit someone else who paid the price of being an entrepreneur or who is considering becoming one. 

Reservations?

Know you’re not alone; you’re part of a dynamic community. So, if you like what you read and have a “war story” of your own to tell, share it when the opportunity arises. It’s comforting; hell, hopefully a little entertaining, too. There’s a spot at my table for you.