What really forces restaurants to close

Your Saturday Soapbox of Aug. 23 had a note regarding the failure of mid-level restaurants with the now standard excuse and cop-out: the economy.

Obviously, single proprietorships with limited capital are at risk.

However, many closings are national chains.

These closings are, in my opinion, not entirely due to the economy but lack of competent management.

The common denominator has been not the economy but an erosion of quality and service.

For quality, the end is obvious. Instead of fresh, prime meat, cheap cuts loaded with tenderizer are substituted.

Food, spending an inordinate amount of time under the heat lamps, is substituted for freshly prepared meals. Vegetables are either overcooked to mush or are served lukewarm to cold.

Service is a prime indicator of the health of the store. When the number of wait staff declines and those remaining are not trained and are slovenly and dirty, the dining experience is ruined.

My late wife and I ate at one of the national chains and were appalled by the wait person's filthy hands. As the dining experience declines, people stop patronizing and the inevitable spiral begins.

A key factor, apparently ignored by the restaurant industry, is the power of women's organizations.

My late wife belonged to about half dozen groups and attended numerous luncheons every month. In addition, she played bridge every week and sometimes twice a week.

The chat at lunch or bridge inevitably turned to food and what about such and such restaurant and what places should be shunned.

Multiply the dozen or so at bridge by the number of people each passed on to others and you can see how patronage can decline.

What has always fascinated me is how often the women would have a luncheon at some banquet facility only to be served atrocious food. What is the proprietor thinking?

Yes, the economy has an effect on the success of an eatery, but only, in many cases, a secondary effect. The die was cast long before failure by poor food and service.

Joseph F. Koenen

Arlington Heights