In this week’s Last Supper, I spend some time exploring how a few of the newer restaurants are dealing with the current economic climate and how they plan to address the new year. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the room to discuss a couple ethical issues that have been rolling around in my head for the last month.
As I mention in my column, I had a little attitude adjustment re. my view towards recent restaurant closings. Oddly enough, this change in my views was concurrent with the closing of Lucier.
Up till that point I had not thought about the interconnectedness of Portland restaurants. Then it hit me: the dining community in Portland is very much like an ecosystem. One part relies on the other and when one link in the chain is broken (like a species being lost) there is the possibility for a debilitating chain reaction. Therefore, if a restaurant goes under, its suppliers—from food to equipment—have lost revenue. How do you make up revenue? Raise prices or decrease inventory. Either way, the remaining restaurants are left holding the bag.
There are so many industries that are linked to a healthy restaurant community that a significant loss of restaurants or bars could be devastating far beyond a small community of mouthy foodies.
As a “fer instance,” here’s an e-mail, I recently received:
I enjoyed your article about how restaurants have been affected by the state of the economy. However, you left a HUGE industry out of the mix: not only are the food and equipment industries affected by restaurant closures, but there are 60 or more wine distributors that have been affected. In addition, several Wine Bars, bottle shops, local wineries, and grocery (retail) wine departments, in Portland that have been hugely affected by the economic downturn…
Carrie Harmon
Sales at Vinum Importing
Alright, so maybe I’m coming to this realization a little late in the game. Either way, I’m willing to admit that statements I’ve made previously on this blog were short sighted at best. Needless to say my eyes have been opened. So, what’s this got to do with Lucier?
Well, I’d noticed how rabidly against Lucier so many people in the Portland foodie community had become. Yeah, I get it. The place was apparently pretentious, snooty, and high priced. I can’t make a judgment on the food, having never had the chance to eat there, but whether it was good or not, I’m baffled by folks on food forums and blogs who seemed to take pleasure in the fact of Lucier’s closing. For the reasons I’ve mentioned above (and others) this really shouldn’t be something to be happy about.
But this is where the ethical issues come in. As eaters in Portland, what is our responsibility to the restaurant industry? Do we have one? Is it important for us to eat widely in our city, giving our money to local eateries regardless of their décor or food quality?
And what about those places that had survived because the economy had been strong enough to support them, but are now sinking into the mire? You know, the ones where the food/service/atmosphere is just so-so? How should we view these places now? Do we slam them on food blogs and give them bad reviews on the Mercury restaurant listings page? Or, do we keep our mouths shut?
Is our dining pleasure at this moment more important than a healthy restaurant community, or vice-versa? Is there a way to help foster a healthy dining ecosystem without sacrificing quality, or are we forced to sit on the sidelines and hope for the best?
What do you think, Blogtownies? Your opinions are greatly appreciated.
Ah, welcome to the economic concept of the multiplier effect!
When last checked, restaurants are a service industry. If people do not want a service, sorry, but that’s the way it goes. As for an ethical responsibility, aren’t business owners aware of the risks they incur by choosing to go into business in the first place? And what about the opportunity cost to other industries as folks decide to spend more in restaurants? That money is not being spent on other goods or services, right? What about jobs in those industries, and the businesses that serve them? How many other industries do we have an ethical responsibility to prop up?
I dunno, it seems almost certain a lot of restaurants will go the way of “Maude’s Olde Candle Shoppe” and the like. I’m not so sure they had realistic business plans to begin with or analyzed the competition well enough to compete in a variety of business climates.
All those wine shops/bars/distributors – really, we need all those when you can buy a $6 bottle at New Seasons? Didn’t these companies take things like that into consideration when opening the businesses, or were they just banking on ever-rising home values, endless jobs and equity locusts?
Portland has always had an inferiority complex and perhaps the culinary “scene” here gave people something to crow about for a while. As long as Ringside doesn’t go anywhere, I’ll be fine.
Here is a novel idea: Eat at the places that are good. Yes, some good wholesalers may be selling to the bad restaurants, and it would be a pity to see them fail, on the other hand, the places that are good are buying from someone too, and they could use the business.
Life is too short to pay too much to eat bad food with poor service just because it keeps people employed, especially with so many good restaurants around.
“I’d noticed how rabidly against Lucier so many people in the Portland foodie community had become.”
What is this “had become”, Patrick? If you really hadn’t seen the anti-Lucier writing on the wall a solid month or three before there opening, you’re even more brain-dead than your writing suggests.