QUESTION How brick and mortar stores meeting their ends ?

[AppMan]

I was today in one of the fast foods that is not that much famous , and it was empty all the time I was there, in fact I felt from the way they were preparing my meal they didn't have any customer all that day. I see such restores and restaurants everyday , yet I never see any of them closing their doors, how come they are able to cover all the expenses which usually variy from 5 to 10 k per month plus at least 3 employees there.
Any experience ?

 

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[BigRomeDawg]

When I worked at Tim Hortons, I heard some back-office chat that our store was losing a ton of money. But the owner's other stores made enough to keep ours afloat. He was betting on the location improving long-term. I think he was correct, since that location is still there today, over a decade later.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

A few years ago I met the owner of a Mexican restaurant. He said they were having a really bad year, but he didn't care, because it was a passion project and his other business (technology) was so successful that he could float the whole restaurant just for fun.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

Many restaurants make the majority of their revenue in just 2-3 days of the week. Sometimes even in just a few hours like a Friday/Saturday evening rush.

 

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[The Sandman]

Retail, especially restaurants, have always had a fair bit of turnover. But as a class of business they still provide value so the successful ones will remain.

 

[Cool_Llama]

Bricks and mortar businesses are a failure factory. Market risk, high investment costs, physical overhead, employees, bank loans – a recipe for failure for all but the savviest businessmen.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The restaurant business is hell for hands-on entrepreneurs. The only way I'd get involved in one is as a silent partner, which is a shame because I always see great opportunities in the space. Managing the day-to-day while giving up your weekends is too high of a price for a venture that tends to scale poorly.

 

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[Parks]

Many restaurants make the majority of their revenue in just 2-3 days of the week. Sometimes even in just a few hours like a Friday/Saturday evening rush.

That's something I never thought of... Very insightful. A local pancake restaurant near me is closed on Monday's & Tuesday's... They are always packed every morning and are only open 6am-1pm..

So open only 5 days a week and only so many hours open each day... Yet over 100 restaurant locations with 100m+ revenue. With what you said sounds smart. Weekends definitely the major revenue point.

 

[AppMan]

When I worked at Tim Hortons, I heard some back-office chat that our store was losing a ton of money. But the owner's other stores made enough to keep ours afloat. He was betting on the location improving long-term. I think he was correct, since that location is still there today, over a decade later.

So it seem many of these owners are wealthy in the first place and can bear loss for a couple of years without going bankrupt. good point