The Restaurant Bubble

Nick has been talking about a restaurant bubble for a while now. It seems like more restaurants opened in 2016 than ever before, and not just corner cafés or pizza shops, note worthy restaurants with name brand chefs and cool concepts.

So it was nice to get some validation in this thrillist article.

I highly recommend reading it if you are in or connected to the restaurant industry in anyway.

I think Atlanta’s bubble will continue for longer than the bubble in San Francisco mostly because our labor costs have not been forced higher through regulation only a tight labor market. Everyone I know is trying to find cooks, decent cooks, who will show up on time and work hard and fast when it’s busy.

We aren’t new at 8 years old, but we also are not struggling. I’d like to say we are an aspiring institution.  I think we offer a unique experience and atmosphere, one that only gets better with age. We are not the hottest new concept (poke ramen cocktail bar), but that’s comforting to me. Trends change, but beer, beer will be here forever. Eventually folks will have tried all the new restaurants and it will be time for them to come back to their tried and true old favorites.

Babette’s Café where I had my first job just turned 24 and is still kicking along just fine thankyouverymuch! So I’m looking forward to at least another sixteen years, baby!

Bring on the bursting bubble!

It will make the good restaurants stronger and weed out the weaker ones that you won’t miss anyway.