Though I’ll confess to liking Waffle House shrug-outta-hecks

  • Des [she/her, they/them]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    i know they would shut our ass down and regulate it out of existence on day 2 but would be cool to buy an out of business restaurant

    and just make it a community cafeteria. have rotating guest chefs. minimal operating fees just to keep the lights on. just a place to get a meal and socialize if you want

    @LeylaLove@hexbear.net can be first chef this is her idea

  • PKMKII [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    Another issue is that many of these restaurants are now owned by private-equity groups that borrowed a lot of money for their acquisitions and are not seeing the cash flow they needed to come out even. TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Hooters of America, and P.F. Chang’s were all purchased by private-equity groups in the last decade. TGI Fridays has 58% fewer restaurants than it did in 2019, and Hooters had 23% fewer, according to data from industry research firm Technomic.

    astronaut-2 “Wait, it’s the fault of greedy capitalists bleeding companies dry for short-term profits?”

    astronaut-1 “Always has been”

  • NephewAlphaBravo [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    One of the biggest things I miss about my college days is literally just the cafeteria. It was so nice to just walk over whenever I want, not have to get out my wallet, grab some food (or not!), and sit around as long as I like or fuck off immediately.

  • being waited on blows. gimme a cafeteria, a deli, a buffet, or a takeout place anyday. I’m not a little dainty lordling playing aristocrat for treat time.

    I’ll fill my own drinks, get my own silverware, bus my own table, and generally clean up after myself.

    hell my favorite place in town does takeout only and only offers 3 choices a week and is only open for lunch. they absolutely crush everybody else by offering the best deal with the best food and the highest quality ingredients. you walk up to a hole in a door and get your food through it.

    they also have the benefit of not being purchased by private equity speculators now trying to squeeze their balls to cover the juice on the action.

  • AmericaDeserved711 [any]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    I find the whole concept of restaurants disgusting. I hate being waited on, especially knowing the server has to pretend to be nice while secretly loathing their job. And knowing how toxic and abusive kitchens are in most restaurants, no fucking thanks. I don’t like being in a position where other people have to serve me just because I have money (well, I don’t have money, but I wouldn’t eat at restaurants even if I did)

    • redtea
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      1 day ago

      Always quick to blame ‘rising’ labour costs.

      Nothing to do with the fact (and I don’t use that rhetorically) that restaurant prices have gone up at least a third, the portions are smaller and the quality of ingredients is down. I refuse to go to many restaurants now. It’s not just the chain places, either.

      The scary thing is that service work in restaurants plugged a big employment gap after the west was deindustrialised. God knows what’s coming when these restaurants collapse. Then all that private equity will be looking to asset strip the next industry.

      The future isn’t looking pretty.