Raising Restaurants

It occurred to me not long ago that there seems to be some tangents between raising kids and running restaurants. In both instances it's our jobs as owners and managers to be patient and calm regardless of how many times we have to repeat ourselves. Regardless of how often we plead to just do it the right way, regardless to how obvious the course of action should be at any given moment. There is little difference between pleading to pick up your room from that of pleading to break down the boxes. It is our job to help the restaurant find it's way, develop into maturity and develop that sense of accountability and character that sets it apart from the others. It is our job, day in and day out to be that role model and just as we do as parents we will have our successes as well as our failures. We too are not perfect and pretending our shortcomings don't exist only makes them more apparent. Our restaurants, like our children will and should, to some extent, be reflections of us.

It's hard and should we as the Owners, General Managers and Chefs feel like the work is done and leave the restaurant to it's own devices things will more than likely go sideways. We want to believe that after that fragile time of infanthood of 2-5 years our restaurant has grown enough to know what to do, or maybe more importantly what not to do. That maybe at 10-15 years down the road we can simply relish in the memories of the challenges and victories of days and years that have come to pass and can sit with our now mature and responsible restaurant and reflect on what it has become. But regardless of it's age it will still need passion. It will still need support. It will still need a guiding light and a commanding voice.

What happens to those restaurants that used to be so successful? Did someone just stop caring? Did they stop growing? Or maybe someone just failed to recognize the restaurant in itself is a living creature. Something that needs to grow and change. Something that needs to laugh and be challenged. Something that needs that extra support when times are tough. Something that will forever need to be invested in just like any relationship.

The job is never done, find satisfaction in the process. But, inevitably, you may want to retire or you will lose the passion and patience to keep after that rambunctious restaurant. So do yourself and your current and future staff a solid and keep an eye open for that person that can carry to torch after you so that the restaurant can carry on. For you, for them for the restaurant, for your community.