Here at Kitchen 1924, we have been able to make some concessions that have adversely affected only a few of our customers. Some of these alterations included the removal of our roof-top helipad and the elimination of our 14,347 gallon lobster tank.

The point is that we may be here 10 more months or 10 more years, but none of us were naive to the trials and tribulations of this business before we opened in a strip shopping center in East Dallas.

Work your ass off everyday, focus on the product AND the execution, and have a little fun.

“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
-H.S.T.

Btw, Scene?? Closing??? OMG!!! Say it ain’t so!! I love Scene!!!

~fainting~

Local, fresh, simple tends to save them all. There’s a great many places that have opened in this town in the past 4 years, and in the past 2 in particular, that seem to want to outdo the previous new opening. 15 bucks for 3 sliders, “we filter our own water,” artisan brioche with goat milk bread comp’ed, organic pasta with flour imported from Michaelangelo’s grandfather’s farm, and on and on. Then they wonder why people look askance at 35 dollars for pappardelle or 17 bucks for fried chicken pieces on a Caesar salad.

Local, fresh, simple — you can do a hell of a lot with that. And this “recession” is about to show those whose egos are bigger than their knowledge of the dining/paying public that’s what it’s all about, Alfie.

Compete for my dollar, not to outdo the place down the block.

Hungry/Broke: unfortunately the rice line at Sam’s won’t help much with your budget until Vietnam, Cambodia and a few other Asian countries begin exporting rice again. Thailand is benefiting from this situation as they continue to export rice. Even the prices of California rice are increasing as the demand increases. Take a trip to a large Asian grocery store in Richardson/Garland. You can still get a 25lb bag of rice for under $20, and there is plenty to go around.

Ang: I wish I knew where you worked, so I could dine there and tip you well. Having worked in the industry before, I can feel your pain. I was blessed to have a primary career while I worked in restaurants/bars, so I was less affected than my coworkers with drops in traffic. But I know you may not want to tell us where, in case your bosses read this. I’ll come and see what else is open in the building where Scene is located. I’ll ask for your section when I’m there.

If you dine out and have some disposable income or an expense account, remember those who take care of your dining experience. Don’t penalize them because of what a chef or owner decides on prices. Reward them for the experience they provide you and reward them for the experience you wish they provided. They will remember you the next time and do better.

My favorite ‘What planet are you living on’ comment regarding this alleged much-ado-about-nothing ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ economic crisis was recently made by Dallas’ David Johnson. When the ‘downturn’ was mentioned and the word inflation used, his comment went something like this: That despite food and gas being higher (what’s that old Rita Coolidge song, ‘Higher and Higher’?) that the cost of a 60 inch flat screen TV had gone down maybe 40%.

After Johnson shared this reality check wisdom with me, I told that good news to 1) My neighbor who, on $45 grand a year is raising two pre-teen boys while her husband is in Iraq.
2) A waitress who like ang above is seeing her income plummet as people cut back spontaneous dining.
3) A restaurateur partner investor acquaintance who is about to fold after standing room only biz for 2 years
4) The female truck driver who has had to sell her rig and work at a fraction of the income for a commercial company after gas prices made being an independent impossible.
5) Me who watched my bill at Sam’s for items that might have been $75 last fall costing now $118.

But Johnson was correct; the flat screens at Sam’s have become far more affordable. It all balances out in the end. Right? Right??

Problem is, there’s been this shift, just over the last few years, to where everything in that category has a BASIC entree price of $12.95 minimum. That’s if you order the grilled chicken and it goes up from there. Who can afford this? Not me and my husband, and not my parents, either (all of us gainfully employed). My folks wandered off the beaten path into a non-chain the other day (uninformed, as parents sometimes are) and were so caught off guard by the prices that they both ordered salad.

I don’t know what the solution is. The local food supply Nancy mentions is a good idea for many reasons. My issue is, eating something well-prepared and interesting should not be a $50-an-evening luxury. I can’t revert to Chili’s or Taco Cabana for the sake of my health. I’d say we could get more creative in the kitchen at home, but milk costs more than gasoline.

I guess I’ll go stand in the rice line at Sam’s.

Established places with established clientele and regulars will weather (with some pain) this downturn without diminishing their prices or offering. Ill-conceived places that didn’t understand the Dallas market to begin with or thought they could bring a NYC or LV business model and make it work in this market, will fail faster and harder due to this downturn.

As you said, it is a business first and businesses suffer and fail if they fail to understand their market going in.