This column’s been around for 10 years now.
Which made us wonder: “What’s changed in the last decade, for good or ill, in the local restaurant industry?”
Ten years ago …
Food trucks were nowhere. Nor was third-party delivery dashing.
The Food Network had just started making everybody an expert. Diners were snapping pictures of their food, but social media groups for posting them were few and small.
Chefs, and there were plenty of them, sought advancement by job-hopping. Today, more of them have left the industry for good.
Cheney Brothers, to be part of Performance Food Group sometime in 2025, broke ground for a Punta Gorda distribution facility.
And Let’s Eat! Englewood threw its first two-week promotion. Back then, the “Culinary Adventure in Paradise” featured $23 three-course dinners and $12 two-course luncheons.
WHAT DO THEY SAY?For many, the economy has been the biggest thing to change.
Manasota Key multi-restaurateurs Sue and Rocket Atamanchuk said, “We offer insurance to everybody working 30 hours or more. And our flood insurance alone has skyrocketed to well over six figures a year. So, our fixed costs have gone up before anyone even walks in the door.”