For 25 years, Mike Georgopoulos — better known to his friends as “Mikey G” — has built a legacy in San Diego, opening 30 restaurants in the last decade alone. But today, the veteran entrepreneur says the California dream is being choked by a math problem that no longer adds up.
With raw material costs rising sharply and energy bills up 24%, Georgopoulos said a staggering 2% cost is being ripped straight from the bottom line before a single burger hits the grill. In an industry where a 5% profit margin is considered a win, Georgopoulos warns that owners are now “trapped” in a “vicious cycle” of record gas prices and what he calls predatory regulations that have them “working for peanuts” just to keep the doors open…