When I was younger I worked in restaurants. Started out cleaning tables when I was 14. A Greek diner in my town didn’t care about labor laws. They were real assholes but I liked the fact I could go in on the weekends and work and make money. Eventually I ended up waiting tables at a decent steak house in town and I shit you not I stayed there for at least a decade. I finished school, got a “real” job but since the restaurant only opened at night I continued to work there. It was good money, all cash but of course you make friends with the coworkers and customers. I did stay in touch with the owners and some workers but as life got busier we dropped out of touch.

I’ve been thinking about restaurants a lot. I drive around and I see the larger chains adapting but the small family run ones, like the one I worked at for so long, either shut down or running at limited capacity they don’t know wtf to do. Now with the crappy weather setting in the outside dining a few places were doing will be ending. How many peoples first jobs were in the restaurant industry. It really is a massive hit to a lot of people.

I have actually been considering showing up at my old family run restaurant see how everyone is but if they are bumming out and struggling I don’t want make them uncomfortable explaining all that to me. My wife and I rarely go out to eat even prewuhan. Just busy and tired but there were a few local restaurants we would go once in a while. I think it’s easier to go to a restaurant than it is to go to church right now, with the laws they impose but that’s not saying much. My understanding is 1 in 6 restaurants is or will be closing but someone I heard on the financial news put it at 2 in 6. Meanwhile stock in the corporate run restaurants has been doing ok as they can weather this shit and have drive throughs and what not every where.

Oh well just passing thoughts. If I hadn’t worked in restaurants so long and seen so many kids get there first jobs or so many ladies support there kids waiting tables it probably wouldn’t bother me as much as it does.