On Fine Dining, The Chains and Cedar Rapids Place In The World * * * A Facebook post came out last night from Zins, an restaurant in downtown Cedar Rapids. The letter - its Facebook followers - was quite direct, saying the restaurant needs 12 more customers each day to keep the doors open and the plan in place. This is quite rare, especially in the social media world where we all put our best face out there for online consumption -- this is doubly-true for businesses. My story tonight is about this but also taking the larger view. Cedar Rapids has a reputation in the food world as a paradise for chain restaurants. Just go up 1st Avenue or Collins Road on the east side and down Edgewood Road on the west side. How difficult is it for independent restaurant operators to draw in a sustainable and consistent crowd? With downtowns rebuild from the Flood of 2008, is the area oversaturated with upscale dining? Im meeting with the owners of Zins but also with others who run fine-dining establishments in the city, as well as one of the chefs and former owners of Blend (Do you remember Blend - the fusion eatery that survived the Flood of 2008 and a recession but closed soon after?). This isnt a piece to beat up national chain restaurants or canonize small businesses. (However, I will note that Im proud to work for one of the few, the very few, locally and independently-owned TV stations in the country at KCRG. Our major decisions are made right here in Cedar Rapids...and thats something so rare in my industry). Its a good piece about patterns, habits, disposable income and what the market can truly hold. Tonight at 10. Hope you can swing by and catch it. Thanks as always! - Chris
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:54:33 +0000
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