'Survival of Fittest': Local Restaurants Hit by Economy
Dave Whitney, owner of Mac’s Breakfast Anytime, flips some eggs Tuesday morning on the grill at his restaurant on U.S. 1 in Southern Pines.
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It's been more than a decade since Dave Whitney had to cook at one of his Mac's Breakfast Anytime restaurants.
But four days a week, customers will find him in front of the grill at his location on U.S. 1 in Southern Pines.
"Life has changed," says Whitney, who purchased the business 15 years ago and had grown it to 11 restaurants in seven counties before the recession hit.
Today, the economic downturn has forced Whitney to close or sell all but four of his restaurants.
"The past 18 months have been really bad for us," he says. "All of a sudden, business just bottomed out. We thought we would be somewhat insulated because we try to keep our prices reasonable.
"We still have a really good local following. But it's not enough when your sales drop by a third, which happened to us 12 months ago. People's eating and shopping habits have changed."
Mac's is not alone. In the past month, at least seven Moore County restaurants have closed their doors, including such local institutions as May Street Market and JFR Barn.
"Summer is terrible for business," says Con O'Mahoney, owner of The Bell Tree and O'Mahoney's Pub & Grill in Southern Pines. "June, July and August are always our slowest months. That's why a lot of these restaurants are closed."
Patrick Coughlin, president and CEO of the Moore County Chamber of Commerce, says the restaurant business is tough even in good times because the margins are so thin.
"The restaurant business is inherently challenging," Coughlin says. "There's been so much uncertainty since the recession ended. Despite the recent losses, there are some indications that good things are happening."
Whitney's rebound strategy has been to get rid of the non-Moore County locations, which he says were never profitable, and return to his roots.
"We've come back to our home base, and we're trying to rebuild," he says. "I'm bringing it back to where I started. I just hope there are no more new shining diners coming to town."
Therein lies the rub for Whitney and other restaurateurs in Moore County - they don't mind competing for local dollars among themselves but abhor seeing those dollars leave the county via chain-owned restaurants.
"People need to realize that all the mom-and-pops need their support to survive," he says. "I definitely don't have a problem with people who frequent other local restaurants. There are a lot of good locally owned restaurants in Moore County. Even if you don't support me, support somebody, just not corporate America."
O'Mahoney agrees that many Moore County residents are "forgetting to support their local businesses."
"I know for a fact that the food quality is less at a franchise than what you'll get at a local restaurant," O'Mahoney says. "Would you rather have something nuked in a microwave or made fresh on the grill? I'm not trying to be mean to the chains, but there's something special about eating at a unique, small restaurant where the local ties run deep.
"You may have to pay a little extra. You may have to wait a little longer for your food. But it takes time to cook good, quality food because everything is cooked to order."
Both Whitney and O'Mahoney acknowledge that times are tough for everyone, not just restaurateurs.
"If consumers are eating at home, we understand," Whitney says. "If they're eating elsewhere, we'd welcome them back. We just implore people to support their local businesses so it keeps the money in town. We need their help to survive these hard times."
Like Whitney, O'Mahoney is doing whatever it takes to keep the doors open.
"It's a tough market out there," he says. "Why do you think I cook and bartend sometimes? This is my livelihood. This is how I pay my bills. This is my heart and soul. I do everything I can."
Paul Stone, president and CEO of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, says the industry is a mixed bag in North Carolina at the moment.
"It's really survival of the fittest," Stone says. "The coast and military towns are strong. Raleigh is doing pretty well. And there are other pockets of success throughout the state. But more than anything, the jobs reports are not good. When the economy's down and people aren't working, they'll go out less and spend less money when they do."
Restaurants in North Carolina are a driving force in the state's economy and are projected to have total sales this year of $14.1 billion. They also employ an estimated 395,000 people, or about 10 percent of all workers in North Carolina.
Overall, the U.S. restaurant industry is on track for its best year since 2007, with sales expected to exceed $604 billion in 2011, up 3.6 percent over 2010.
"The restaurant industry overall is and always has been very competitive, and the economic downturn certainly has made for challenging business conditions over the last few years," Annika Stensson, director of media relations for the National Restaurant Association, wrote in an email.
However, driven by stronger same-store sales and traffic levels, and a more optimistic outlook among restaurant operators, the association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) rose above 100 in June, the last month for which statistics are available.
The RPI - a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry - stood at 100.6 in June, up 0.8 percent from May's level of 99.8. In addition, June represented the sixth time in the last seven months that the RPI stood above 100, which signifies expansion in the index of key industry indicators.
"Restaurant operators are optimistic that their sales environment will improve in the months ahead, while their outlook for capital spending also remains strong," says Hudson Riehle, the association's senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group.
Whitney believes that consumers need to ask themselves one question when making their dining decision: "Is it somebody who cares about the community as much as you do?"
Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at tnatt@thepilot.com.
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Comments
okiebarbie 1 year, 8 months ago
FYI...May Street Market didn't close because of the economy. They were lucky enough to have someone make them an offer that they couldn't refuse and they are now leasing their building out to Moore Equine Feed. I wish you would get your facts straight before you ran a story. I personally know these people and know that this is what happened.
theonewithsense 1 year, 8 months ago
The Barn had little choice. DOT is removing their access from US1, the only way to get there will be back roads through the projects.
Interested 1 year, 8 months ago
While DOT may remove US1 access at some point in the future, it still existed when the owners made the decision to close. Clearly, there was more at play in this decision than access to US1.
We have eaten there for decades. Ten years ago you would never have been able to walk in without a reservation without having a lengthy wait. Business in the past few years, however, was a mere fraction of what it once was. I don't recall seeing the restaurant even half full once in the last two years. Shuttering the doors hardly came as a surprise.
mooremedic 1 year, 8 months ago
Yea I totally agree.....years ago the Barn was a great place to eat and was packed all the time, for the past 5-10 years it had really gone downhill. And i'm sorry and won't call any names but food from a can or cheap meats won't bring in patrons, regardless if you're local or chain....there is only a few "mom and pop" restaurants in the area that cook from scratch and have great food....unfortunately I for one can't afford to eat there on any kind of regular basis.
Toda 1 year, 8 months ago
There is a bit more to the JFR BARN story than printed here. Only the "state" knows the whole story...and there were very few options for Pat.
murphysmom 1 year, 8 months ago
I frequently meet a friend very early in the morning to walk our dogs @ the Dog Park in Yadkin Park. We often head to Panera afterwards for coffee & a bagel. We sit outside on the little patio & I bring water & a bowl for our dogs to drink. We don't bother anyone, and enjoy some outside time. If any of the Mom & Pop's were interested in attracting more customers, they need to think outside the box. I'd happily go to Mac's or the Track for bacon & eggs, if it meant I didn't have to leave my dog inside my car on an 80-degree morning. Set up a place for all of us to relax outdoors. We truly won't drive your regulars away...
kgirl 1 year, 8 months ago
I'm sorry, I love animals but I don't want an animal in a restaurant. I get that people may want to take their pet to an outside patio, but if I am sitting beside this person, I don't want to watch their pet go to the bathroom beside the patio. Nothing personal to you, but I'm sure I'm not alone in this opinion.
Courseaire 1 year, 8 months ago
One evening, Julie and Rachel decided to dine out a new Chinese Restaurant. Julie was inseparable from her Pekingese dog 'Pepe'. So they took Pepe along with them to the restaurant. Whenever they went to their usual restaurant the manager's wife looked after Pepe while they ate, and they thought it would be no different this new restaurant.
Julie and her friend Rachel, gave Pepe to the owner to be fed in the kitchen and went to their seats. They ordered their meal, had a few drinks and eventually their meal arrived. They were mortified when it turned out to be their beloved Pepe surrounded by Chop Suey.
Bigguy 1 year, 8 months ago
Coursaire what a blatently stupid story! I bet you had a cousin who knew someone that got serveved by this hooked arm waiter. Horrible urban legend stories like this hurt business. You must be a pretty lonely and pathetic person to post nonsense like this.
Courseaire 1 year, 8 months ago
Eileen was disappointed when she visited Italy to see the Tower of Pisa and it was perfectly straight.
SoPinesNo1 1 year, 8 months ago
Nice one! Eileen, lol.
Courseaire 1 year, 8 months ago
Maybe Bigguy will figure out the 1st joke.
teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago
Hilarious!
MonkeyJunction 1 year, 8 months ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Courseaire 1 year, 8 months ago
Agreed, but I hope they leave the Eileen one, unless it offended an Italian-American.
newstime 1 year, 8 months ago
If it's a service dog like the seeing eye dog, you can't talk that way. You have to show respect.
Bflat 1 year, 8 months ago
The area has lots of restaurants and more seem to open while there are some closing that have been in business a long time. Could it be that the new restaurants are taking away from those that are established?
DaveyNC 1 year, 8 months ago
Any restaurant in this county that doesn't attempt to draw from our substantial number of tourists is missing the boat. Keeping the money in the county is all well and good but bringing money in from outside of the county is how they can truly enrich themselves and the community. No offense, but Mac's and many of the local restaurants seem to cater mostly to the locals. Maybe time to reach out a bit.
TooHot 1 year, 8 months ago
The Barn was in such a crappy location. But their steaks were always great and the salad bar was good. Much much better than the LobSteal
Bflat 1 year, 8 months ago
The Lob Steer has the best steaks and I've been there recently. The service is very friendly and prompt also. Give it another try.
teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago
Beefeaters is even better in my opinion...
BMac 1 year, 8 months ago
I agree 100% with Beefeaters being the best!
handyssc2 1 year, 8 months ago
Too bad The Pilot didn't include the role that local elected officials play in fostering the proliferation of chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel, Panera, Ledo's, Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Olive Garden, etc. etc. Regardless of the state of our economy and the lack of population growth, they keep approving more and more chains. How many restaurants can Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen support? Each chain approved dilutes the pool of diners and costs our locally-owned, independent restaurants $$$. Every time a resident patronizes a chain restaurant or any other chain business like Lowe's over Burney's Hardware, money leaves Moore County. Let's support the people who live and work here, whose kids go to our local schools and who buy their supplies locally and not from some regional warehouse.
HillTopper 1 year, 8 months ago
Amen ... and run WalMart out of town!
JER 1 year, 8 months ago
Any idea why WalMart is successful? People shop there.
DaveyNC 1 year, 8 months ago
I believe that Ledo's, Dominoes and maybe Panera are locally owned. Moe's is, too.
I don't understand the misconception that a chain restaurant doesn't pull money into the local economy. Maybe 8-10% of a franchise's revenues go to the parent company, the rest stays local. That would be a different percentage for a company-owned store like Cracker Barrel or Olive Garden.
JER 1 year, 8 months ago
handyssc2: So it's the freaking government that causes restaurants to fail. I did not know that. I always assumed that people not eating at restaurants caused that to happen. Am I the only one that sees the irony when conservatives, who are always preaching about the free market and how it will save our world, will flip flop when free market enterprise causes them a problem. However, I'm in complete agreement with your idea of supporting local business. I just don't like you trying to shift blame when that doesn't happen
emb6683 1 year, 8 months ago
I guess I was imagining it when I was last in the Southern Pines Mac's a few weeks ago. Could have sworn I saw a microwave on the counter that was getting a lot of use.
But I'll keep coming back. Haven't been to Cracker Barrel yet and no real interest in going.
gloryb 1 year, 8 months ago
The article says at least 7 restaurants have closed in the last month, but names only JFR Barn and May Street Market. Who else has closed the last month?
paradechair 1 year, 8 months ago
Missing from the list: The Bunker (closed couple weeks ago), The Filling Station, closed couple of weeks ago. The Magnolia Inn, almost 5 months now I believe. Then prior, was Players Cafe and remember Hackers? Remember Poppys? I am working on remembering the 7th.
May Street Market was not due to business, but someone buying the property.
As for out door dining. Speaking from experience, it is not always up to the business to have out door seating. ABC laws come into play and so does the Health Department. In a perfect world every restaurant would love to have out door seating or places for pets, but often that location or local ordinance prevents this from occurring.
Right now out door menu boards are banned in the Vilalge so folks cannot display specials etc for the public to see.
Dine local. Privately owned places remember your name, welcome you back and want to go the extra distance.
teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago
NINA'S has my vote.
SoPinesNo1 1 year, 8 months ago
I dine and drink out at the locally owned establishments as often as possible. It's never a matter of choosing chain over local, it's always choosing between dining at home or going out.
sarahbw22 1 year, 8 months ago
I used to go to Mac's almost every weekend when I moved here. The food was horrible and the tables were sticky. We stuck it out for a few more visits hoping it would improve, but it didn't. So we decided to try the Mac's in Aberdeen. It was much cleaner, but still, the food was horrible. So then we tried the Track. We actually really liked the food there, but I don't enjoy eating while there's a line of people waiting to sit and they are staring at my food or hovering over my table. And then one day we show up for breakfast and there's a sign on the door that they are on vacation for like a month. We then tried Sizzling Steaks or Eggs. Again, food was pretty good, but when I go to pay my check and watch the waitress wipe the snot off her nose and then touch someone's toast, we decided to never go back. You want people to spend money instead of save it? Make it worth it!!!
teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago
Track's good...they go on vacation every July.
sarahbw22 1 year, 8 months ago
I really do enjoy their food. I believe they have the best breakfast around. We will be going back, but maybe not during such busy hours. :)
ProudYankee 1 year, 8 months ago
I have tried to support local places over the years, but they make it too darn hard sometimes. Some examples - Fratellos, great food, but I don't have 2 1/2 to 3 hours to spend having dinner. Elliots, the most snotty and pretentious watstaff, I don't need a waiter sneering at me if I order a different glass of wine than what he recommends. There are many others, but you get the idea. There are also good local places, but the national chains are a viable alternative. I have always had good meals at the Bonefish, and Tripps, among others.
teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago
Yeah I'm usually pretty happy with Tripps. Too funny about EOL!
Toda 1 year, 8 months ago
Fine dining with good food has gone as well as many other tried and proven restaurant delivery systems. Food costs, taxes, competition, and customers who are willing to accept more for less. I used to like to eat at Mac's when the quality of the food taste like real food as opposed to Wal-Mart staples. The sausage has an unusual taste that doesn't fit well with palatable food products. Competitiveness in a limited market sacrifices food quality.
The JFR Barn changed significantly when Jamie and Pat bought out Jack Morris' interest prior to his passing. As outlined above, food quality was replaced with cheaper product, inexperienced cooks, and a desire to increase profit margins over years of quality product and service. The Barn went downhill when Pat bought Jamie out and the quality when into a black hole of spending less to recover food and customer service of the Jack, Fred, and Robert days of exceptional food, first class service and a memorial dining experience. Never to be recaptured in a money driven operation over quality.
momof3grls 1 year, 8 months ago
Well I really do enjoy eating at the Mac's in Southern Pines. You get breakfast and a show. They have two cooks there that bounce around and sing and it is really funny because neither one of them can sing but they enjoy there job. And the waitresses are always sweet. I really hate it when we do go out to eat (which is few and far between) that the service really blows. You know that makes the meal. I would rather spend the money local anyway and it seems like people who work local are happier. I mean walk into Chillis and then walk into Beefeaters! At Chillis you get some 19 year old more interested in her friends sitting in the corner both then taking care of you. But walk into Mac's or Beefeaters and you get greated by Ms. Lisa (Mac's) or Grace at Beefeaters.
Aberdeeniac 1 year, 8 months ago
I eat at MACs twice a month, the food great and I NEVER have to wait for a beverage refill.....
mooremedic 1 year, 8 months ago
Mac's does have the best service staff, but to say the food is great leads me to believe you've been eating out of a can your whole life....I love Dave to death, have always supported him and used to like eating there, but the food is just average. the Seven Lakes Mac's and the Pinehurst Mac's have good omelets but other than that.....
teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago
The Carolina hotel has an awesome breakfast...though a bit pricey.
mooremedic 1 year, 8 months ago
Mid Pines has a great Breakfast/Brunch too, but not many of us can afford $25 for breakfast very often....
stevengale 1 year, 8 months ago
I read your article on "Survival.." and I have visited most of the restaurants included in the article. Customer service has a lot to do with the success of a business. I believe the chain restaurants to a better job with their training of employees. I was at a local Italian restaurant. The food was very good. I ask the waitress for a box to take home the remaining part of my meal. She handed me a box and said; " Here is a box for your crap". I wrote a letter to the owner and he never replied. Not only have they lost me as a customer they have also lost the two other people that were with me and probably everyone else that I have told about the incident. I believe that most of these restaurant owners are just bad business people. We had lunch at The Bell Tree, there were only six patrons there, the food was not propery prepared and we had to hunt for our waitress to get our tab. The three ways to be successful in business are "service,service,service". The locals have a lot to learn about customer service. Don't be afraid to fire bad employees.
Toda 1 year, 8 months ago
"Don't be afraid to fire bad employees". Sandhills boulevard AKA Hamburger Alley is a revolving door for many of the restaurants. Quit one job and move down the street and 15 minutes later that same person is working again. One restaurant owners once told me, "if a waitress has all of her front teeth, looks decent, not covered with tattoos, she's hired". The market for "good" employees, is at a premium.
debsalomon 1 year, 8 months ago
What downtown SP needs is an old-fashioned diner, preferably operated by a Greek family. During the wave of Greek immigration in the 1940s-50s families opened restaurants throughout the US, including the South...many passed down to children. Greek restaurateurs know food. This is where politicians went to meet a variety of people ;CEOS and CNAs sip their coffee from thick white mugs at the same counter. As a newspaper reporter, I always headed for the diner for reaction to a national catastrophe. In that atmosphere, people talk, discuss over food that is usually plain, local, fresh, well-priced and GOOD.Mac's is probably the closest...but not the right configuration. The new restaurants that fail quickly may have nice food and do an OK business, but are undercapitalized. Some restaurants ride out a poor economy by abbreviating menus (to cut food costs), being more creative with less-expensive ingredients, allowing customers to share, anything to keep them afloat.
Toda 1 year, 8 months ago
"being more creative with less-expensive ingredients" and that's a problem...cheaper food = less satisfied customers.
Arestorer 1 year, 8 months ago
I think it is just the Market....I warned everyone when the Resturant population of the county hit 200..Theres even more now..There are only so many people going to eat-out..
Jibbs 1 year, 8 months ago
Best service in the area? Easy. Valenti's in Vass. Great food as well. Ask for Ms. Georgia's tables.
Jane123 1 year, 8 months ago
I want to do business with the local establishments, but time and time again I am left feeling unappreciated and my dollars spent with out receipt of anything equal its value.
Many times I am not the only decision maker when choosing a place to eat, my teenagers have a say in where we go and with sports we may need to eat out late yet this narrows down the choices significantly. Many of the local eateries close at 9-930 during the week and anytime after 830 your subjected with employees who have emotionally already left the building so we do not choose the downtown restaurants as much as we used to.
While some of the local establishments offer unique menu offerings there is not enough of these choices in a casual atmosphere. With few retaurants offering anything new or different it is easy to forget these establishments when choosing our destination. I understand advertising is expensive but they still need to get their message out to people like me, there is nothing to entice my family to wait longer, pay more and many times receive service not quite up to standard. I don't think the local establishments understand what a local patrons such as myself looks for in a dining choice. I consider myself middle age, married with late teens upper income level and with expendable cash however, my family wants good service, good atmosphere, clean and updated, along with a variety of entrees that will entice the whole family and not too mention good wine!
mikeguinn81 1 year, 8 months ago
dave forgot where he came from a long time ago......too many vegas trips and lottery tickets....letting people take charge that dont know ish
DaveyNC 1 year, 8 months ago
I ate at Mac's last month and decided it would be my last time. The service there is always excellent, the food is, at best, as good as a bad day at a Waffle House. I had 2 scrambled eggs, etc. The eggs looked must have come from a robin, they were so small. You can go right across the street to Biscuitville and get better eggs.
As I said above, most revenue from a franchised chain restaurant stays local, so those restaurants need your business, too. Moe's, Ledo's, Dominoe's, etc. I think Panera is a franchise, too, though don't know if it is locally owned.
It's silly to favor a locally owned restaurant over a chain just because it is local. The employees of all of these places are local residents and the money they earn gets spent locally, too.
mikeguinn81 1 year, 8 months ago
this is what happens when you get to think your too big......i worked for this company a long time if the food is prepared with care you cant beat it but when you stop caring this is what happens
teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago
Probably powdered eggs anyway...haha
fugitiveguy 1 year, 8 months ago
I used to have breakfast at Mac's at least once a week. Then they had the bright idea to switch to "Pepsi products". Diet pepsi? YUCK!!
KevinTierney 1 year, 8 months ago
There are so many things wrong with this article. First, Mac's was trying to be a chain in other small towns. The reporter never points that out. Secondly, chains pay the same local taxes, hire the same local employees, etc, etc., that local businesses do. So exactly what money is being taken out of the county? The reporter also fails to explore that point. However, the last time I was in town I had breakfast at Mac's and went to the Bell Tree. I love local places over chains.
theoldguy 1 year, 8 months ago
Mr O'Mahoney of the Bell Tree makes a very good point. It is most important that we support our local businesses (however, a number of the "Chain" restaurants are in fact franchises owned by local residents.) The biggest problem that the Mom and Pop's face is consistency of food and service. The franchise restaurants all bring in their corporate trainers and spend a week or two ironing out the bugs before opening. It's an "unfair" advantage that maybe is a good lesson to the other restaurateurs. Frankly, the front of the house and back of the house talent pool in this area is woeful at best...and with a restaurant on every corner, it's no wonder that consistency is lacking from night to night. It's not like you can have your "A" team working 7 nights a week. Maybe being open less hours would go to solving the consistency problem....but that produces a loss of revenue, etc and it's a Catch 22 situation. But, what is really needed is a restaurant to find it's niche and not deviate. If you look at the successful restaurants in the area, that's what separates them from the folks just hanging on and waiting for September. That being said, even in the best of times, there are just too many restaurants for a population of 25,000 people to support. I wish them all luck
mikeguinn81 1 year, 8 months ago
wake up and realize if you know what your doing you can make money regardlee...how many times is mcdonalds dead......never
Jane123 1 year, 8 months ago
How can one say there is an "unfair" advantage over local establishments? Local buisness could operate similiar to a franchise/chain businesses and these types of systems into their business plan, yet they don't? Just like we see in the franchise setting, food/labor dollars are set aside to enable test runs to work out the bugs by working through a full training schedule prior to opening yet we see very few of our local restaurants taking the time to put forth every effort to make a good first impression. How many restaurants have we seen downtown fail? After Brooks was remodled into the first owner operated Bell Tree with a fortune spent, it was obvoius the kitchen was too small to operate the menu and the amount of seating. The service staff was thoroughly untrained. The atmosphere was beautiful yet, they did nothing that worked with the look and feel of what they did inside the building.
What's the old boy scout saying about "being prepared" ? Why put blame out that the big ole chains are taking the business? Why not look at what each of the local establishments and what they offer and what the value is and start there?
mikeguinn81 1 year, 8 months ago
WELL SAID JANE... FIFTEEN YEARS YOU SHOULD HAVE IT TOGETHER BY NOW.....TRAINING IS THE KEY BUT IF YOU DONT HAVE POLICIES IN PLACE AND A FIRM BELIEVING IN YOUR OWN PRODUCT YOUVE LOST ALREADY