Shelves empty like Soviet Super Markets?
Who Cares!? The Elites got theirs, that is all that matters.
Posted on 03/04/2013 11:31:50 AM PST by Kaslin
High gasoline prices coupled with 2% payroll tax hikes is going to take a bite out of restaurant sales this year. For some chains the slump has already started.
Consider Darden Restaurants, the owner of Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steak House. Darden Restaurant Traffic is down an average 4.5, with Red Lobster leading the pack down 7.5%.
Smaller Plates, Cheaper Items at Olive Garden
At Olive Garden, Smaller, Cheaper Plates are on the way, along with new uniforms including a more contemporary black button-down shirt and black slacks.
Don't worry, endless breadsticks remain.
Olive Garden is also creating a new logo and toning down its the "Old World Style" Tuscan stonework and wooden archways that have been a signature part of Olive Garden restaurants since 2000.
Saturation Everywhere
The main problem is saturation. I see endless miles of restaurants on strips nearby. Those restaurants include Steak & Shake, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Subway, China Express, Chili's, Chipotle, Panera, and other chains intermixed with some local eateries.
If the problem is saturation (and it is), spending money on architecture style changes, creating a new logo, and the new uniform changes is a waste of money, especially the architectural revisions.
People want good food, fast friendly service, and good value.
To pick up market share, restaurants need to lower prices, not make logo changes. And lower prices will take a bite out of earnings. One final point: as soon as restaurants stop expanding (and they will), the hiring will stop with it.
Those who thought Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was not serious in his pledge to defeat deflation (and destroy the Yen in the process) need think again.
Haruhiko Kuroda (Abe's nominee to head Japan's central bank) pledges to do Whatever Needed to Combat Japan Deflation.
Haruhiko Kuroda, nominated to be the next Bank of Japan governor, said that a central bank under his leadership would do whatever is needed to combat 15 years of deflation.Mother of all Pyrrhic Victories
“I would like to make my stance clear that we will do whatever we can do,” Kuroda, the president of the Asian Development Bank, said in a confirmation hearing in the parliament in Tokyo today.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s nomination of Kuroda has raised expectations for more aggressive monetary easing to revive the world’s third-biggest economy after Masaaki Shirakawa exits the job on March 19. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan, the largest party in the upper house, has signaled it will back Kuroda, easing his passage through a split parliament.
Kuroda said in an interview this month that falling prices exacerbate real debt burdens, and give an incentive to companies and households to postpone spending. Consumer prices excluding fresh food fell 0.2 percent in January. The price gauge hasn’t advanced 2 percent -- the central bank’s new target -- for any year since 1997, when a national sales tax was increased.
My two favorites: Bonefish and Hooters.
I agree. We went to a Red Lobster recently. The food was dreadful. We had not been there for six months or so because the last time we went, the food was dreadful. And they messed up my order. I think they discounted my order or maybe gave it o us for free, but even a free meal could not make up for the poor food quality. We went to an Olive Garden last week. It was our first visit there since May of last year. The food was not so bad, but the service was lacking. We were not given silverware until our salad arrived, and we had to ask for it. We were asked if we wanted more breadsticks when our meal arrived though we had never been served any breadsticks. The tea was good. I can’t remember if hubby went without tea for very long. The prices were high for the quality of service.
Hubby and I prefer a local Mexican restaurant over all the chain restaurants. We love the food. The service is usually the best though we cringe sometimes when we have a particular waitress. And it is a lot cheaper than other places. The biggest problem there is the long wait to get in. The food is sooo worth it.
It should say smaller plates, same or higher prices. We are continually amazed at the shrinking portions at restaurants- sometimes up to a third on the next visit, yet the price is same or higher. Meals I used to never be able to finish and always brought leftovers home I can now finish and still be hungry! It is so obvious and ridiculous- like they think you don’t notice.
We have three small family-style places nearby. I’m in a cluster of five small towns. The places always had good breakfast and lunch customers. Not very many now. And a new Mexican place opened up. They have no customers!
If they don’t speak English, then it’s a fair bet their illegal. No thanks. I don’t knowingly support those places. Last time I went out to a restaurant was last summer was to treat a relative who did some gratis repairs for us.
“I have not set foot in one of those places since they decided not to run ads on conservative shows. ‘m gone for good.”
Same here. I’m in L.A. and we have endless genuine Italian, seafood restos which would make these fake and generic libtard, Obama ass-kissing restaurants look like food trucks. Never been to an Olive Garden even before the Iraq War. Their food sucks. As an American Italian, it’s insulting to go to Olive Garden.
even cheap fast food has seen a decline in business from us
With the cost of food rising and customer traffic decreasing at a number of restaurants, please be wary of places that are cutting corners on food costs by keeping food too long. I’ve run into this a couple of times recently. Then you get to spend the night wondering IF you’ll (1) be fine, (2) be up all night with some pretty revolting symptoms, or (3) end up in the emergency room.
The very moment that I concluded that Olive Garden and Red Lobster were Obama supporters, we became ex-customers.
Frankly, my bride makes far better Italian food than Olive Garden.... and other than lobster, I provide better and fresher seafood than Red Lobster ever has or ever will.
When we are out of town, we usually have our Airstream trailer, a full freezer and our BBQ... we no longer need restaurants. Although, we do occasionally get an ice cream at ‘mom & pop’ type restaurants....my dog insists on it. ;>)
I take my vendors there whenever a new one (or prospect) comes to town. Then I let them pick up the tab. They rave about the mix of great quality, service and pricing. I tell them that we expect the same from our vendors.
If you're hungry for Italian food, don't go to Olive Garden, go to Lomeli's in Brea.
Didn’t know Longhorn steakhouse was part of that group but, I’ll add it to my list of places where the food and service suck.
Shelves empty like Soviet Super Markets?
Who Cares!? The Elites got theirs, that is all that matters.
I’ve never been to a Longhorn. Stopped going to Red Lobster due ti heavy overseasoning decades ago. No Olive Garden for a decade or so as pasta meals are supposed to be inexpensive (they certainly are when cooked at home).
Don’t worry, endless breadsticks remain.
Those are breadsticks?
BINO!
bump
Parasites http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainNews/eating-terrible-parasites/story?id=10879111&page=5
A tapeworm was eating her brain, it is difficult to avoid the worm, which usually only infects pigs. Nakaji said Alvarez’s hygiene habits were probably not to blame. It was more likely that someone, somewhere, had served her food tainted with the feces of a person infected with the pork tapeworm parasite.
What’s Eating You? 8 Terrible Parasites
Lauren Cox and Dan Childs
ABC News June 11, 2010
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainNews/eating-terrible-parasites/story?id=10879111#.UOlndh3l9Lo
2 years after visiting Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa, a Californian had the feeling of something squiggling under the white of his eye.
It was the Loa Loa Worm or Loaiasis. A chrysops fly bites an infected person and transfers it to another. The larvae grow into worms, procreate and lay more larvae that travel in the blood stream.
The larvae will grow for 6 months and then start moving around. They last for from 5 to 10 years.
They have a drug for it.
The population with this is mostly returning Peace Corps volunteers.
There are high rates of parasitic infection in the U.S., especially among African American and Hispanic Americans living in poverty.
Toxocariasis is a parasite that is passed from dog or cat feces that infects 3 million African Americans living in poverty. It is associated with asthma and developmental delays. It is possible to live your entire life with this disease and never have it diagnosed.
Each year more than 700 people infected with Toxocara experience permanent vision loss.
Toxoplasmosis and congenital cytomegalovirus can cause deafness and psychomotor retardation.
A Bot Fly
A woman finds out that she has been infested with a Bot Fly from Belize. These flys bite a person and lay eggs in them. The larvae grow spikes to prevent their host from removing them.
Fish Tapeworms
A good Sashimi cook can detect the worms in fish and discard them. If not…
This guy in Chicago has a 9 foot tapeworm in his stomach caused by uncooked seafood. The worm can grow up to 25 feet long and sucks up the vitamin B12 in your body leaving you with anemia.
Taenia Solium
A woman is diagnosed with a brain tumor that causes balance problems, difficulty in swallowing and numbness in her left arm. A surgeon goes in and finds a Tape Worm growing in her brain.
This was a Tape Worm that is common to pigs and if you eat at a restaurant that has a food preparer that doesn’t wash his hands after wiping his infected ass, you get it. Over 20 percent of neurology offices in California have seen it.
Cute…”a person slapping lettuce on your sandwich with a few extra add-ons there”.
Lice and Bedbugs
The city of New York is infested with Bed Bugs on their subway trains.
International travel has been attributed to the proliferation ob Bed Bugs. The Bed Bugs can carry dozens of infectious diseases from Smallfox to the common flu.
Think about this the next time you lay your head in a movie theater.
Guinea Worm
This one is cute. A worm infects a human and reproduces in the intestines. The female worms move to the surface of the skin and grow 3 feet in length.
While most of us look at the symbol of medicine as a snake wrapped around the cross. There are others that believe that the Guinea Worm is what formed this depiction of what we think of a snake wrapped around the cross as a depiction of healthcare.
Malaria
Each year 350 to 500 million people catch this disease. 1 million a year die from it. The disease blocks the blood supply to vital organs.
Chagas Disease
The kissing bug is attracted to a victims face. When it bites you, you end up rubbing its parasite into your open wound. You feel a fever, fatigue, body aches and headache, the chronic phase of the disease can be deadly. At its worst, the disease can lead to heart failure and sudden death.
8 to 11 million victims live in Mexico and Central America. Up to a million live in the United States.
Salons make business of Head Lice removal
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4120482&page=1#.UOmTbB3l9Lo
A place in Chicago has opened up shop removing hair lice from people. In their first month, they had over 300 customers. Expect to pay $500 for the treatment.
Diseases
http://www.onearth.org/node/2264
Here’s a cute one, Dengue Fever is back in the U.S. after a 65 year absence. Someone with the disease gets bitten by a mosquito, and that mosquito bites you. You end up with a headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands and a rash.
There are an estimated 50 million cases of dengue fever with 500,000 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever requiring hospitalization each year. In Matamoros Mexico, near Brownsville Texas, 78 percent of the people have been exposed to Dengue.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2543761/posts
Whooping Cough declared an epidemic in Calif
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2540308/posts?q=1&;page=1
Children receive immunizations before they can attend school, both legal and illegal, and legal immigrants and visitors must have immunizations before stepping foot in our country. But, the vast majority of people handling our food, people that pick our food, slaughter our meat, prepare it as frozen or canned foods, or people that work in restaurants and markets are illegal aliens and have never had any immunization or tests done on them.
Diphtheria, a respiratory disease caused by bacteria will give you a sore throat and low-grade fever. Complications are: Airway obstruction, coma, and death if not treated. It is spread by coughing and sneezing.
Hib is a severe bacterial infection, occurring primarily in infants and children under 5 years, it symptoms are Meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, epiglotittis (a severe throat infection), skin infections, and arthritis. Hib meningitis causes death in one out of 20 children and permanent brain damage in 10 to 30 percent of survivors. Transmission is from coughing and sneezing.
Hepatitis A is a disease of the liver noticeable by yellow skin or eyes, tiredness, stomach ache, loss of appetite and nausea. Young children may not have symptoms and because it is spread by fecal-oral route it is a concern for caregivers. It is also spread by food handlers not washing their hands.
Hepatitis B is a liver disease similar to Hepatitis A but the younger the person, the greater the likelihood of staying infected and having life-long liver problems such as scarring of the liver and live cancer. It may be spread through contact with the blood of an infected person or by having sex with an infected person.
Measles is a virus that grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and in the cells that line the lungs. Symptoms are: Rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Complications are Diarrhea, ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis, seizures and death.
Measles causes ear infections in nearly one out of every 10 children who get it. As many as one out of 20 will get pneumonia, and one in 1,000 will get encephalitis. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain that can lead to convulsions, hearing loss or mentally retarded. One to two children out of a thousand will die.
Measles can cause miscarriages, premature births and low birth-weight.
In third world countries, Measles have been known to kill 1 out of 4 people. It is the leading cause of blindness among African children. It kills 1 million children a year.
Measles spread so easily through coughing and sneezing, that if you have not been immunized, chances are likely you will get it.
Mumps is an acute viral illness noticeable by fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite; followed by swelling of salivary glands. The glands near your cheek, jaw bone below your ears are most frequently affected.
Mumps can cause inflammation of the brain and/or tissue covering the brain and spinal cord, inflammation of the testicles, inflammation of the ovaries and/or breasts, spontaneous abortion, deafness (usually permanent).
Mumps are contracted through direct contact with respiratory secretions or saliva or from touching anything recently contaminated.
Pertussis is a respiratory disease caused by bacteria. Its symptoms are: Runny nose, sneezing, low grade fever, cough.
Complications may include Bacterial pneumonia and rib fracture. Infants are at risk of apnea, pneumonia, seizures, encephalopathy and death.
It is spread by coughing and sneezing.
Pneumococcal disease produces high fever, cough and shortness of breath, and feeling poorly, thinking slowly or not clearly.
Death from this is one of the most common causes in America from a preventable disease.
It is spread by coughing and sneezing.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system.
Up to 95 percent of people infected with polio will have no symptoms. Four to eight percent will have minor symptoms such as fever, fatigue, nausea, headache, flu-like symptoms, stiffness in the neck and back, and pain in the limbs. Less than 1 percent will become permanently paralyzed, usually in the legs. 5 to 10 percent die when paralysis strikes the respiratory muscles.
“Hubby and I prefer a local Mexican restaurant over all the chain restaurants. We love the food. The service is usually the best though we cringe sometimes when we have a particular waitress. And it is a lot cheaper than other places. The biggest problem there is the long wait to get in. The food is sooo worth it.”
My favorite place to take Mrs. Tweezers for a meal lately has been an Indian restaurant not far from our home. The food isn’t cheap, but so far we haven’t eaten anything there that we didn’t like (although I wish the fish tikka masala I ordered last time had contained more than eight small pieces of fish) and the service is excellent.
It seems that the small mom-and-pop eateries try a little harder these days...
“...which would make these fake and generic libtard, Obama ass-kissing restaurants look like food trucks.”
Hey, don’t denigrate food trucks like that! I’ve had some pretty decent food from a few of them.
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