Owning A Restaurant in the 21st Century Is Like Going Back to the Future

I know it may sound difficult to swallow, but not all restauranteurs are in it for the love of the game.  Some, many ... get into it to make money.  Stop, freeze-frame that idea.  Please ... there are easier ways to make money. Of course, there are day traders who have a knack for turning dirt into gold or at least bronze.  Let's take that small group out of the equation. For the rest of you, here's what you need to know. Running a restaurant in the year 2009 (let's say 2010 because it sounds more futuristic and many of you won't get into your biz until then) should be a little like running a restaurant in the early 20th century. Many of us wouldn't recall such a time when you walked to the local restaurant ... a place where everyone knew everyone (not counting Cheers). Restaurant owners took care of their employees ... treated them like family, sought their meats and vegetables from the local purveyor. Restaurant owners never hesitated to help out the local church, the local school and everyone in the community knew how generous they were. Restauranteurs were more the fabric of the community than anyone. Today, if you choose not to follow the practices of history ... of legitimate, neighborhood merchant protocol, you will be called out. Your neighbors will make noise, your employees will banter negatively and the competition will prey on your misgivings. No, they won't do it in the streets or in the pool halls or at the local neighborhood watering hole. They'll do it at all those new addresses -- Facebook, Yelp, FOHBOH, Chow, Myspace, LinkedIn, Ning. So if I was starting a restaurant today, I would do it for the love of cooking and feeding guests. I would set a code of standards for all employees to follow and I would be transparent, accessible and engaged in my community so when the day comes (and it will come) when someone wants to slander my restaurant for no apparent reason, 10 more people will be waiting in the wings to kick this individual out onto the street because that's what neighbors do for those who do for them.