The gluttony glut

I know Carnival-SuperBowl season seems like a good time to try launching a bunch of new restaurants. But, as Craig Giesecke's latest column points out, the business can be brutal.

Of course, a quality product is supposed to help draw customers and therefore help you make money. But unless the cost of inventory, labor and other overhead remains at a certain level, the place won’t make it for very long. We tend to forget this as Carnival, Super Bowl and our Festival seasons appear before us. Everyone’s having a good time and the food and drink are selling so well that many owners think it will just continue that way after Memorial Day.

Also, for locals anyway, Carnival isn't when anybody is thinking much about having a nice sit down meal. Usually it's a box of Popeyes or a something bought from a truck somewhere until after Fat Tuesday... and then everybody goes on a diet.  But then maybe the restaurant business isn't really about the local market anymore.