The current economic climate is especially tough for small restaurants that are under-capitalized and in less than optimum locations with low foot traffic. Blogger Mary Warren of Eat, Drink, Memory, reveals that Delicious on the Slope, a restaurant on President Street between Fifth and Fourth Avenues, is in trouble. She's reaching out to members of the community to see if anyone can offer some help or business advice to the owner. Here is her post, which she asked me to feature on OTBKB.
Luis Garcia well, but he struck me as a gracious, ambitious and
self-confident man who dreamed as so many of us do of turning his
passion into a business.
Garcia chose a tough crowd –
restaurateurs – to join. Although he had years of experience managing
restaurants, among them The Cub Room in Manhattan, he had never owned
his own place. He had huge plans and a partner who was his chef.
A few weeks ago his partner walked out. Garcia has been struggling to keep his doors open for the last couple of months. Truthfully,
he wasn't fully prepared for an industry that is fickle and savage at
the best of times. Restaurants open and shutter at an astronomical rate
in the City.
I speak from experience. My fabulous little wine
bar, Monkey Temple, sputtered along for just better than a year. With
some distance, I see the mistakes I made – many of them the same ones
Garcia faces – a lack of capital, no budget or time for adequate
marketing, low foot traffic, and that indefinable quality – buzz.
Delicious
on the Slope is a nice neighborhood place run by a lovely man who has
invested more than simply money and time in the business. It isn't hip
nor does it have a new-fangled menu with unusual food pairings. Garcia
inherited a failed concept from the previous owners and he has
struggled to recreate, to make something of his own.
We can all admire his determination and see ourselves in his place, seeking, yearning to create.
Yesterday, I spoke to Garcia by phone. He hadn't been returning my calls because he's deeply saddened. I
didn't have much to offer, a few words which I hoped would give him
courage. The idea, much less the actuality, of failure is painful. Yet,
too often, we give up just at the moment we should push forward
deliberately in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I hope
Garcia pushes forward.
He is just one of the many dreamers who
live and work in Brooklyn, who make this place we live beautiful and
hopeful. He is one of us. I wish I had the resources to help him. My wish is that someone who does will give this man some help. Foolishly, perhaps, I believe in angels.
Where do people get the idea that the food and beverage industry is suited for the optomistic, the undercapitalized, rank amateurs and dilettantes? Isn’t that what blogs are for?
No offense.
This is crazy! Although I appreciate knowing more of the story behind this mysterious place, I don’t see why anyone in their right mind would want to put money into this business. From the very beginning this was an oddly placed restaurant with a really unpleasant decor. The first owners (?) couldn’t cook to save their lives and forever soiled DOS’s reputation. Why would the next owners keep the look and the name of an eater with such awful history?! And then there were the passive aggressive signs in the windows, constantly blaming the perspective customers and/or previous owners for their poor business; even the current note announcing the closing is putting the blame on those who “did not do anything to help.” I am sorry, bur Delicious on the Slope has always been a sad little place that no one wanted to go into.