Since it seems all we're reading about these days are more and more restaurants closing their doors, this seems like a good time to go out on a limb and make a few predictions for the Milwaukee dining scene in 2009.
Keeping in mind that this blog is strictly an educated guess, readers may find a few of my observations interesting, others may be off base and some may spark other predictions.
Here goes nothing ... a few mild Milwaukee dining predictions for 2009:
If you got too big for your britches, you may begin to feel the pinch: We've seen a lot of restaurant expansions in recent years. This could be boiled down to a few different categories: menu expansions, building expansions / remodels and the proliferation of multiple restaurants opening up with the same ownership base.
Sometimes, these expansions are the result of hard work and well-thought plans. Other times, they are created out of greed and a desire to be bigger while not necessarily focusing on being better.
The restaurant industry in Milwaukee is highly reliant on survival of the fittest, and if expansions have led to a drop in quality, we will likely see more closures in our midst, a good percentage of which will likely be from a single owner entity or chain stretching itself too far when the economy was booming.
Consistency, consistency, consistency: While location undoubtedly matters, consistency rules the roost when it comes to the hospitality biz. I've said this before, but people don't like surprises when they dine. That's why diners tend to pick regular haunts where they know exactly what they'll be getting from a food, service, and cost perspective. Every good restaurateur and server knows that a restaurant's bread and butter comes from regular customers. They may not be the biggest spenders on any given day, but they consistently spend over multiple visits.
Those establishments who continue to seek, court, and retain a regular client base with consistent, solid product delivery will do fine. Those predominantly reliant on trends, location and kitsch may suffer a sometimes fatal downturn.
A bigger pool of fish in a smaller pond: We've already lost a saddening amount of eateries on the cusp of a new year, but as the number of dining choices narrows, the talent pool for servers and kitchen staff will increase. This is a good thing for the Milwaukee consumer, who has suffered poor service during the last five years or so due to a shortage of experienced, capable and caring restaurant staff.
Restaurateurs would do themselves a great service by shopping around for the crème de la crème and bringing on newly available, talented staff to better solidify their positioning among the competition. Expect to see better service and better product coming out of the kitchens of the restaurants smart enough to take advantage of beefing up their staff.
Your menu just went on a diet: Fewer customers means it's harder to keep product fresh. Smart restaurants will likely take a whack at their menus to make sure they aren't battling surplus or quickly deteriorating stock. Don't expect to see vegetables offered in the off-season as frequently. Expect to see cutbacks with products that go bad quickly (i.e. seared or rare ahi tuna offerings or carpaccios) -- and be finicky if you do. If you don't think the restaurant is turning product quickly enough, be aware. There are a ton of places where you won't need to worry about this because management runs a tight quality-control ship-there are others where you may want to watch the quality yourself or pay the consequences.
Mikey might like it, but your average diner won't: As pocketbooks become tighter, diner's expectations are going to increase. I don't see Milwaukeeans settling for some of the subpar food that has been dished out in recent years, even if the atmosphere makes the spot a cool place to drink. I fully expect to see diners cutting back or cutting out places that, quite frankly, just aren't cutting it.
That in mind, make sure you're frequenting your favorites, or you could, sadly, lose them too. You can, to a great extent, help reshape your own dining scene, Milwaukee.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
