By: Becky McCray

Becky McCray — Fri, 19 May 2017 21:40:34 +0000

A reader sent this comment in by email, and agreed to allow me to share it anonymously:

I really think that this is an issue only the particular communities can solve. It has a lot to do with location, quality and type of food, the eating habits of that community and the accessibility of the building.

With the younger generation often focusing on foods that are different from their parent’s households and the elder generation needing foods that help support their special diets, and the question of accessibility, this is more than numbers being split, and how the finite amount of money available to the residents to spend on eating out. The customers vote with their feet and the dollars they spend.

One has to look at what foods draw them, at what time, and if there are any things that keep them from coming to any particular location. A small shop located in town might do a bang-up business during the week for working people and students and be closed on weekends when families and groups tend to eat out. The reverse might work well for a large format restaurant.

And Glenn shared this response:
Great comments. And your comments about it being a local issue and that there are other factors involved are on point. As I understand the situation, these folks might come out ahead by working together. However, as my article noted, the deeper I got into the situation, the more I started “seeing the other side.”

Your comment about customers voting with their feet is a big issue for the cafe owner.

And we haven’t even touched the issue that I make like the meatloaf at Cafe A but not the way they do it in Cafe B. You may however be exactly opposite of me.

Glenn Muske

Comments on: A Second Look at Competition – Rural Cafes

By: Becky McCray