Canary in the mine?
 

So the wife and I went out to dinner tonight and settled on Logan's Roadhouse a steakhouse chain for those who don't know it. When we've eaten at this place in the past, there has been a ridiculously long line with at least a half hour wait and often up to an hour or more. This has been without exception over the years. Tonight we walked straight to the hostess and were seated immediately. The restaurant appeared fairly full, but there was absolutely no wait. When they set our places, I noticed the napkins were no longer cloth but large paper napkins.

I think people are hurting. I think maybe we're starting to see a significant number of people having to cut back on their "entertainment" budgets. I think maybe restaurants are hurting a bit too. Food costs rising, fewer customers...I realize that's a lot to surmise off of paper napkins as my data but I did find it odd. This economy is going to get interesting as fuel and food costs continue to rise. It's not just that they are rising, but how fast they've risen. Those with low and/or fixed incomes are really going to be hurting soon. I have a feeling our Bishops are going to be MUCH busier than they've been in the past as our poor try to adjust to their new budgets.

I had a similar experience tonight. My wife and I went out with a group to the Olive Garden (their choice, not mine) and we walked right in. The food snobs will undoubtedly scoff, but there is always a wait at the OG here in the heartland. That's genyoowine Eye-talian out here. I chatted with the waiter and hostess and they indicated that business was down by about a fourth from a year ago.

Or perhaps the midwest folks are finally catching on that Olive Garden sucks?

OG sucks but it's ALWAYS packed no matter where you live. Business down by 1/4 is telling.

I was being facetious.

Agreed that a 25% reduction is quite a warning sign.

By contrast, the Cheesecake Factory at Fashion Pl Mall, which sucks about as much as OG (if possible), is always packed with lines out the door whenever I walk past there on my way into the Mall.

There were people waiting outside at 2:30 in the afternoon last Saturday.

I'm a produce broker and I can tell you that my top commodity (potatoes) are priced as high right now as I have ever seen. I use to pay $2550 dollars for a truck to haul a load back to Philadelphia and this past week I had to pay $5100. Onions are on their way up. The fruit out of California this year is going to be sky high because of the freight cost. Stores will stop bring in produce from South America because of the cost which will mean fewer fresh foods for you to choose from and put a economic hit on some of those countries. It could be a rough road for the next 4 to 5 years.

I'm glad I decided to be serious about a garden this year.

Never eaten at that place. And if it's as bad as OG, no way I'll be there. I don't like waiting for bad food.

For those who don't know
 

Texas Roadhouse which can be found in Utah is a knockoff of Logan's.

We ate there a couple of weeks ago and Mrs. FM and I gave the server all kinds of grief about the fact that there are no "Texas Roadhouse" restaurants in Texas.