How To Keep Your Favorite Small Places Alive

Before you mourn another restaurant closure, do this

Restaurant closures are starting to feel like a tidal wave. The past few weeks, I’ve told you about a series of small food places that have closed, many of them unexpectedly.

This past week, I heard about two more here in Ann Arbor, one laden with the debt, the other because an owner died suddenly. Like many cities, my hometown is full of the ghosts of restaurants that used to be there and are now vanished. We even have a website called Ann Arbor’s Lost Eateries.

These business failures appear to have common themes: food inflation, high rent, mounting debt, staff shortages, family members who did not want to continue an older generation’s establishment, and in some cases, a lack of management skill.

Before you mourn another restaurant, however, there are things we can all do to help. Some cost money. Others only require your time

Don’t dawdle - eat there

The restaurant industry is constantly changing, as we all know. With new places coming on stream all the time, we flock to the latest, and put our others on hold.

But if you ignore the ones you like too long, that’s when they might vanish. Make a point to visit. I like to eat lunch out a couple of times a week. When I am planning my day, I say, “Today, I will go to _____.” For instance, my friend Stephanie Grace and I decided last year that we would eat at Marjie’s Grill, which you can see in the top photo. I’m glad we did, but apparently enough people did not make the same call, because they will close Dec. 20.

You can pick the restaurant and invite others to join you. If you are a regular, your friends can bask in the special treatment you receive. (Friends of mine said they were going to have t-shirts made for Zingerman’s Roadhouse reading, “We know Micki.”)

But, go. Nothing helps as much as your business.

Have a conversation

One of the things I often ask owners and managers is, “How’s business?” Some of them are relentlessly upbeat, but more often these days, people are brutally honest. They’ll tell me if it’s slow, if people are calling in sick or quitting, if they are having issues with vendors, and other woes.

My mother did this, too - you can see her above chatting with Nick Panos of Nick’s Original House of Pancakes, on one of her last outings when she was 101.

You can gauge this yourself when you visit. Are there cars in the parking lot? Did something you like come off the menu because the ingredients got too expensive? Have the faces of the staff changed?

Don’t hesitate to ask how things are going. You might be able to offer some helpful advice before it’s too late. If you feel warmly enough about a restaurant that’s struggling, you might connect them to people in your network who can help.

Post your photos and supportive comments

In my circle of friends, everybody takes photos of the food we like, and posts them on social media. The restaurants often repost them. Leo Chen, a local chef, is especially effusive in praising places he visits (that’s him with a friend at his popup last Sunday).

For the restaurant, this has two results. One is the boost that it gets knowing that customers enjoyed their meal. Two, it displays their food to the poster’s network, and potentially brings in more customers.

It worked for me recently. A national writer that I admire posted about her trip to a local restaurant where I had yet to eat. Knowing she’d been there, I hustled down, and loved it. I’ve since been back again.

It also helps to post compliments on a Instagram or Facebook post. Even if you do not know the owners, they notice (I got to be friends with the Nudo staff in New Orleans when they realized I was the person who praised their summer rolls).

You probably get requests from restaurants to post a positive review on Google or Yelp. I will leave whether to do so up to you.

I generally shy away from those types of reviews. First, I like to keep control of how my name is used, and second, I am skeptical about whether all the reviews are valid. It’s easier to fake a review than a photograph.

Never asked to be comped

People were always trying to gift my mother with freebies. Her response: “Don’t give away the profits.” Like anyone else, I enjoy getting a little unexpected treat, what’s called a lagniappe in New Orleans or “service” in Korean culture.

But I never, ever ask for freebies, or expect them, and you should not, either. It does not matter how close you are to the owner. If they happen, let them be a gesture, not an obligation. Also, even if your meal is free, you still need to leave a gratuity.

Go to a place with the understanding that you will pay the check and tip the staff. Don’t impose on a restaurant whose finances might be tight.

Gift cards and merch

During the pandemic, people were encouraged to buy gift cards and souvenirs from their favorite places. The gift cards provided some cash flow, on the theory that they’d be redeemed when times got better.

Likewise, merchandise can have a big markup from wholesale, and that helped, too.

Even if business has picked up, gift cards and merch can have the added bonus of giving a spot some visibility at a time when it could use it.

Contribute To Fundraisers

If your spot is deeply in trouble, they might launch a GoFundMe to stay afloat. They will usually explain why they need the money and how they will use what they raise.

I am sympathetic when disaster strikes. If a storm tears the roof off the building or there is a massive fire, insurance often doesn’t cover everything. The GoFundMe can be a bridge for related expenses.

I am a little wary of places that launch GoFundMe drives to cover debt, or to pay for the regular costs of doing business.

I recommend that you read the pitch and ask questions before you contribute, since these are not tax-deductible. Occasionally, the recipient of a GoFundMe will give thank you gifts to their donors, once they are back on their feet.

We want our favorites to be around as long as possible, so hopefully some of these steps can help.

What Does Taylor Swift Eat?

This week, Swifties rejoiced when Time Magazine named Taylor Swift as its person of the year. The award caps an incredibly successful year for her, including the blockbuster movie of her Eras Tour.

If you’ve seen it, you know that Taylor has enormous stamina. She’s singing, dancing, talking and changing costumes for three plus hours. Every so often, you see her sip some water, but naturally I wondered, “What does Taylor Swift eat?”

Luckily, The List compiled this incredibly detailed look at Taylor’s dining habits. Basically, she eats very healthy during the week and indulges on weekends.

"I love making buckwheat crepes with ham, Parmesan cheese, and a fried egg on top," she told Bon Appétit, before adding, "It's my go-to breakfast." 

Lunch is salads, yogurts and sandwiches. On the weekend she will get burgers, fries and a shake and dip the fries into her shake, as one does.

Now that she is dating Travis Kelce, the pair have been spotted dining out around Kansas City. She also gets delivery.

After her jet landed in Kansas City recently, the Daily Mail reported that a delivery driver dropped off a sack from First Watch containing two turkey omelets and two Kale Tonics. The First Watch PR team was understandably jubilant.

I haven’t tried the omelet, but I have started drinking the tonic. We’ll see if it leads to my world tour.

Detroit: A City of Sliders

The Detroit area abounds with white tile hamburger spots. The menus are pretty simple: small burgers, known as sliders, the kind made famous by White Castle. Some also offer fries and drinks. They are to Detroit what Italian beefs are to Chicago.

But, why are there so many?

Reporter Russ McNamara looked into this for WDET public radio. He discovered that the tiny diners have roots in the Depression, and coincided with the founding of White Castle.

Take a listen.

The Worst Christmas Candy

Many of us have favorite sweets at this time of year, but CandyStore.com compiled a list of what it considers to be the worst Christmas candy. It surveyed 7,000 customers and got these responses.

I’m okay with chocolate oranges and I like some old-fashioned hard candies, especially those raspberries and the peanuts filled with peanut butter. Do these match your least-liked sweets, or do you defend some of them?

An Old New York Name Is Returning

Schraftt’s, the venerable New York City candy company and quick service restaurant, is back after a 40-year absence.

It is holding pop ups on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in front of Tiffany & Company, in which Schrafft’s made an appearance. And its president, James Byrne tells Eater he’s looking at Midtown to bring back a flagship restaurant, as an homage to the company’s roots. He plans to sign a lease next year, potentially as early as January 2024.

I never got to eat in a Schrafft’s, but I knew all about them from Marjorie Morningstar, the Herman Wouk novel that I first read as a teenager. Their typeface is one of the best logos ever and some of their products lived on after the restaurants closed.

At one point, there were more than 50 Schrafft’s that stretched across the city and beyond to Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Palm Beach, Florida.

Over the years, like many luncheonettes, it became known as a safe place where women could dine alone, and where anyone could get an affordable meal and in some, a cocktail.

Fingers crossed that this icon will be back in business next year.

Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman

Hanukkah is underway, and I wrote about some innovative dishes for The Takeout. These aren’t your grandmother’s latkes and matzoh ball soup.

I also appear on the holiday episode of Lions, Towers & Shields, in which we talked about It Happened on Fifth Avenue. It is a charming 1947 movie that resonates today.

Next week, and the week after, I will be posting my Favorite Things of 2023 essays. I’m going to divide them into sit down places and more-casual spots. I hope they will help you explore some fresh ideas.

Here is how to reach me.

Website: www.michelinemaynard.com

Email: culinarywoman (@) gmail.com

LinkedIn: Micheline Maynard

Threads and Instagram: (@) michelinemaynard

Please have a safe and healthy week, and a continued Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends. I’ll see our paid subscribers tomorrow with Red Beans & Advice, and everyone else next week.

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