Originally Posted by
braslvr
I think the fact that the risk tolerance level is so low for so many is what amazes me the most.
I find both ends of the spectrum kind of amazing actually. But I'm a common sense person who believes that we take risks every day, just by getting out of bed. I don't walk down dark alleys in Chicago. But I'm not wearing rubber gloves and a mask to drive my car either.
Originally Posted by
YVR Cockroach
I remember reading here or somewhere else sometime since the "great recession" that it used to be people in the U.S. rarely if ever ate out unless they were on the higher echelons of the economic strata. Then came the chain restaurants that made dining out (relatively more) "affordable" for those on the lower end. The great recession wiped out a lot of these chains when people went back to home cooking to save/cut down debt. One wonders if the same (great wipeout) will happen again.
I've heard a similar story, but not tied to the Great Recession, which was in 2008. The whole restaurant craze and celebrity chef thing was going strong before that. In any case, you bring up an interesting point. The higher end restaurants should survive, and of course they usually pay much better too. And I suspect fast food will adapt, as we've discussed here. It's those mid-range chains that are worth watching.
The flip side of that is people have more disposable income now, according to several studies. People have figured out what I've lived for over 15 years now - that working from home saves you a LOT of money. And others received government subsidies. My mom, in her 70's and with a monthly retirement income that she's forced to take but can't possibly spend, has twice donated the COVID stimulus checks she's received. So will they spend it in restaurants or realize, as you've found, that we can make a lot of things better at home?