No Business in Restaurants

There is no business in the Restaurants except for maybe weekends. How can they stay in business this way with all their expenses? They all cannot.

What restaurants do you think will be forced to close?

Funny you should say that. We were at El Sarape on Tuesday night and they were very busy. We ate at La Taverna last week and they were busy. What restaurants are you referring to?

The restaurant business anywhere has always been "the strong shall survive and the weak will fall by the wayside"! Maybe the dining group needs to get out more and make sure that those on the approved list survive. Here is a suggestion: since you are a contributor on TripAdvisor, maybe you should put forth a bit more effort and post new reviews on all the restaurants on your approved listing? That way newbies, tourists or people researching the area might be inclined to patronize these establishments.

last weekend dec.10th, saturday @3:30pm, tango was packed. they had a 45 minute wait. (ok it was a weekend). walked to new posada, the inside was empty except for one table (3 mexicans). patio was almost full. @one time there were crowds on a saturday. you had to wait, like tango. since new posada is 1/2 block from murder, do you think this is why it was 1/2 empty?

Places here in Guad packed already and it is early. Maybe people are losing the fear of driving to guad to get some variety? Also it is party season so few mexicans out as most have many parties to go to with food

we were at Jardin de Minette on Thursday, it was empty, went by Laurent not remember the day it was empty, te little place on Colon next to Arteindigena was doing poorly according to them.
Tango is still doing very well.

According to my reliable source, most restaurants are only busy on weekends. That includes Tango which Mexicans like on the weekend. During the day, they used to be busy, but no more. I doubt Nuevo Posada is busy. The owner laid off half the restaurant staff. No business. No, my source is not my Physical Therapist but someone in the food industry.

Hacienda Ajijic is now open on Mondays which was their closed day. They have $ 90 pesos specials Seafood on Wednesday and Meat on Thursday.

johninajijic wrote:There is no business in the Restaurants except for maybe weekends. How can they stay in business this way with all their expenses? They all cannot.

What restaurants do you think will be forced to close?

Maybe they can have half price specials for you monthly Bi-Dinner Group...

that ought ta pull em outta the fire...

that and the odd Mex who frequents their joint on week-ends

Unfortunately many business right now are just hanging on and will eventually close. The town is dead as far as many businesses are concerned. There is very little business right now one week before Christmas, people like painter albañil and other are desperate for work. and so on, the town is not doing well.

Now on top of business being off in general there are road crews putting down spray tar, a gravel truck following then letting the cars pat it down. And they are letting passing cars pat the gravel down - already getting lumpy in sections. Gravel with tar flies up and hits your car the whole drive from just west of Rancho del Oro to San Juan Cosala - they have been moving east from Jocotopec for several weeks working on the road. This is on the lakeside lane for several miles as of yesterday - Sat. One lane blocked at several locations and gravel flying even in the lane that is not being done.

Fish restaurants were empty yesterday - gravel and goo in front of every one.

La Bodega was very busy on Friday night. About 60/40 Mexican/Gringo. Los Pios was playing

Buddy of mine who is a regular at Salvadors says business is way off there.

hockables wrote:

johninajijic wrote:There is no business in the Restaurants except for maybe weekends. How can they stay in business this way with all their expenses? They all cannot.

What restaurants do you think will be forced to close?

Maybe they can have half price specials for you monthly Bi-Dinner Group...

that ought ta pull em outta the fire...

that and the odd Mex who frequents their joint on week-ends

You have a sarcastic remark that's unneccesary. Our Dinner Group doesn't care about Specials. The only people that do are the Canadians and Mexicans looking for something for nothing. And tipping, that's another whole story.

brigitte is 100% correct. All we can hope for is that the "better" restaurants won't go out. Hopefully none of them will.

I think this is a direct result of the slow down in tourism (and snowbirds) visiting Mexico. I had a friend in Manzinillo & Barre last week who said it was absolutely dead. One of the major resorts (Grand Banks I think?) only had 4 people staying there.

Thirsty Turtle closing - This is the post on TOB from the restaurant owner:

the thirsty turtle will again be closing its door sometime before Christmas. Not due to narco problems,or because its to far out for people to come, no business. Once again a landlord that that can run your business better than you, He wants you to run it how he wants.or he thanks he can keep what you started going. also the rent goes up more than was agreed on. I was asked not to post anything for now, but the more my wife and I discussed this matter we said why. we lived up to what we had said. So why should we wait to explain the reasons. I am not angry because I guess I have gotten use to the way business is done in this town. I would like to thank the ones that has supported us in these 3 or 4 months. most of all the pool shooters and Randal who very much wanted to get the line dancing going. Sorry guys if you would like to know more information please email me at swiftyinmx(at)hotmail.com I will let you know everything that led to this PS the line dance will go on thur thanks Dan

It's pretty obvious that the restaurant business follows the old maxim: "If you want to make a small fortune, start out with a large fortune and open a restaurant." It's brutal, and times are hard all over.

It's not about cheap Canadians and Mexicans wanting something for nothing. Most people want a good value for their dining experience. Some people can afford what they perceive as "the best", and others don't know the difference and think that the more they pay, the better the food and drink must be. Still others actually like cheap slop. Since we all eat, we are all food critics of a sort.

There are enough people living here who don't care what they pay for what they like, so places like Number Four restaurant seem to be surviving. There are other pricey places with ardent fans.

The Holiday dinners advertised in the local Reporter add to the mystery. For example: one hotel is charging $275 pesos for a Turkey dinner. Another restaurant is advertising a buffet for $250. Still another advertises their turkey or ham Christmas dinner for $150. They are all including dessert, etc. Gimme a break: what accounts for the wild variation in prices ? Turkey dinner is turkey dinner. None of them are serving Cristal champagne with it.

I'm planning to avoid the crowds and cook at home, anything BUT turkey.....so I don't much care, but can't help wondering what's what out there.

Markups of between 400% and 1000% on wines and spirits do no help restaurants. While beer markups remain reasonable the previous two are way out of line.
Local mentality (Mexican and gringo owners alike) here is to put prices up when the going gets tough rather than making adjustments to menues.
If restaurants took a volume approach they would be more successful

DaveP

There really aren't that many good places to eat, perhaps a handful and couple that with narrow streets, hoodlums out at night and in some spots no parking, why eat locally?

The restaurants need to address safety, parking and have good wait staff, some don't have that problem but other places do have the issue.

Perhaps if the taxis ran later than 7:00pm or so it might attract more people out in the evening.

CanuckBob wrote:Perhaps if the taxis ran later than 7:00pm or so it might attract more people out in the evening.

You can usually order a taxi for a certain time in the evening although some places are going for late afternoon shows now.

As a first time visitor about 5 years ago we stayed in Chapala and didn't have a car. Not knowing anything about the taxi hours we took one over to Ajijic at about 6:00pm to have dinner and see the Tall Boys at Saint Petes. When the show ended at about midnight we hit the streets expecting to see taxis out and about. We quickly learned there were none. We went back to the restaurant and the owner tried calling a taxi. He couldn't find one so he had the bartender drive us back to Chapala. Needless to say we didn't go back to Ajijic in the evening during that visit.

simpsca wrote:Thirsty Turtle closing - This is the post on TOB from the restaurant owner:

the thirsty turtle will again be closing its door sometime before Christmas. Not due to narco problems,or because its to far out for people to come, no business. Once again a landlord that that can run your business better than you, He wants you to run it how he wants.or he thanks he can keep what you started going. also the rent goes up more than was agreed on. I was asked not to post anything for now, but the more my wife and I discussed this matter we said why. we lived up to what we had said. So why should we wait to explain the reasons. I am not angry because I guess I have gotten use to the way business is done in this town. I would like to thank the ones that has supported us in these 3 or 4 months. most of all the pool shooters and Randal who very much wanted to get the line dancing going. Sorry guys if you would like to know more information please email me at swiftyinmx(at)hotmail.com I will let you know everything that led to this PS the line dance will go on thur thanks Dan

If the issue was about smoking as has been said on TOB I am amazed that we should expect any property owner let a tenant put them in the position of paying a fine in the area of 1000 x daily wage. Sorry but I don't think an restaurant owner or operator should be put in the position of paying such fines because some Gringo or Mexican wants to smoke in their establishment. There are plenty who will appreciate the lack of smoke. If your only claim to fame is that you allow smoking you need to look at your operation

Canuck Bob

You say the business in Manzanillo was bad. I have friends who just got back from here from doing the tianguis on the coast for a week. Their cousin stayed here to take care of their business in Ajijic. All week in Ajijic they sol d1200 pesos of merchandise when they sold much more on the coast despite the fact that the business is not great there.
Without their business on the coast they could not eat. It is how bad the business is in Ajijic now. Forget the restaurants, it is bad for most businesses.
Just because a restaurant is doing well one day or two in the week it does not mean they are doing well. I have know busy restaurants going under as the profit is thin unless you can make it on alcohol and manage your costs very carefully.
Today, I just had the visit of a great painter, hard working reliable etc..he has had no job for a month and is hoping something will happen after the new year. Local are telling me the place died after the American was killed.
This is what I hear all over the place and if the snowbird numbers do not increase, many businesses especially restaurants will go under.
You can be sure the higher end and better restaurants will be the first ones to go as they are pretty dead right now .

CanuckBob wrote:As a first time visitor about 5 years ago we stayed in Chapala and didn't have a car. Not knowing anything about the taxi hours we took one over to Ajijic at about 6:00pm to have dinner and see the Tall Boys at Saint Petes. When the show ended at about midnight we hit the streets expecting to see taxis out and about. We quickly learned there were none. We went back to the restaurant and the owner tried calling a taxi. He couldn't find one so he had the bartender drive us back to Chapala. Needless to say we didn't go back to Ajijic in the evening during that visit.

You would think the Taxi drivers in Ajijic would have some younger relatives or friends that would want to make some money on nights. Bob
is dead on about the Ajijic Taxi situation. They just don't work much after 9 to 10 pm and even than it is chancy. We just don't depend on
them at all in the evening. It does have a major impact on going out here if you live farther away than walking distance or don't drive or don't
drive at night. One of the reasons we live in the heart of the village is to avoid needing to use a car.

Z