I'm not there on Monday or Friday. And I wouldn't say that any of those places are dead the times I am there (and I'm at all 3 as well). I don't remember how busy any of them were pre-COVID. But I wouldn't call any of them dead in the middle of the week.
Principal Financial-Remote work
- Thread starter pfgemployee
- Start date
I'm not there on Monday or Friday. And I wouldn't say that any of those places are dead the times I am there (and I'm at all 3 as well). I don't remember how busy any of them were pre-COVID. But I wouldn't call any of them dead in the middle of the week.
I've worked downtown for 20+ years. I now work M-W and the lunch places seem to have decent business. Part of that is because so many places have closed over the years and never replaced. Mr. Filet, Bruges, Winston's, about 7 food places in the kaleidoscope, about 3 places in the basement of local bites, and probably 5 or more just in that area that I'm forgetting.
Places like principal I think has zero presence in 801 Grand and demolished 2 building and sold another in the last 10 years. I think they only have 3 large building left downtown.
Places like principal I think has zero presence in 801 Grand and demolished 2 building and sold another in the last 10 years. I think they only have 3 large building left downtown.
Last edited:
So you are a farmer?Is it the businesses that need to adapt or is it the people that need to adapt and accept Covid is in the rear view mirror so a post-covid world may mean going back to the pre-covid work expectations? Food for thought that many don't want to consider.
That said, I've worked from home since 1998 suckas
Principal still has a presence in 801 Grand. They occupy the lower floors, 16th floor or so and below.
I'm not sure how downtown Des Moines is but at least in Rochester pre-COVID you used to be able to get lunch with a drink for $10.
Now? $15 at minimum. The cost is up 50% and the food quantity is down 20%. The places where you can still get lunch for $10-$12 are still doing just fine. The places who thought they could raise prices indiscriminately got a reality check from the market.
Now? $15 at minimum. The cost is up 50% and the food quantity is down 20%. The places where you can still get lunch for $10-$12 are still doing just fine. The places who thought they could raise prices indiscriminately got a reality check from the market.
La Mie is usually fairly busy. Palmers stays busy. The BBQ place is usually busy. JJ Jasmine is busy.
I used to work in the office 3 days per week (pre-COVID) but I only ate out once a week. So the restaurants are getting the same amount of money from me.
Now the condition of the skywalk?? That's probably enough to keep people out of it----something is always leaking and last week there was a literal pile of ****.
Move there for their backwoods nature, not their backwoods culture.
Trivia fact: West Virginia is the most mountainous state in U.S. as a percentage of area classified as mountains.
What if they started paying their employees 50% more and the cost of the products increased 20%? They're still supposed to keep the same price from 5 years ago?
Have your fees stayed the same the last five years?
I was too brief.
At least the couple I'm specifically talking about were struggling before COVID because the product or service was meh to start with. Then they got the PPP loans and ERC that artificially propped them up. Then in 2022 they ran out of that money. Then they tried raising prices to compensate but their offerings aren't worth that price. Now it's Mayo's fault they're failing because Mayo sent a bunch of staff to WFH and never renewed the spaces they were renting.
COVID wasn't the problem. WFH isn't the problem. A ****** business is. Everyone thinks they can run a bar or restaurant. Most of them fail. If you create the experience people will come back. If you don't they'll make other decisions.
Business owners in my experience are quick to blame everyone else for their business failing when the vast majority of the time it comes down to their own decisions.
There was a restaurant in the small town I live in. It was a staple of the town. However, they up and bailed under cover of night so they could open a spot in Ankeny.
A few months later, they did a series of FB posts about how they were on the brink of failure. They were pleading with anyone and everyone to come eat at their new location just so they could keep the doors open. They didn't necessarily blame anyone, but they did not look inward, either. I told my wife "they're going to fail." Begging people on FB to come buy your food is not a long-term business strategy; it's a band-aid. Make a product people are willing to pay for if you want to survive. The google reviews of their Ankeny location were repeatedly "this is very expensive for the quality and quantity you get." They made it about another week after their desperation post before they closed for good.
It also has to lead the nation in shittiest and least recreationally friendly use of their mountains. In the east all the mountains are owned privately, it’s not like out west.
WV is nearly devoid of Mtb, white water, and hiking opps relative to the potential space to do so.
But it's a lot easier to travel to if you don't like dentists or are on a honeymoon with your sister/wife.
owning a restaurant is so much harder than people realize. Even if you go the franchisee route, the time commitment required if you want to turn a profit is insane at least initially.
For the successful restaurateurs people see the end result but they probably didn't see the beginning. Once you get a customer base and reputation it can be a good money maker but getting there is hell and most don't get there, not always at the fault of the owners
For the successful restaurateurs people see the end result but they probably didn't see the beginning. Once you get a customer base and reputation it can be a good money maker but getting there is hell and most don't get there, not always at the fault of the owners
