Restaurant Management Consultant Insight: No San Francisco Recession?

According to the latest news we follow in our restaurant management consultant group, landlords and investors can take solace in San Francisco retail and restaurant space. One can only wonder if the national recession and down economy has by passed this city if you frequent the many restaurants, bars and hotels who are booming with business. According to this recent article in Bloomsberg Businessweek: “The dining revival wouldn’t be possible without the technology industry that’s fueling a rebound in the economy and providing customers for new restaurants, said Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist. Hiring at such San Francisco-based firms as Twitter Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. has contributed to five straight quarters of office occupancy gains and the lowest jobless rate of any metropolitan area in California.” Take note of these other stats and commentary says this restaurant management consultant if you are looking to find space, negotiate a lease or needing reasons to give investors a second look. A big driver in the technology sector are companies, such as Twitter, Salesforce.com and Google, who are acquiring more office space and bringing in more jobs. These workers on average have higher salaries than the median, are 25 to 35 year olds, and have lots of disposable income. In the last three years and partly backed by the severe downturn that hit San Francisco’s retail space in 2008 is the willingness of landlords to become a primary investor in a food and beverage operation. Or, in some cases provide loans or lease credits so that a restaurant’s startup costs are more affordable and feasible to recoup. That’s the upside if you need additional sources of funding for your restaurant bar business plan. The downside is higher rent as a result of more demand and less available space. This is the same recipe that fueled so many failed restaurants here in San Francisco after the Dot Bomb (err con). Are you an owner or restaurant management consultant working with a landlord in San Francisco to open a new restaurant? Please share what have you encountered in regards to the willingness of the landlord to invest in your business.