Something in this article reminded me of episodes from "Kitchen Nightmare" where the know-all owner, meddles in the kitchen overriding the chef. Requiring Gordon Ramsay to step in and fix the mess. Restaurants are some of the hardest businesses to run. Capital intensive where the basic ingredients have short half lives and customers who willingly vote with their dollars ~ http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/ramsays-kitchen-nightmare...

Most of the time the problems stem from restaurant owners and sometimes staff in-experience, incompetence and the failure of owners to adapt. The number one message Gordon gives these owners is the (surprise, surprise) "Customers, Customers and Customers". Give them what they want. Make sure it's simple. Charge to cover your costs and keep a tidy ship. Make sure you are running a business to serve food. Not your ego.

Not too dissimilar to running a Startup.

Not very dissimilar?

probably should have been "Similiar to running a Startup"

You find restaurants similar to tech startups?

I think what our correspondent is trying to say is "tech startups and restaurants are similar, because the secret to success in both is 'customers, customers, customers'".

The message is not that tech startups are capital intensive businesses, with ingredients that have short half-lives and brutal margins and customers who have absolutely zero lock-in. They're not. :)

I work in the area. The weirdest thing is that the original Stacey's is in downtown Pleasanton, which is an older and quaint area with other locally owned restaurants.

But Stacey's at Waterford is in, as the article says, an unremarkable strip mall. Why? It looks like just another strip mall fake plastic PF Chang Chili's Flingers suburban food dispensery. I never understood why Scott would put a bunch of money into building an original restaurant next to PJ O'Pootertoots.