Restaurants simmer
Facing an artery-clearing July 1 ban on trans fats, restaurants in Stamford and other parts of Fairfield County appear as well to be figuratively tightening their belts as consumers – and banks – strap down their outlays.
Restaurant owners find themselves in Hell’s kitchen, experts say, with the economy encouraging diners to fire up their own ovens rather than burn cash on a night out, just as local establishments already are saddled with superheated prices on labor, rent, energy and even many food ingredients.
An index maintained by the National Restaurant Association shows that the sector contracted four straight months through February. For the first time in more than two years, owners indicated the economy is their primary challenge, rather than employee recruitment.
Only in December, the Washington, D.C.-based organization predicted Connecticut restaurant revenue would increase 4 percent this year to $5.2 billion.
“I have to believe there are more than a few out there that are just hanging on,” said Steve Matsis, senior managing director of Stamford-based Capital Real Estate Group L.L.C., which numbers among a small coterie of brokers in Connecticut that specialize in restaurant sites and acquisitions.
The impact is being felt all across the county and state. Less than a year after opening a string of new restaurants at Stamford Town Center, mall owner Taubman Realty Group has put the facility out to bid. In Hartford, a restaurateur’s attempt to convert a 19th-century bank vault into an establishment ironically left him behind on payments for $4 million in renovations. Even as it prepares to open a new hotel next month at Foxwoods Resort Casino, MGM Grand is downsizing its corporate operations, citing a slowdown in casino spending.
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