How many restaurants can the Boston area support before we have a serious shakeout that might result in some old favorites being lost in the deluge of new places?
Eater Boston has compiled The Colossal 2014 Restaurant Openings Guide. At the time this post was composed, the list included more than 40 more restaurants with scheduled opening dates in 2014.
Rachel Leah Blumenthal is doing yeoman work keeping it up to date. She has also included all those rumored openings that don't have dates attached.
Over on Chowhound's Boston board, members keep track of openings and closings setting up a new converstion each month. They often mourn the loss of a favorite place.
Problems Finding Talented Staff
In this Boston Magazine piece, Chef Will Gilson admited he's having trouble finding top quality workers to staff his kitchen. “It becomes this race against other restaurants, and you try to figure out how to get good people in,” he said.
Converstations among food lovers seem to indicate that the quality of the front of the house staff in some places is also declining as competition for top waitstaff, bartenders, and managers increases.
You Decide Which Restaurants Will Survive
Each of us will have a vote in deciding which restaurants will be here next year and the year after that.
I have my list of restaurants that I will be supporting with my dining dollars over the next year. I may occasionally try a new place – often from an owner, chef, or team that I already know. But, I will encourage my friends to meet me at the places I want to be around after the deluge of new spots divides dining dollars into smaller pots for all.
I’m sure a few restaurants that you love have slipped out of your regular dining out rotation. If you would hate to see any of those old favorites disappear, make a point of going there for a fresh reminder of how good they are.
We make decisions each day about who will or will not remain in business by spending our dollars. Please, make those decisions a bit more consciously over the next year.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
