From COD to CEO

Reflections on Life in the Restaurant Business.

“The life span of an independently owned restaurant is seven years. Menus grow stale, tastes and habits change, the competition heats up, staff and owners burn out. And by the way, 75% of new restaurants fail in the first five years.”

Although I graduated from Cornell’s Hotel School like a century ago, I vividly recall those blunt but prescient words from my professor. The message was loud and clear: if you were planning to open a restaurant, you better buckle up and prepare for a rocky ride. It’s no picnic.