The standard thinking (well, my thinking) about the U.S. economy has been that it’s mostly shedding white-collar jobs, you know those high-salaried, middle-management, egg-sucking gigs that stifle the life out of every company. A parallel thought to that (my) standard thinking is that, should you be one of those egg-sucking middle managers who gets the ax, you can always go find a job in the hospitality biz, which is always hungry for more and better workers.

Not anymore.

Today’s Wall Street Journal (I swear to god, I read other papers too!) reports that the “restaurant industry, one of the largest U.S. employers, is experiencing its longest period of job losses on record.”

How bad is it for the restaurant industry?

Read More “Just Get Laid Off? Don’t Look at the Restaurant Biz to Save Your Ass.” »

It just came to my wandering attention that News Channel 8 followed up on the Washington Post’s recent story about how the sagging economy and the city’s new meter system have affected cabbies and their ability to, essentially, subsidize the local Ethiopian restaurant community. At first I was sympathetic to this issue; but after supping at Etete, on a Monday night no less, when both levels of the joint were overflowing with customers, I’m thisclose to calling bullshit on the theory.

But I won’t. For one reason:

Read More “Are Ethiopian Eateries Really Hurting Because of the New Cab Meters?” »