TODAY'S PROGRAM, Part 1: Nick Martinez, Restaurant Coach
Nick Martinez joined the group this morning to share with us about the hard season for local restaurants and what's next.
Nick is a local person, with more than two decades of experience in the restaurant industry. He, in fact, has helped support many restaurants here in Livermore as well as Pleasanton and other locations.
He helped us learn about the intense conditions surrounding the restaurant industry currently. If a restaurant is more than three years in, that business has shown its resilience. The last six years have been extremely hard on this industry, due in part, at least, to the pandemic.
We are fortunate in our area to have many restaurants that have been in our community for many years, including, of course, our meeting location, First Street Alehouse. Restaurants must work hard to be active and supportive members of the community where they are located.
Rising prices of food, supplies, and delivery, labor shortages, and fixed costs like rent are just a few of the many things that a restaurant owner must juggle. Nick expressed that most restaurant owners are juggling 17 things, in addition to trying to have a personal life and family. Marketing, training, profit margins, personnel, and ever-changing consumer demands are just a few of those keeping them up at night. For many owners, this is a work of passion, and they are devoted to working hard.
Nick helped us also understand that the owners like to see "you" come back. If you do go, and something ends up awry, Nick suggested that we try and find the owner or manager to give them some feedback, particularly if you can say, "you know, we come here often, and today I noticed...". He let us know that the owners want the feedback, and are always striving to make things as good as they can.
Bottom line: Let's support our local establishments when we can! Thanks, Nick, it was great hearing from you today. We learned a lot.
TODAY'S PROGRAM, Part 2: Brook Witherspoon, New Member Talk
Brook Witherspoon, one of our newer members, gave her new member talk this morning. It was great to get to know more about her! Here are some of the things we learned about Brook:
- She loves to hike, tolerates running and belongs to a hiking group that has been to the Grand Canyon, Mt. Whitney (tallest peak in lower 48 states, right here in CA), and Zion's National Park
- Her favorite thing is being a mom.
- Her family and parents are always an inspiration. Her mom and dad are always there for her.
- She lives a life of service, helping people to learn about PANDAS, which stands for "Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections", an autoimmune disorder her son was diagnosed with several years ago; and also working with an organization called "Rooms of Hope", which works with children and families with particular challenges to design and decorate dream bedrooms.
- Brook, welcome to our Club! We are happy you are here!
Mark sharing his Taiwan travels to Rotary International
