Dallas

Feast or Famine for Fort Worth Restaurants

All you have to do is spend a little time on social media to see how much people like to dine out.

Posting pictures of food is popular.

But that doesn’t mean the restaurant business is booming.

Recently two Black-eyed Pea restaurants have closed their doors. Doors at the Camp Bowie Boulevard location are locked and a note says the landlord has taken possession for non-payment.

Pappas Burgers also recently closed for good after nine years.

Conversely traffic is good at Spiral Diner and Bakery on Magnolia Avenue.

Fourteen years ago when this Fort Worth original opened, the building was collapsing and the competition was sparse. Currently, the area is bubbling with successful eateries and Spiral's founder believes he knows why.

“They’re not looking for the sort of packaged corporate experience anymore," James Johnston explained about customers. "They really want the personal experience you can get at a mom and pop shop, a local restaurant. When is the last time you met the owner of a Black-eyed Pea? I mean, never. But you come to Spiral, you meet me, you meet my wife, you meet Lindsey. You know we are here all the time and you know the people who are serving you.”

Dallas-based TDn2K, a restaurant analysis company, posted on its website that one of the biggest problems facing the restaurant industry currently is finding and keeping employees. It reports 75 percent of restaurant operators say it’s their biggest challenge.

And recent restaurant performance is at least, in part, attributable to issues of staffing, training and execution.

But if restaurant can find and keep staff, business seems to be good.

“I think the restaurant business is great right now,” Johnston exclaimed.

In fact, Spiral Diner and Bakery is expanding. It has a location in Oak Cliff and is about open one in Denton.

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