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WHY RESTAURANTS GO
BANKRUPT
Restaurants are
important because they cater to the basic human need of
satisfying hunger. People must eat; therefore, a
restaurant must serve a useful purpose. R. O.
Gantz knew this too, so he decided to start one in the rapidly
expanding town of Boomville. R. O. Gantz was
nicknamed “Arrow,” and he was known as the enterprising
business man. With his wife Ella Gantz, they made a fine
couple with a purpose to establish a super deluxe restaurant
on the attractive site with ample parking
facilities.
When Arrow Gantz was ready to invite
people to his Palace of Eats, he could boast of the best place
in the community. However, he spent a little more
money than he could afford, on some lavish furnishings for the
comfort of his patrons, but he thought it would impress his
customers and the extra business would more than pay
out. On the building R. O. Gantz could boast of
the best, but he decided to economize on his help and keep
food costs at a minimum. He installed Notta Chance as
head cook with Noah Count in charge of the buying.
Among his waitresses he had Anne Tagonize and M. Barrass,
while at the cash register he placed M. Bezzle in
charge. These helpers all pledged to work for
minimum salaries and save as much as possible on
food. R. O. Gantz was open for
business.
With a full page advertisement and
plenty of fanfare it was not long until tables were at a
premium in the Palace of Eats. However, the
popularity was short lived and quite a few left without
showing any appreciation, and some even left portions of food
on their plates. Patronage dwindled. R. O.
Gantz decided he must have missed something, so he called his
staff together and briefed them on the importance of courtesy
and the value of appearance. He outfitted his
employees in the most attractive uniforms he could obtain and
advertised this improvement widely. While it
worked for awhile, the increased business was not
sustained. Many patrons were irregular and others
failed to return. Arrow was perplexed and could
scarcely sleep for worrying about his heavy liabilities and
his meager patronage.
He resolved that his
trouble must stem from insufficient attractions to entertain
his guests. He hired brilliant musicians and
provided a soothing atmosphere, but his customers were not
impressed. Arrow confided his problems to his wife
Ella Gantz, telling her that unless he could attract more
customers he would soon be faced with bankruptcy.
Ella was inclined to blame the public for being too finicky
and changeable. She assured Arrow that their location
was ideal, but she wondered if it would help to attract more
customers if they painted the walls with picturesque
designs. Arrow lost no time in hiring the best
artist he could employ to fill his walls with lovely murals
with exotic pictures. Although the patrons showed
pleasure in the pictures, they failed to give any evidence of
a corresponding enthusiasm about the food. Somehow
they did not care for the bill of fare.
At last
R. O. Gantz had reached the end of his resources and he talked
the gravity of the situation over with Ella Gantz.
They resolved to make one more try. They went all
out in offering door prizes and appealing by radio and press
to bolster business. It was to no
avail. The Palace of Eats was up for
sale. The sign read. “For Sale Due to
Bankruptcy – No Reasonable Offer Refused.” R. O.
Gantz had made every improvement on his establishment he could
think of, but he overlooked the most important
one. That fateful omission brought about his
insolvency. What could it be?
A few
days later, a well dressed man drove up and began negotiations
to acquire the Palace of Eats. He made a
reasonable offer and it was not long until Honest Deal was the
new proprietor. Honest Deal went straight to the
kitchen and asked for the list of food
purchases. He found that Noah Count had bought
mostly stale items, bargain priced meat and second class
produce. Notta Chance failed to produce variety
and he lacked the skill to make food appetizing.
Honest Deal dismissed them and replaced them with the finest
cooks on the market. His next action took place in
the service. Anne Tagonize had a way of irritating
customers. M. Barrass was no better…so, out they
went. M. Bezzle handed in her resignation when she
heard there was going to be an investigation of her handling
of the cash register. It was no wonder that Gantz
went broke with her in charge. Saving on food and
service can be costly where the public is
concerned. Honest Deal believed that people
patronize a restaurant for food---other things are
incidental. So he built up a sparkling trade by
offering the best meals in town. Soon the Palace
of Eats was the most crowded place
around.
Sometimes people like R. O. Gantz and
Ella Gantz try to run our churches too. They try
for exterior glamour, fine buildings, good music and artistic
programs. But down in the heart of man, is a deep
hunger for God and if this hunger is not satisfied they will
remain in a state of spiritual starvation. They
may applaud the program and extol the grandeur of the physical
surrounding, but when they seek God they will turn to the
place where God’s Word is given forth in living
freshness. It must be undiluted and free from
pollution or contamination with doubts and
unbelief. Restaurants that permit the serving of
diluted milk, contaminated meat, ersatz coffee or any other
ingredient that adversely affects the health of patrons, is
condemned, and the proprietors are liable for
prosecution. Strange that the truth of God’s Word
can be diluted and His laws violated, His message polluted and
contaminated with every false doctrine and yet no one seems to
think it matters much! If a restaurant placed
moldy bread before us, or unclean food, we would disregard the
bargain price or the glitter of the surroundings.
Spiritual hunger is much the same. The child of
God loves “the sincere milk of the Word.” People
mature on the “strong meat” of doctrine and respond to the
call to service when confronted with the demands of the Spirit
of God. If a church lacks quality, it’s not likely
to survive any more than a restaurant that fails to give top
priority to its bill of fare.
There’s nothing
wrong in having physical surroundings that glorify the God we
serve, but let’s never fail to communicate the love and
concern that is borne of a fresh living experience with
God. The Word from the pulpit must be backed
up by “the word that is lived” by the members in the pew
before it will win the world. The minister may not
be able to convince men to follow Christ by his eloquence or
charm, but no man can argue against the Bible that is
demonstrated by the lives of those who profess to follow
Him. The call to church should be answered as
eagerly as the call to dinner. The spiritual
satisfactions provided by the church should have the same
beneficial effect on the growing Christian as a hearty meal
has for a hungry, healthy growing young
man.
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