The Haines Restaurant Guild met Friday.
There’s no such thing, officially. But there was a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce Friday of young cooks, chefs, restaurant owners and would-be owners.
On the whole, they’re an energetic bunch, attempting to make money in a famously perilous line of work in a town not awash in cash during an economic downturn.
They talked about the hurdles they faced and they said:
- Restaurant buildings for sale in Haines are generally old, overpriced and needing work.
- Rents are high and some landlords are negligent.
- Grocery prices have soared.
- Finding any staff can be difficult.
- Winters are lean.
- Alcohol licenses are necessary for brick-and-mortar restaurants to survive.
- COVID threw people off their routines, including eating out.
- Sporadic cruise ship schedules can make it difficult to schedule staff.
- The town lacks a restaurant “culture” of going out to eat.
I’ll add to this some other concerns I’ve heard over the years: Grocery stores selling “hot lunch” erode restaurant lunch business just as nonprofit benefit meals cut into the dinner business.
In advance of Friday’s meeting, one cook pointed out that restaurants aren’t a necessity. They needn’t exist. But they serve a cultural function, bringing people together and creating places for neighbors to meet and enjoy each other’s company, he said.
As mayor, I said the obvious: As a tourism town, restaurants are a necessity. We can’t ask people to come to a town that can’t feed them, particularly during winter and shoulder seasons. Also, as a town that is too divided politically, any form of social mixing is beneficial.
The restaurant businesses asked the borough to help expedite liquor license applications for their businesses and I pledged to support them. A suggestion to create a property tax break that would free up money for restaurateurs invest more in their businesses also was made.
The businesses agreed to pursue a website called, “Haines Restaurant Hours,” that would tell the dining public what was open. And they discussed of ways to get that information to cruise ship passengers, particularly during evening dockings.
Interestingly, there didn’t appear to be much friction between food trailers and brick-and-mortar restaurants. One brick-and-mortar owner even said the trailers help absorb the overflow when he’s crushed with customers.
There was ample discussion of trailer “corrals” or food courts that would allow several restaurants to operate under one roof or within proximity of each other. In the Lower 48, such arrangements operate in cooperation with breweries or distilleries, providing an alcohol option, they said.
The Haines restaurant industry is very much in flux. For consumers and some in the business, there is a feeling of paralysis. Young guns with energy don’t have buildings or financing and older owners are sitting on properties ostensibly for sale that aren’t selling.
An important point here is that the “invisible hand” of the marketplace doesn’t necessarily serve the public well or solve problems. The “invisible hand” moves toward money, period.
Perhaps the Chamber of Commerce, our banks, tribes, and even the Haines Borough government can held nudge the “invisible hand” to a place where money can be made and the public can be well-served.
I’m hoping the Haines Restaurant Guild meets again and again. They are very much in a tradition of guilds that date back to medieval times, tradesmen who joined forces for their mutual interest and support, lifting all by lifting each other with business knowledge, ideas and solidarity.
As mayor, I’ll help where and how I can.