Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 1, 2015

9FOOD AND DRINK Mountain Views News Saturday, August 1, 2015 9FOOD AND DRINK Mountain Views News Saturday, August 1, 2015 
Peter Dills Says….. 

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter DillsWe all know restaurant locations throughout thechefknows@yahoo.comSierra Madre and Pasadena that seem to turn over 
every fall. I have heard the word “cursed” used for 
several locations many times. For instance, the location on the corner of San Gabriel and Colorado 
seems to be one that is cursed for sure – it started as the Vault, then it became Rio Rio, then Ta Vu, 
and then a sushi joint (which I actually loved because the prices were right). Now It’s a chicken 
wing restaurant. Well, I love wings! For another “cursed” location, remember Jerry’s Famous Deli 
in Old Pasadena? Let’s name all the restaurants that went through that location: Union Cattle 
Company, Pasadena Brewing, Brix, Haven Gastro Pub… and it started as a gym! 

When interviewing existing owners, they often point the fingers at the landlords saying the rents 
are too high. The excitement and the confidence of “I’ll do it better” might be too strong of a lure for 
restaurateurs to handle. I was bewildered that El Chollo moved from Fair Oaks (Old John Bull) to 
the Paseo. As the building sat empty for a few years, I thought isn’t some rent better then no rent at 
all? Celebrity Chef Rocco said on his TV show 
that the mortality rate for restaurants is 90% 
the first year. My father said he’d rather have 
open heart surgery than own a restaurant. 

Let’s look at this fact: the survival rate is higher 
then 10%, and these numbers are not specific 
to our area. Several years ago, researchers 
at Cornell University and Michigan State 
University conducted a study of restaurants 
in three local markets over a 10-year period. 
They concluded the following: after the first 
year, 27% of restaurant startups failed; after 
three years, 50% of those restaurants were no 
longer in business; and after five years 60% 
had gone south. At the end of 10 years, 70% 
of the restaurants that had opened for business a decade before had failed. Those are far different 
numbers than the 90% first-year failure rate quoted by our television star chef. Another academic 
research study concluded that 81.4% of all small business failures result from forces within the 
control of the owners/managers. The bottom line is that even if the failure rate is a little daunting, 
failure is not inevitable. 

Join me on Dining w/Dills, the radio version, right after the Angels game at 6 PM KLAA AM 830 
Sunday. www.peterdills.com 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com