For St. Petersburg restaurants, summer has always meant slimmer margins. This year, operators say the slow season is arriving with a longer list of challenges than they\u2019ve faced in years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it was one thing, there wouldn\u2019t be this urgency,\u201d said Roger Curlin, director of business growth and engagement for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. \u201cIt\u2019s literally like 12 different things that are pushing on the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rising food costs, higher insurance premiums, increasing rents, lingering hurricane recovery and consumers dining out less frequently have all contributed to the strain, Curlin said. Independent restaurants operate on thin margins, leaving little room to absorb declining sales or rising expenses.<\/p>\n
Those challenges are one reason organizers say more restaurant owners are looking to one another for ideas instead of trying to solve every problem alone.<\/p>\n
One example is \u201cIn Good Taste,\u201d a July 20 event at Forbici St. Pete that aims to bring hospitality professionals together to discuss common challenges and practical solutions.<\/p>\n
The event is the second installment of In Good, a speaker series created by Mia Tramontana and Hannah Victoria Lewis. After launching with a broader conversation about community leadership this spring, the organizers shifted toward industry-specific discussions after seeing attendees leave the inaugural event with new collaborators and lasting professional relationships.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re struggling with the same things,\u201d Tramontana said. \u201cLet\u2019s not reinvent the wheel. Let\u2019s come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
About 40 hospitality professionals are expected to attend the evening, which includes networking, a fireside discussion with four local hospitality leaders and audience questions.<\/p>\n
Organizers say they selected panelists from different corners of the industry so attendees hear a range of perspectives and leave with ideas they can apply in their own businesses.<\/p>\n
For Curlin, the growing interest in events like \u201cIn Good Taste\u201d reflects the increasingly fragile economics of the restaurant business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe general public doesn\u2019t understand the complexities of the hospitality industry,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a 3% profit business.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said restaurants are grappling with higher lease rates, rising insurance premiums, more expensive food and labor costs, all while consumers facing tighter household budgets are dining out less frequently. Restaurants can\u2019t simply raise prices enough to offset those costs without risking customers staying home or choosing another restaurant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weekends don\u2019t matter,\u201d Curlin said. \u201cMonday through Thursday determines whether that business survives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Summer simply magnifies those existing pressures. \u201cWe gather all of our acorns from October to Mother\u2019s Day,\u201d Curlin said. \u201cThen we spend all those acorns from Mother\u2019s Day to October, hoping to have one acorn left to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year, he said, restaurants entered summer with fewer \u201cacorns\u201d because revenues softened before the slow season arrived while expenses continued climbing.<\/p>\n
Those pressures have sparked several efforts aimed at helping restaurant owners share ideas and attract more business.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce launched its quarterly Chef\u2019s Circle Forum<\/a> with a discussion titled \u201cSaving Summer,\u201d bringing restaurant owners together to discuss many of the same issues, from inflation and consumer spending to marketing and operational challenges. Curlin said the Chamber has increased its focus on hospitality because the industry\u2019s challenges have reached what he described as a \u201cred alert\u201d stage.<\/p>\n The Chamber has also partnered with Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Rowdies on its Game Night St. Pete<\/a> campaign, encouraging residents and visitors to support local restaurants, bars and entertainment businesses throughout the slower months.<\/p>\n