Optimism prevails as recession takes a bite out of restaurant profits

During a recession, it’s common for residents to cut some non-essential spending.

For some people that may mean cutting travel, entertainment or how often they eat at their favorite restaurants.

To gauge how restaurants along the Emerald Coast have done this year, the Daily News asked several restaurateurs in Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties how their businesses fared this summer during the economic slump.

790 North, Fort Walton Beach

Sales at 790 North on Beal Parkway declined about 20 percent last year but have since stabilized, said Ed Ward, who co-owns the restaurant with Christine Paris.

In order to endure the recession, they have streamlined their business by cross-training employees and avoiding unnecessary expenses.

“Business is challenging, but we constantly focus on the very basics of business,” Ward said. “First and foremost, our customers come to us for a consistently high-quality product.”

790 North depends on its food to bring in locals through word of mouth. Ward works to get the word out as well: He carries takeout menus wherever he goes and wears his 790 North gear whenever he can.

“We focus on the people that live and work in the community,” Ward said. “Unless they all move, I think we’ll be fine.”

Bud and Alley’s, Santa Rosa Beach

Bud and Alley’s owner Dave Rauschkolb was expecting a 10 to 15 percent decrease in the sales this summer. In addition, Rauschkolb just opened Bud and Alley’s Pizza Bar, which he thought could take customers away from his original restaurant.

Instead, Rauschkolb said this was the most successful year yet for the long-time eatery.

“Going into the year, I wasn’t feeling really positive about being in the restaurant business,” Rauschkolb said. “I really thought things were going to go down. We just feel really fortunate to be in Seaside, to have been fortunate enough to be here 24 years and build a business people love to come back to.

“This is the best year we’ve ever had at Bud and Alley’s,” he added. “Our sales are up, not by a large margin, but by a reasonably good margin I never would have anticipated.”

Even the new pizza place performed better this summer than Rauschkolb had anticipated.

Coach-n-Four Steakhouse, Fort Walton Beach

The recession only has worsened the already significant decline in business that John Moon, who with his wife Sharon owns Coach-n-Four on Lewis Turner Boulevard, has experienced since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“It gets worse every year,” Moon said. “I am operating at a volume that at one point I didn’t think was possible.”

Business has been declining at a rate of about 10 percent per year for the last five years, Moon said.

In order to keep the doors open, the Moons have had to do some minor layoffs and put a spending freeze on anything not needed to operate. They have also added a low-price steak to the menu and run daily food and drink specials to help bring in customers who don’t have as much to spend.

“I’m going to try to make sure we stay open because I believe this is going to pass,” Moon said.

Bitburger Pub, Niceville

As one of the few traditional German restaurants in the area, Bitburger Pub in Bluewater Bay caters to a local crowd rather than tourists.

Ulie Neumann, Bitburger’s general manager, said his restaurant experienced a definite slowdown this year, but that business has remained steady.

“We have customers, they were coming in at least once a week and now they are coming in once a month,” Neumann said. “The customer changed a lot. Before, they were drinking beer and wine (at) dinner and now they are just ordering soda or water. They have just food and save their money with the drinks.”

Mia’s Italian Restaurant, Crestview

This summer started slow, said owner Ryan Quimby, who bout the restaurant in October 2006. Sales were down about $3,000 from 2007’s numbers, s despite prices going up about 12 percent since then. July and August picked up, and while sales were down slightly from past years, the restaurant performed much better than in June.

The increase in expenses has been more damaging than the decline in sales. Between insurance, a higher minimum wage and even the price of towels, costs have gone up 50 percent since he purchased the restaurant.

“If anything, 2009 affirmed for me the strength of my client base,” Quimby said. “I’m proud of it. We have a strong clientele base and they really support us.”

While Mia’s regulars still come in, Quimby said some of their spending habits have changed. He said fewer customers order appetizers and more people share one entrï¿©e than in the past.

TC’s Front Porch, Navarre

TC’s Front Porch in Navarre opened three years ago and has seen an improvement in business every year, according to David Ramer, who co-owns the outdoor cafï¿© with Bob Benaquis.

“From Memorial Day to Labor Day, we did a little bit better than last year,” Ramer said. “We’re in a good location for tourists and have a big military clientele base.”

While business has been improving, Ramer said they depend on the summer months and begin to feel the strain during the off-season.

“We have a pretty good little local base, but every restaurant around here is vying for the same people,” Ramer said. “We’re working to keep everything good and to cater to the local people.”

Fudpucker’s Beachside Bar and Grill, Okaloosa Island

Fudpucker’s Beachside Bar and Grill on Okaloosa Island had a less than encouraging spring break, said Tim Edwards, who co-owns the restaurant with Chester Kroeger.

“Going into this year, it was pretty scary,” Edwards said. “We took a pretty proactive approach to it.”

Fudpucker’s partnered with ResortQuest to set up a pool-side tiki bar at Waterscape to attract tourists and restructured its menu to be more value oriented.

By the end of the summer, its food and beverage sells were up 10 percent compared to last summer.

“I’ve got to believe we’ll see an upstart in the economy,” Edwards said. “I’m optimistic.”

Big City Bistro, Fort Walton Beach

Jim Garrison, who co-owns Big City Bistro in downtown Fort Walton Beach with Tina Ivanchukov, said he feels pretty fortunate this year despite seeing a 20 percent decline in sales compared to last year.

“We’re not as tremendously seasonally oriented as some other businesses,” Garrison said. “We definitely do a lot more local business, and we believe in the downtown area.”

While Garrison is optimistic, he and Ivanchukov have made some changes to bring in customers.

Big City Bistro now offers a 20 percent discount on certain entrees on Tuesdays, half-price wine on Wednesdays, a senior citizen’s discount on Thursday and a free desert with certain entrees on Fridays and Saturdays. It also has added a $5.99 lunch option featuring homemade soups and sandwiches.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” Garrison said. “So, we’ve added some things to entice people to come here, and it seems to be working.”