Spokane restaurants’ ‘family feeling’ praised

The number of Spokane restaurants has roughly doubled in the last 20 years. And the spectrum of establishments seems to be a good mix of full-service, creative mom-and-pop restaurants and fast-food, said Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Restaurant Association, which represents 5,000 member restaurants statewide.

Anton said what distinguishes Spokane’s 1,200 dining spots from the state’s remainder is a keen level of cooperation among restaurateurs.

“It’s a community with much more of a family feeling,” Anton said of the relationships between local restaurants, about 500 of whom belong the association’s local chapter, the strongest in the state.

Anton said local restaurant owners willingly mentor those just breaking into the business. And they graciously share resources and industry knowledge with each other — unlike restaurants in Seattle, which view all peers as threats.

But there will be plenty of customers to go around if a predicted “mega-trend” pans out, Anton said.

Experts believe in the not-too-distant future people will eat about half their meals in restaurants, he said.

“Not because it’s a birthday, an anniversary or some special occasion,” Anton said, “but because life is so busy there’s no other choice.”

The question then will become: “How do restaurants adjust to that reality?” he said.

One big difference is likely to be additional healthy menu choices, Anton said.

Meanwhile, he said, five scenarios appear to be taking hold in the state:

“ Restaurants are increasing menu prices 3 percent to 4 percent per year; some enact smaller, incremental increases twice a year.

“ Labor costs eat up about 36 percent of revenues, as a result of the rising minimum wage. Nationwide, labor costs total about 30 percent.

“ Washington restaurants hire fewer employees than peers nationwide, fewer than 15 per establishment compared to nearly 16 nationwide.

“ More pre-packaged, pre-made products — as opposed those made on the spot — are making their way to the table.

“ Cooks’ wages have stagnated at about $12.15 an hour while servers, on average, haul in about $20 an hour, with tips. A significant portion of that is the state’s minimum wage of $7.93 per hour.

“I think you’re going to see restaurant growth will continue to outpace population growth, if margins don’t get any tougher,” Anton said.