Sign of the times
March 26th, 2009 by Cliff Bostock in News, RestaurantsTarek Tay, one of the owners of Zaya, is featured in an MSNBC article about stress among small business owners who are struggling to stay afloat these days:
In the economic tailspin of the late 2000s, loss is part of life. Workers are losing their jobs, employers are losing their businesses, and as credit becomes more and more scarce, everyone is losing confidence. What’s more, entrepreneurs are grappling with a sense that they’ve lost control of critical factors that could determine their futures. Those psychological hurdles are perhaps the biggest challenges facing today’s business owners; after all, it was probably that shining confidence and ability to innovate that got you started in the first place, right?
“So much of it has nothing to do with you,” says Tarek Tay, 36, co-owner and managing partner of Atlanta’s Zaya Restaurant, which launched strong in February 2008, boomed through the summer–and then saw business drop 30 percent in September. Although well-reviewed, it has operated in the red since, even with $1.2 million in 2008 sales. “If your food isn’t good, you can improve the quality,” he says. “If service is the problem, you can train your staff. But if the problem is that no one’s going out to eat because of the economy, what can you do?”
March 27th, 2009 at 12:32 am
I love Zaya. The hummus is incredible. I love it even more that I just came across this article while surfing the internet to overcome insomnia due to the stresses associated with my 6 month old business, a specialty grocery store. This article added perspective and reminded me that I am not alone. The good news is I feel like small businesses have an even better chance of making it through this crazy time than the larger corporations. Small businesses have to stick together. While it would seem that times of this nature would cause everyone to be ultra-competitive, especially in the food and beverage industry, I feel that now more than ever is the time to work together as small food businesses. Small operators in the food and beverage industry have to share resources and ideas. Community is everything in times like this. Next time I get a few extra bucks and get a break from running The Mercantile, I’m gonna stop in for some hummus and enjoy the belly dancing. Keep on truckin, Zaya!
-Janea Boyles, The Mercantile
http://www.themercantileatl.com
http://www.themercantileatl.blogspot.com
March 27th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
good job of sneaking alittle promo of your store.