Saxová Palačinkarna (rhymes with Sax’s Creperie) is under new ownership. There is still a resident pup, but rather than Sax the golden retriever, we have a little dog with a fancy haircut. The dog seems all right, but it’s not the same as being greeted by Sax. (Sax remains in the logo, flipping a palačinky, his other paw resting on a big stack of yummy treats.
This was my second visit since the changeover. First visit: Cool! Things are still working here and the old guy with the bushy beard (who I hoped was the new owner) is a hoot. Second visit: Ehh… The food lacked magic, and they had an easy time forgetting they had customers to take care of.
This could be growing pains, just people who thought owning a restaurant would be cool (and rightly figuring grandpa would be great), who still need some time to get used to how much work even a small restaurant generates. I hope they grow into the job and find success; they seem like a good bunch of people.
Owning an “establishment” seems like the coolest thing in the world (and who wouldn’t wanna run Zippy Doo’s pizza Bowl and microbrewwery?). As a counterpoint, I have a CPA brother-in-law who refuses to take any restaurant owners as clients. The reason? The profit margin is so tiny and the headaches of accounting so big, that it isn’t worth it. Also, fitness gyms. Maybe restaurants in the land of Czech are different, but I get the sense from my BnL that it is a hard life with no rewards.
There are two kinds of restaurants that succeed: labors of love and franchises. The definition of success is not the same between the two.