The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1913-02-20
WHITE Way GRAFT
Huge Profits Made in Broad
ways GIittering Restaurants.
Revelation of a New York Steward
Asserts Patrons Don't Believe
They Are Getting the Best IN
less They Are Overcharged.

ZOOS nSF fATG ONEEStet3S0
New York.--Walking up Broadway
the other day. my companion pointed
to one of the big gaudy restaurants
on Long Acre square. wagged his head
and said:
Il don't see how those restaurant
fellows make any money. Take that
place, pointing again-'the rent
must be enormous, and think of what
he must have to pay for the service,
walters, coat boys and that sort of
thing People say his prices are high,
but you can bet they're not high
enough to keep him out of deep wa
ter
Foolish friend! His is the popular
view of the restaurant business. AS
a matter of fact, the prices charged
by the restaurant he designated are
high enough to permit the proprietor
to keep two motor cars, which trans
lated into dollars means that his In
come must be about $4,000 a year,
says writer. And it Is to show how
such incomes are possible, how the
restauranteurs manipulate their scales
in prices and service that / am writ
Ing this article. Were / to tell you
my name it would mean nothing to
you. Were l to tell you the restau-
rant whose steward l have been for
years you would recognize it instant
ly.
Broadly, the first of the facts have
to present is that on every dish the
successful restauranteur sells he
makes a profit of from rs TO 800 per
cent.
The second is that the item of serv-
ice, the common excuse for his high
prices, does not cost him one cent.
instead it is source of revenue.
But before l take up these two
broad divisions let us see why it is
that such restaurants are possible. AS
you know, there are more gaudy res
taurants in New York than in any
city of the world except Paris, The
New York restaurant is decidedly an
institution. Its reputation has spread
throughout the country, which ! be-
lieve to be one of the strongest rea-
sons for it's success financially.
In nearly every village, town and
city, they declared, ARE men and
women, especially women, who hope
some day to go to New York and
among other things to dine in the lob
ster palaces, where they may watch
the crowd, it's dress, its actions and
manners.
Suppose that the dinner hour is at
hand and you go to one of the lobster
palaces. Imagine l am beside you dis
secting the menu card item by item.
Beginning at the top. we see the
words hors doeuvres, and we learn
that for SO cents we may get special
individual portion.
AS steward ] know that the dish
does not cost 20 cents. My employ
er sells it for CO. making 300 per cent
profit.
And now let me show you how the
element of service instead of being
an expense that eats up the profits
on food is a source of revenue that
swells them. Let us begin with the
head carriage starter. He opens the
door of your cab. At our restaurant
he pays the proprietor several hun
dred dollars a year for the privilege
Of doing this.
This is an incident that occurred
two years after we had opened. One
day the representative of taxicab
company came to us and offered to
pay a liberal yearly rental if we would
give over that section of the street
Just outside of the restaurant TO his
taxicabs exclusively. An agreement
was reached, SO you see we received
an income from the street that is sup
posed to belong to the city and the
taxpayer.
The hat and coat and wash rooms
are another source of income. About
the same time that the deal was made
with the taxicab company a man came
along with a proposition to pay us
$4,000 a year for our courtroom and
Mushroom privileges.
Two years later we found that the
trust was collecting about $4,000
year from tips received by its boys.
The walters, contrary to general
opinion. do not cost us penny.
And there it is-the crowd Listen
to what my employer once told me.
Certainly our prices are robbery"
he grinned, when wondered how he
dared charge So IF / didn't charge
heavily | wouldn't get the crowd.
They'd think was failing and cut.
ting prices to save myself. They'd
quit this place as rats leave a sinking
ship.