What’s Up Salem Besties!

This week we are announcing the winners of our 2025 Community Boosters Awards! The event will be going on sell this Sunday. Thank you all for your nominations. We had so many great people nominated, and can’t wait to recognize six of them on October 3. (SAVE THE DATE!)

Earlier today I spoke with Cecilia Ritter and Jason Brandt about the realities of being a restaurant owner in Salem in 2025. The full podcast will be available next week. So stay tuned!

But for now, here is a break down of our full conversation

Appreciate you all!

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Salem restaurants aren't just businesses selling food. They're the living rooms of our communities, the stages where first dates become love stories at Clink and where deals get made over handshakes at Lively Station. They're where the bartender at Frida’s remembers how you like your drink during your worst week, and where baristas at Bentley’s become familiar faces who brighten ordinary Tuesdays.

But here's what most of us never consider: the restaurant business is freaking hard. Especially right now. A lot of restaurant owners are working 70-hour weeks, managing dozens of employees, navigating rising costs and shifting regulations, all while we expect perfection with every plate.

Now this is not supposed to be a newsletter forcing you to feel bad for anyone. Restaurant founders picked their line of work and know how hard it is. But how many of us are never really exposed to everything that goes into running a restaurant?

Let’s look behind the scenes at what it means to be a Salem restaurant owner in 2025. 

Next week you’ll be able to hear the full podcast episode I recorded with Jason Brandt (President of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association) and Cecilia Ritter (owner of Wild Pear).

Picture running a business where you need to sell $1 million to make $30,000-50,000 in profit. That's the reality of restaurant ownership. Successful businesses are operating on razor-thin 3-5% margins. Some are worse and some are losing money every month right now. 

Jason Brandt from the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association describes it as a three-legged stool: food costs, labor costs, and operational expenses (rent, utilities, insurance). 

The problem? In 2025, at least two of those legs are unstable for most restaurants.

Cecilia Ritter, who has 25 years experience in Salem's restaurant scene, puts it bluntly: "We just continue to see the cost of goods increasing. From 24 to 25, the rise in cost of goods is similar to what we experienced in COVID when there was such a shortage in supply."

The industry is splitting into two camps. Full-service restaurants (where servers bring food to your table) face the highest costs and greatest challenges. Limited-service models (counter service, order-ahead) can control labor costs more effectively.

Brandt's advice for new restaurateurs? "More restaurants are probably going to need to be thinking about limited service models, counter service models... unless you have that experience with full service, don't do it right now."

The biggest myth about restaurant ownership is that busy restaurants equal wealthy owners. Wild Pear consistently has lines out the door, yet Ritter admits to experiencing burnout: "People think because my business stays pretty busy at lunchtime... they don't realize how hard I am working behind the scenes to keep us afloat. We're not thriving by any means."

The reality: 95-97 cents of every customer dollar goes back into food, people, and place. 

Strategic Hours and Efficient Operations

In order to survive, restaurants are really needing to be disciplined on focusing on the hours they are most profitable. 

Wild Pear and Big Wig Donuts have cracked the code on strategic scheduling. Rather than staying open long hours hoping to capture more sales, they've identified their peak profitable times and focused there.

Wild Pear operates just 4.5 hours on Mondays and Tuesdays (11am-3:30pm), expanding slightly through the week, with weekend dinner service ending at 8:30pm. Big Wig operates 8am-1pm and closes when sold out.

"There's a reason why we're busy during those times," Ritter notes. "We have created the demand by limiting our overhead."

Not everything from the past few years has been negative. Restaurants adapted by expanding takeout and delivery services. Wild Pear went from 6.5-7% takeout pre-pandemic to 15% today. Oregon also made to-go cocktails permanent, creating new revenue streams.

The crisis forced a fundamental reassessment of operations, with many restaurants evaluating profitability by hour and day of the week. This created more efficient, sustainable models.

The challenges are real, but so are the innovative solutions emerging across the restaurant industry. Brandt identifies several trends that could help Salem's restaurant scene not just survive, but thrive:

Embracing Snacking Culture as a Revenue Stream Instead of forcing the traditional breakfast/lunch/dinner model, successful restaurants are capitalizing on how people actually eat today. Salem already has early adopters like Big Wig Donuts, proving that specialty items during focused hours can be more profitable than trying to serve everything all day. This model reduces labor costs while creating buzz and urgency that drives customer loyalty.

Smart Technology Solutions AI phone systems are solving one of restaurants' biggest profit leaks: missed calls and reservations. For restaurants operating on 3-5% margins, an AI system that captures even a few additional bookings per day can pay for itself while reducing staff stress. Salem restaurants could use these tools to ensure they never lose business to unanswered phones during rush periods.

Counter-Service with Full-Service Quality The future isn't choosing between good food and good service, it's reimagining how to deliver both efficiently. Limited-service models can maintain high food quality while cutting labor costs from 40% to 33% of sales. This 7% difference is enormous when you're operating on razor-thin margins.

Strategic Hour Optimization Rather than staying open long hours hoping to catch every possible customer, restaurants like Wild Pear have proven that strategic scheduling creates more profit per hour worked. By studying their own traffic patterns and focusing on peak profitable periods, restaurants can reduce overhead while actually improving the customer experience through better staffing during busy times.

Multi-Revenue Stream Models Wild Pear's combination of restaurant and catering services demonstrates how diversification can provide stability. The catering business helps carry overhead during slow restaurant periods, while the restaurant provides a showcase for catering capabilities. This model could work for other Salem establishments willing to think beyond their four walls.

Despite the challenges, restaurant owners like Ritter continue because of the deeper mission: "We are in the business of people first. We're here to take care of their needs... This is their place of respite."

The restaurant industry creates community within four walls, employs dozens of people, and gives back through charitable efforts. Wild Pear's Jessica Ritter Memorial Fund exemplifies how successful restaurants become pillars of community support.

Salem isn't unique in its restaurant challenges—these issues exist nationwide. When restaurants close, it's not necessarily a reflection of the community but rather the inherent difficulty of the business model.

Downtown Salem has actually grown significantly from the early 2000s. Remember how bad it was trying to find something to eat? While we may have fewer restaurants than comparable cities like Eugene, the quality and community connection have never been stronger.

The key for Salem diners? Understanding that the $18 entree isn't gouging, it's survival math in an industry where passionate people work incredible hours for minimal profit to create the gathering spaces our community needs.

What do you think?

This newsletter is based on a conversation with Cecilia Ritter (Wild Pear, Ridders) and Jason Brandt (Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association) on the What's Happening Salem podcast.

Thanks for keeping up with Salem this week!

Spotted something interesting in town? Drop us a note at [email protected] We love hearing from you.

See you soon.