Is the Media Really to Blame for Your Favorite Restaurant Closing?

Longtime L.A. writer (and occasional Eater LA contributor) Pat Saperstein offers a reasoned reply to the recent notion that the media is in some part responsible for restaurants like Casbah Cafe or Alma closing.

In response to the former Casbah Cafe, which went out in a blaze of anti-corporate, anti-media glory, the Eating L.A. author says that it may no longer be enough in high-volume restaurant areas like Silver Lake to simply exist on locals who come in to hang out for hours while sipping on a single cappuccino. And without innovation or new draws, it’s hard for media folks to find an angle in to discuss a place, no matter how beloved by the regulars that place may be.

Conversely, Saperstein writes, Alma’s Ari Taymor claimed that too much media love led to unrealistic expectations that eventually dragged his restaurant down. Where’s the middle ground? For media it may not exist, apparently.

So, her argument goes, better for restaurant owners to hope for the good press but not sweat the lack of it after time, and instead worry about increasing rents, keeping a dynamic menu, and the million other things that may (or may not) be possible to control.

Take a look at the whole post over on Eating L.A.