Bicyclist Stein opines on Houston dining
For a guy who complains about allegedly being misquoted by the press, Bicyclist Bob Stein, Houston's expert on everything, sure does like to give his opinion to the press on, well, pretty much everything.
Here is Stein's latest, from Bloomberg:
Consumers across the U.S. may be tightening their belts during the recession, but Texans are bellying up for more restaurant meals.
Sales at Texas restaurants are projected to rise 4 percent this year, more than in any other state, the National Restaurant Association forecast. That outstrips its 2.4 percent estimate for all U.S. restaurant sales.
Restaurateurs are being encouraged by the Texas economy, said Mike Donohue, spokesman for the Washington-based trade group. The state’s population will increase 1.7 percent this year and disposable incomes will rise 2 percent, according to the group’s estimates. The December jobless rate in Texas was 6 percent, compared with 7.2 percent nationwide.
“We’re certainly glad we’re not opening in a city that revolves around the financial industry,” said Tom Kaplan, senior managing partner for Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, based in Las Vegas, whose grand opening for Five-Sixty, atop Dallas’s Reunion Tower, is next week. “What we’re seeing is instilling confidence in Texas.”
Demographics play a role in big cities such as Houston, said Bob Stein, sociology and political science professor at Rice University. Thirty-seven percent of Houston households include children under 18 years old, he said.“It’s not just about having the money, it’s about juggling the day,” Stein said. “A high population of families with school-age kids and two wage earners is a perfect recipe for eating out a lot.”
We had no idea (from his vita) that Bicyclist Stein had ever researched Houston or urban dining patterns. He truly is a knowledgeable man of the world, and we always enjoy reading his opinions on... well, everything!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/03/09 07:47 PM | Print |
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