Oakville is Like Bittersweet Chocolate

The researcher who discovers the addictive principles of the restaurant business will be rewarded, I am sure, for saving thousands of people, if not more, millions of dollars in loss, stress and aggravation.

In the Monday edition of The Press Democrat, the Santa Rosa, California daily paper, there was a combination obituary and rebirth announcement on the saga of “iconic Wine County retailer Oakville Grocery”. The piece explained how its new owner, Leslie Rudd swooped in just before the wolves came through the door to save the little rabbit logo from turning into Highway 29 road kill.

Rudd was painted as the hero for his last minute effort to shell out a number that equaled a small fraction of the debt and purchase the company’s assets leaving the vendors holding the preverbal deposit bag of over a reported 8 million dollar debt load. Rudd may receive hero status for his swoop and scoop tactics, but there is an ironic sadness to the maneuver.

The company that launched the careers of such notable artisan purveyors as Bruce Aidells, Cowgirl Creamery, and other well respected brands in the olive oil, bread, wine and honey sectors of the marketplace has now possibly ruined as many companies by not paying them.

Of course under the newfangled bankruptcy laws this is completely legal. And, bankruptcy is a standard operating procedure, especially in the restaurant business. The point here is not the bankruptcy, not the sale, but what possesses bright, intelligent people to think they can successfully operate a business in one of the most complex sectors of the market and succeed? Then we must ask what keeps the same bright, intelligent people from realizing their early on failures and changing course before tallying a pile of invoices that equal almost as much as the yearly gross of the company?

Is there something in the pesto sauce that is slathered on those Foccaccia bread chicken sandwiches? Me thinks not. The dedicated staff at each of the Oakville stores indulges on occasion on those sandwiches and they saw the light long before the darkness hit the CEO’s office in Berkeley. Yet the staff is all qualified to be in the restaurant and retail food business. Nobody would hire people who had no experience in food. So why would one, or in this case, three people purchase a company when they had no experience in food?

The answer is simple; owner ego prompted the three principals to turn a blind eye on those with more experience in the business. In the Oakville scenario that included everyone from the delivery person to the general manager. The mistakes that the owner’s made where typical for many people who buy into the restaurant business: Big salaries for the owners, expansion without a plan, changing the concept, hiring consultants instead of listening to the staff, and finally, deciding that selling stock was easier than turning a profit through controlled perk spending.

Oakville will live on, and thrive not because of Leslie Rudd- there were many large winged birds circling above the red tin roof- but because of the passion and dedication, experience and knowledge of the staff that keeps the little bunny hopping. And as the chapter of Oakville closes, another one begins. And like all endings and new beginnings, this one is Bittersweet. And that may because the restaurant business is as addictive as chocolate.