Local restaurants that have been open for decades have been struggling over the past few years in my area (east side of Indianapolis). From talking to one owner, meat prices in particular took a dramatic jump ~5 years ago, but I don't know how accurate/relevant that is.

One was bought, moved, and closed a few months later. Another eliminated dinner. A third, open 24x7 for 40+ years, reduced their hours and then closed entirely, although that appears to be as much poor management as anything.

Quite depressing. I like supporting local restaurants, but painful to get attached to something that's likely going to die.

One thing I've noticed is the old places that start going out of style all start to become run down and less focus is on cleaning the place. If a place looks dirty people won't trust the food - especially if you're charging enough to actually make a profit.

The old joke is "How do you make a small fortune in the restaurant business? Start with a large one".

this is clearly not true in all cases; i think the more likely story is that like most industries, 80% of the profits are taken by 20% of the firms.

also, salaries don't count toward margin so i wouldn't be surprised if most owner/managers make a reasonable living (albeit with long hours) even if their businesses aren't very profitable on paper.

What statement is "clearly not true in all cases?"

tautologies?