Empty Restaurants

One of the weird things we've seen lately is the empty restaurant phenomenon. On Wednesday, Bryce and I had an excellent pasta dinner at Casa Blanca, and there was one other table occupied the whole time we were there, so we got excellent service as we had a waiter entirely to ourselves. On Thursday, we met Clay and Ann (from Colorado) at Mare Nostrum, a really good Sicilian restaurant that was recently reviewed in the local paper, and we were the only patrons the entire night during our meal. This worked out well for Clay, as he has a bad back and needs to bring a special lounge chair and ice pack with him wherever he goes. Today, we had Chinese food with the kids, and were one of two tables.

I think the reasons for this are:

1. The global economic slump.
2. Low season for tourists.
3. The swine flu panic. (Actually, Baltimore has more reported cases of H1N1 than Mexico.)
4. Bad press about Mexico in the USA.

Some places are more crowded than others, but I hope these businesses can survive, as there are a lot of great places to eat without many patrons at this time of the year. The upside is that you are always treated extremely well when you're the only customer!