Recession Restaurants

Starting a business during a major recession can scare even the bravest entrepreneur.

But sometimes, you don't have a choice.

That's how Jamie and Maria Garcia looked at opening their new restaurant, Los Garcia's, at the corner of North Carson and Winnie Lane.

"A lot of people said it's dangerous to invest in a business now, but we need to survive," Maria said. "If we don't find jobs, we need to put ourselves to work."

The Garcias lived in the area before moving to Iowa in the late '90s to open a restaurant. After eight years of upper Midwest winter cold and summer tornados, they were ready to move back to Northern Nevada.

They also wanted to take a break from the exhausting work of running a restaurant. So for the past year, Maria worked for a local manufacturing company, and Jamie got a job in a casino.

But the economic problems hit, and both found themselves out of work.

"We were laid off, and we said, what do we do now?" Maria said. "I worked part time, but nothing much, and I said, how do we pay the bills if we do nothing? And my husband said, it's time to do our own business again, let's go."

The location for Los Garcia's was the short-lived home of Carson City Diner, and before that a Greek restaurant. But in a way, the economy was a positive factor for the Garcias to find this space.

"It's a good location, and if the economy was good, this place wouldn't have been empty," Maria said.

The restaurant is being operated with just family right now, Maria said, but she hopes after it catches on they can hire some employees.

"Right now, it's a lot of work, a lot of work," she said. "But we need to pay bills."

The Garcias also recognized that people are feeling the effects of the recession, and are pricing their menu to help out.

"We tried to price our food like it was in Iowa, where it was cheaper, where here, everything is expensive," Maria said. "We know it's tough right now, so we are trying to keep the prices down. We try to lower the prices as much as we can to survive, to compete."

With no budget for advertising, they are hoping the location and the grand opening banner will bring in enough people to get the word out.

"We just want people to give us a try, and then decide whether to come back or not," Maria said. "Just give our food a chance."

'I just wanted to

own a bar'

When Kim Dandos took over ownership of the bar and grill now called The Twisted Spoke in May, the economy wasn't on her mind.

"I never really thought about it," Dandos said. "I thought about owning a bar for 21 years, and when it happened, I didn't look back."

But now that she is in her third month of operating the establishment at Highway 50 East and Deer Run Road, she's paying more attention to what the recession has brought.

"It definitely affects how you price your menu, beer, and how you do things," she said. "You have to be more creative in this environment."

The name of her bar reflects her family's history in the bicycle business, and Dandos will be adding antique two-wheelers to the decor. But the name also seems to appeal to motorcyclists as well, helping to create a very diverse clientele that also includes golfers and softball players, off-road riders, workers in the nearby industrial and office buildings, and people on their way to and from Lyon County after work.

The fact that the establishment appeals to so many different people gives Dandos hope that she can weather whatever the economy throws at her.

Dandos said the food business is going well. She is currently creating flyers to let people working in the area know about their lunch specials.

"There is so much industry in this area, so many bodies, and nowhere to eat unless you go farther into town," Dandos said. "When you have a half hour lunch break, which seems to be what a lot of people around here have, they can call first, and we can have the lunch ready for them when they get here."