| Economic difficulties complicate keeping restaurants in the family
By RON
RUGGLESS
She said she has been thinking about the transition of the business to the next generation, because they have been part of the classic Southern “meat-and-three” vegetables restaurant since it opened in 1981, when her first daughter was born. “My daughter was working the cash register when she was 10,” Arnold said. “She knew all the presidents on every bill and coin.” Her son, Franz Arnold, received a college degree in criminal justice but went to work in the hospitality business, in both fine-dining and more casual restaurants. “I didn’t want him to think he had to be in the business,” Arnold said. “I didn’t want him to think this was something he was forced into. If they come back, it should be on their own terms.” A new generation is like a fresh set of eyes on the business, she said. “Since he has been back, he has added so much to the restaurant,” Arnold said. “He has wonderful ideas and energy.” His innovations include lighter, nonfried fare, such as tilapia, and “spruced-up salads,” she noted. Without interested next generations, many restaurants are facing the tough decision of selling or shuttering. The Blackhawk in Wheeling, which already housed much of the Roth family’s Big Band memorabilia from the original Blackhawk restaurant on Chicago’s Loop, which closed in August 1984, faced the latter. “It’s an unfortunate but necessary business decision,” said Bob Vorachek, general manager of the Blackhawk in Wheeling, who began working for Roth Restaurants in 1986. “While our restaurant is still very busy, we would need to embark on a major renovation to maintain the standards and quality our customers expect. Without the third generation’s direct involvement, Roth Restaurants cannot continue as a family enterprise.” But some family enterprises have found ways to grow in the second generation.  | | Rico Valencia and Vienna Valencia Molder of Cyclone Anaya’s in Houston and Dallas. |
Rico Valencia and his sister, Vienna Valencia Molder, who are principals in the Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchens in Texas, are building new stores in Houston and Allen, Texas, expanding their father’s original concept to seven units. Cyclone Anaya’s are named for Valencia’s father’s wrestler character name. The Houston-based company has three stores in Houston and two in Dallas. “My dad started the restaurant in 1966, and I started working in the business full time in 1980,” said Valencia, who began expanding from the original Houston store seven years ago. The Cyclone Anaya’s locations are generally 4,200 to 5,000 square feet with large patios. They each have about 250 seats and a blended per-person check average of $25. “Our transition went very well,” said Valencia, 47, who is the youngest of the founder’s five children. “My dad passed away, but my mom is still very much involved.” Many recipes are from his mother, Carolina. Valencia has two children in college, and they work in the restaurants when on break. “My parents were really great about not forcing the business on us,” Valencia said. “I would really recommend for succession that the next generation have a genuine interest. It could even be a niece or nephew. Whoever it is, they have to have a passion for the business.” There is also a sense of family honor, he noted. “I feel honored to carry on what my father has done,” Valencia said. “I feel whoever is next in line has to have the same passion, otherwise it won’t translate into a great dining experience.”—rruggles@nrn.com | 
