Helping Start a New Restaurant (1)
SUMMARY
Lyons wishes Alvarez's luck with the restaurant venture she's working on, and comments about how risky that field can be. Alvarez agrees and speaks about the dropping business that the restaurant industry has seen in recent years. She says that while overall spending at restaurants and bars has increased, there are too many places to eat at now.
聞き取りのポイント
1. レストラン事業に関してだれでも知っていることだ、とライオンズが言っているのは何ですか?
2. 1950年代にレストランでの支出は、食費の何パーセントに相当していましたか?
VIGNETTE
Steve Lyons: Nancy, I hear you're helping some friends start a new restaurant here in New York.
Nancy Alvarez: News travels fast. Indeed I am.
Steve Lyons: That sounds like quite a major undertaking. I wish you guys the best of luck. Everyone knows how risky and volatile the restaurant business is. Not a few people have lost their shirts when trying to make a go of it in that extremely competitive field.
Nancy Alvarez: You can say that again. Dinner traffic has been falling for the past five or six years. In particular, lunch business is way down.
Steve Lyons: Just why is that? It seems strange since I see restaurants crowded with diners everywhere I look.
Nancy Alvarez: I know what you mean. On one hand, spending at restaurants and bars in the United States has increased twice as fast as other forms of retail spending. In the 1950s, restaurants accounted for 25 percent of the money spent on food. Now, it's more than 50 percent. But these days, there are just too many places to eat. That's the harsh reality, sad to say.
Pat McMillan: I see. So it's a case of supply outstripping demand.
Nancy Alvarez: Yes, the economics of the restaurant business aren't very good.
聞き取りのポイントの答え
1. レストラン事業に関してだれでも知っていることだとライオンズが言っていたのは、とてもリスクが高く、とても不安定であるということ
2. 1950年代にレストランでの支出は、食費の25パーセントに相当していた
WORDS AND PHRASES
News travels fast.
ニュース はすぐに広まるものである/噂はすぐに広まるものである
Lyons asks about a restaurant venture that Alvarez is involved in, and she replies, "News travels fast". Word gets around very quickly. People like to tell each other interesting things. So news travels fast. And pretty soon lots of people know. Let's say, I'm going to be transferred. I tell a couple of people and suddenly everybody is asking me about it. News travels fast.
I heard on the grape vine. 噂で聞いたんだけれど
hear on the grapevine that
【that以下】ということを風の噂[便り］に聞く、【that以下】ということを人づての噂で聞く - 英辞郎 on the WEB
Bad news travels fast. 悪い噂は早く伝わる
When we're talking about rumors, we also say, "The word is this". Like, "Hey, the word is we're getting a new boss next year".
undertaking 事業/仕事
risky and volatile リスクを伴い不安定な
Volatile things change very suddenly or in an extreme way. Like, "Be careful what you say around Lucy. She's gotta volatile temper". Or, "The stock market is extremely volatile right now".
stableの反対
特に市場や情勢などが変わりやすい、不安定なという意味
make a go of it 事業などを成功させる/事業などでうまくいく
Achieve success. "He couldn't make a go of his consulting business". Or, "This is a new industry for me. But I'm determined to make a go of it".
competitive field 競争の激しい分野
you can say that again まったくそのとおりだ
Lyons says that many people have lost a lot of money in the restaurant business and Alvarez replies, "You can say that again". That's very true; I definitely agree. It's similar to "Truer words were never spoken".
And Alvarez could also have used the expression "you said it". If someone comments that Tokyo is very humid in summer, you can reply, "Oh, you said it. It feels like a sauna sometimes".
you can say that again: thatにアクセントを置く「まったくそのとおりです」ということ
同じような言い方で: you said it
tell me about it
自分も同じ経験をしたことがあるのでよくわかります、そうなんです、という教官の気持ちを表す
tell me more about it もっと詳しく聞かせてください
tell me about itは、状況によっては反語的に「あなたに言われなくてもわかっています/それ以上言うな」という意思表示の文句としても使う
traffic 客の数/客足
In this case, traffic refers to the number of customers who enter a business establishment. Foot traffic is how many people are walking in a certain area. Like, "Online shopping has cut back on foot traffic, which hurts sales at brick-and-mortar establishments".
brick-and-mortar〔店舗がインターネット上ではなくて〕実在の[する］ - 英辞郎 on the WEB
traffic 交通
rush hour traffic 車の動き
foot traffic 歩行者の数/歩行者の流れ(pedestrian trafficとも言う)
tourist traffic
dining traffic 食事客/食事客の数
in particular 特に/とりわけ
I know what you mean. あなたが言っていることはわかる
I know what you're talking about and I feel the same way. Let's say a colleague complaints about too many meetings. You reply, "I know what you mean. It's lowering our productivity". Or, if someone says they like getting massages, I'd say, "I know what you mean. They're great for managing stress, aren't they?"
twice as fast as ～の2倍の速さで
account for ～の割合を占める/～に相当する
harsh reality 厳しい現実
outstrip 上回る
Supply moving past; ahead of demand. "Wage increases have outstripped inflation", for example. Or, we can say, "exceed". Like, "Company X's new laptop outstrips everything else on the market". So it's much better.
exceed/outweigh
the law of demand and supply 需要-供給の法則
economics 経済状態/経済的な側面
「経済学」という意味でも使う。その場合には単数扱い。「経済状態/経済的な側面」という意味で使うと複数として扱う
sad to say 悲しいことに/残念ながら
Alvarez says down at the bottom, "That's the harsh reality, sad to say". Unfortunately; I'm sad to say this.
"I'm sad to say" is all right too. Things like "We've seen a sharp drop in sales, I'm sad to say". Or, "I'm sad to say we won't be having our company picnic this year".
WORD WATCH
lose one's shirt
無一文になる/すってんてんになる
ゴガクルの解説より:「lose one's shirt は、「着ているワイシャツまで失う」というところから、「(ギャンブルや投資などで）大金をなくす」という意味の口語。go brokeも同じ意味で使う」http://gogakuru.com/english/phrase/108226
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN
undertaking
A task or venture is an undertaking. For example, "They're renovating their entire home. It's quite an undertaking".
way
This vignette uses way as an adverb to mean very. Things like "Prices of fresh vegetables are way up this spring".
副詞で「非常に」という意味
harsh
The savior situation that exists, the savior truth that must be faced is the harsh reality. As in "The harsh reality is that we have to lay off some staff".
QUOTE UNQUOTE
I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. - Thomas A. Edison (U.S. inventor)
Helping Start a New Restaurant (2)
SUMMARY
Alvarez says restaurant owners have been forced to raise their prices, which has made dining out more expensive. She also describes why eateries are having trouble retaining staff. Lyons and Alvarez point to a decline in the quality of service. And Ueda talks about restaurants where customers perform some waitstaff duties.
聞き取りのポイント
1. レストランの経営者は、なぜ値上げせざるを得なくなったのですか?
2. 接客係を雇う余裕のないサンフランシスコのレストランは、どのような解決法を打ち出しましたか?
VIGNETTE
Nancy Alvarez: The falling traffic and increasing labor costs have forced restaurant operators to raise their prices to cover costs like rent and utilities. That means dining out is becoming more expensive.
Ueda Shota: Just how bad is the labor situation?
Nancy Alvarez: Pretty grim. The overall labor market is very tight. High rents have forced many restaurant workers out of urban neighborhoods. And there's been a huge increase in the number of new restaurants opening around the country. All of that is making it more difficult to find and retain staff.
Steve Lyons: That explains why the quality of service has been declining at some of the dining establishments I patronize.
Nancy Alvarez: You're not alone in noticing a decline in standards when it comes to restaurant service. It can be little things like water glasses being left unfilled, or it can be more serious like servers who aren't knowledgeable about the menu or who get customers' orders wrong.
Ueda Shota: I read an article the other day about restaurants in San Francisco that can't afford to hire waitstaff. Their solution is to put diners to work. When diners go to one of these restaurants, they have to find their own table, they're expected to fill their own water glasses.
聞き取りのポイントの答え
1. レストランの経営者が値上げせざるを得なくなったのは、賃借料や光熱費などの費用を賄うため
2. 接客係を雇う余裕のないサンフランシスコのレストランは、食事客たちに働いてもらう、という解決法を考え出した
WORDS AND PHRASES
labor costs 人件費
rent and utilities 賃借料と光熱費
With utilities, Alvarez means services such as power, water, gas that are provided by public utility companies. I've seen apartments where the rent includes utilities.
utilitiesは電気、ガス、水道といった公共料金のこと
I've seen apartments where the rent includes utilities.
家賃が光熱費込みのアパートを見たことがある
アメリカだと、utilities込みの家賃/賃貸料というところも多くある
dine out 外食する
Or eat out; eating outside the home. The opposite expression is dine in or eat in, which is eating at home. "We always eat in on Sundays", for example, "so we can get to bed early".
grim 厳しい
Up at the top, Ueda asks, "Just how bad is the labor situation?", and Alvarez replies, "Pretty grim".
labor market 労働市場
tight ひっ迫した/厳しい/需要に比べて供給が少ない
Limited in some way; restricted. A tight schedule has limited time in it. A tight budget is restricted in terms of money. "Our department's on a tight budget", you could say. Or, "My schedule's very tight next week. Could we meet this Friday?"
tightはscheduleとかbudgetについて使う
tight schedule きつく組まれたスケジュール
money is tight お金が足りない/金銭的に苦しい
tight budget 厳しい予算
be tight with money お金に細かい/出費を控える
urban neighborhood 都市部
decline (動詞)低下する/(名詞)低下
patronize (店などを)ひいきにする/よく利用する
Lyons means "be a customer of some business". And we can pronounce it [péitrənàiz] or [pǽtrənàiz], either one is okay.
Patronize can also mean treat someone in a condescending manner. You know, like they're less intelligent or a child. To use the adjective, you could say, "He is so patronizing he talks to the staff like they're idiots".
patronizing 相手を下に見た/上から目線の
you're not alone in
～についてはあなた1人ではない/あなただけが～なのではない
Alvarez says, "You're not alone in noticing a decline in standards". Other people feel the same way too; they do the same thing or they're in the same situation. Things like "I'm not alone in disliking a new schedule. Many of the staff are complaining". Or, to use a slight variation, "Am I alone in liking this slogan?" You know, "am I the only one who likes it?"
unfilled 満たされていない
Alvarez is talking about the glass that has not had water put in it. But we could also use this about job openings. "The position of vice president has been unfilled for three months now". Or, "There were numerous unfilled seats in the stadium".
knowledgeable about ～を熟知している
get customers' orders wrong 客の注文を間違える
Mess up the orders. And we use "get wrong" in many situations, where we do something inaccurately. "I got three of the questions wrong on the test". Or, "I got some of the data wrong in the report".
And if we say "get someone wrong", that means misunderstand them; misinterpret them. You could tell a colleague, "Oh, please don't get me wrong. I like your presentation. I just think it should be shorter".
don't get me wrong 誤解しないでください
waitstaff 給仕する人/接客係
The group of waiters and waitresses at a restaurant. You wouldn't say, for example, "Oh, let's ask a waitstaff to bring us a menu". That sound weird. You'd say "Let's ask one of the waitstaff" ― or, "Let's ask a server to bring us a menu".
waitstaffは集合名詞。gender neutralの言葉として、レストランのwaiter/waitressを総称してwaitstaffという
ひとりひとりの接客係についてはserver という言葉も使う
put someone to work 働かせる
Down at the bottom, Ueda says, "Their solution is to put diners to work". Set someone to a task; assign them to a job. Such as "She put John and Helen to work setting up the meeting room". Or, "He put the whole staff to work coming up with new ideas".
WORD WATCH
dining establishment
レストラン/食事処
ゴガクルの解説より:「dining establishment は、「レストラン、食事処」ということ。establishment には「事業所」「営業所」「会社」「商店」など広い意味がある。drinking establishmentといえば「酒場」「バー」などのこと。gambling establishmentは「とばく場」、whole sale and retail establishmentsといえば「卸売り店と小売店」のこと」http://gogakuru.com/english/phrase/108227
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN
grim
This vignette uses grim to mean dismal, depressing, discouraging. Such as "Our profit outlook is pretty grim this year".
retain
Another way to say keep is retain. For example, "We've retained our No. 1 spot in the industry for five years now".
keepの別の言い方で「持ち続ける」ということ
knowledgeable ～に精通している
If we are well-informed, familiar with the certain subject, we are knowledgeable about that subject. Things like "Betty is very knowledgeable about US. History".
QUOTE UNQUOTE
Live as you would have wished to live when you are dying. - Christian Gellert (German poet)
Helping Start a New Restaurant (3)
SUMMARY
Alvarez says the co-sharing trend has also spread to restaurants, and mention a New York cafe that is a co-working space in the morning and until late afternoon. Ueda says restaurants in the middle of the market are being hollowed out due to people buying food at different kinds of places.
聞き取りのポイント
1. レストラン業界での「ランナー」は、何をする人ですか?
2. どのようなところで、調理済みの食品を買う人が増えていますか?
VIGNETTE
Ueda Shota: And if they want another glass of wine, they get up and go to the counter.
Pat McMillan: What a novel concept. I just hope they don't ask their customers to source and cook their own food.
Ueda Shota: Not quite. The restaurants still have cooks and what they call "runners" who bring your order to your table.
Nancy Alvarez: Another new trend in the restaurant business is co-working or sharing. You've probably heard about co-working spaces. They're shared offices that are popular with freelancers, small companies and other people who want a change of scene. Coffee shops gyms and social clubs are co-working spaces. The trend has now spread to restaurants. One well-known cafe here in Manhattan is a co-working space from the morning until late afternoon.
Ueda Shota: The article I read also pointed out that the industry is seeing a hollowing-out in terms of restaurants in the middle of the market.
Steve Lyons: I know the kind of place you mean. They're often known as "casual dining" restaurants.
Ueda Shota: Right. They are being hit hard by more people buying prepared food at places like convenience stores and food trucks. I was surprised to learn that this year one-third of prepared meals won't come from a typical restaurant or fast food joint.