Earlier this month, 714 Bistro in downtown Newnan made an announcement on their Facebook page that the restaurant would be temporarily closed until the 1st of the year. Many communities are struggling across our country with staffing challenges, food shortages, increased costs, and other resources. 714 Bistro had to make a difficult decision in which the owner communicated beautifully. He encourages three points of thought that we wanted to share with our readers. You can read this in full below,
“**Support local**
We are not the only business downtown that is feeling the weight of this economic struggle. We are just the youngest restaurant on the block and ran out of resources to make it for now. I believe that the big names will find ways through this tough time but the small businesses in town are the ones who are giving everything they have to survive. We have some amazing options downtown and we want to see these places thrive because it’s our home. It’s important to invest in your home. Invest in your local restaurants and churches and the things that you believe in.
**Be kind**
It is not just tough on the small business that is feeling the weight of financial burdens but the staff that works so hard to support the business. Our team was over-worked during most of the staff shortages that wrecked this country a few months back. They came to work while struggling to pay their bills because they believed in the future of our restaurant and the future of Downtown Newnan. I’m sure this is similar to many of the other small businesses in Newnan and we really need to find a way to support these people better. It has been a social norm to blast an establishment for service publicly in order to direct people on where to go for a great experience. While I agree with this as we should all want to get better and provide excellent service, I believe that during times of struggle it may be better for a customer to speak directly to a manager in order to address the concerns and not bring overall harm to the business publicly. Especially if you live in Newnan. A negative review ultimately brings greater financial burden to the business which brings greater burden to their team, which brings greater burden to the service and can lead to a business closing instead of getting better. With that being said, I do still appreciate the feedback (regardless of if it is negative or positive) as it’s the only way for a business to grow and get better. We also were so proud of the positive feedback that gave us 4.4 stars on google. I know we weren’t perfect but it means a lot to know that you loved us anyway.
**Be Thankful**
As this season has brought many struggles for our 714 family, we are still so thankful and honored to have had the opportunity to serve our local community and be a part of something that we believe is special. From our skateboarding delivery service during shelter in place, to the taco/water hand out during the tornado relief, this community has been so amazing at pouring out love in some of the darkest places. Thank you for allowing us to serve you over these last few years and for the wonderful support and love you have shown to us. We are hopeful that some support may still come from the SBA or the city to allow us to continue on and we are leaving the outcomes in God’s hands but regardless of the future of 714…. thank you so much for sharing your life and time with us and we wish all of you the best blessings over the holiday season with you and your family!! 
”
We will share more information with you as it comes in on the future of 714 Bistro. The City Menus is so thankful for the support from The Brains over the past two years!
