NORTH FORT MYERS
By Duncan
When the words "North Fort Myers" come up in a conversation, I smile. I lived the dream from 2014-2019. North Fort Myers is like a second home to me.
And when I left North Fort Myers, in October of 2019, I assumed I would never return. I don't know why I assumed I would never go back for a visit. The world is smaller today than yesterday. It's not a challenge to travel around the country like it used to be.
To drive for a couple of hours is not the daunting task it used to be. When I left Hollywood, at about noon, I checked the GPS and it gave me an estimate of a couple of hours to arrive in North Fort Myers.
It's an easy drive across the Everglades. Unless you're squeamish about alligators, pythons, and other wet green things that want to eat you. Be prepared to pay $3.75 to use this toll road. There's no commerce on this road between the East and West side of Florida.
For the next 110 miles, there are no gas stations, and no restaurants. Nothing. Unless it's late at night and your car stops running.
At that point your cell phone is your best friend. You need a cell phone to call “Mr. Road Ranger." Getting out of the car in the middle of the night you might be greeted by long green slithering things. There is a reason they call this toll road Alligator Alley.
As I came off "The Alley," (In broad daylight) it spills onto I-75 North. Naples, Florida is at the end of the toll road on the west side of Florida.
I haven’t had anything to eat today. So, I looked at each exit I passed for a restaurant I could live with.
It's a quarter to three, (Sounds like a Frank Sinatra Song) in the afternoon. I want something to eat. I notice the highway signs indicate there is an I-Hop at the next exit.
I don't eat at I-Hop all that often. I assume it's an inexpensive place to get what might be called an American meal. Or, they offer an American Menu.
As I entered the restaurant, there was a woman with four kids, ages 2-5 years old in front of me. The dining room only had about three tables of customers. The young man seated the family with kids in a booth on the far left in the back. He came forward to seat me and took me to the booth next to the family he had just seated.
Now, I have a dilemma. I don't want to be seated in an empty dining room next to a bunch of children. Why can't I be seated across the room away from the maddening chatter. I stood and looked at the table, the family in the next booth, and then at the young man.
I wanted to say in my most sarcastic voice, "Really?"
The young man started to move away toward the front of the store. I held up my index finger as if to say, "Just a second."
I whisper to the young man, I had phone calls to make, and I don't want to disturb this family with any profanity. Is there another area that would be better suited for me to have a private conversation on my phone?
He picked up the menu and walked me to the other side of the restaurant. He hesitated before he left my table.
"Is this table okay with you?"
I detected a note of sarcasm in his voice. I smiled and said,
"You will be richly compensated for your discretion."
I found myself far away from the "children." My waiter was the same person who seated me. He came back with a little different attitude. I ordered breakfast. Orange Juice, two over easy, bacon, hash browns, and English muffin.
With everyone complaining about the cost of food these days, I'm going to give you a run down on my I-Hop meal. The Orange Juice, $3.99. Quick 2 Egg, $10.39. Total $15.88. Other than the OJ, which I personally believe was extravagantly overpriced, who can complain?
These multi-million dollar buildings that franchisees build, have to pay debt service to the bank who financed the building. And the only way they can do that is to make a profit.
Then they hand over the operation to young people, with little or no training to keep the place afloat. Yes, there are good servers. And in today’s workplace there are servers that wish they had not taken the job.
If the restaurant is slow, and I ask the waitress how long he/she has been working in the place, and if he/she says, “3-6 weeks.” And, if I see that the place is void of activity, it makes common sense. The staff working for tips can’t make a living. The wait staff will come and go.
It’s basic math. A waiter/waitress serves five tables during lunch. She turns the table two times. That's 10 tables during her shift. If the food purchased is $15.00 per person at lunch, and he/she had 30 people he/she served, during her shift.
Let’s say, (30 people times $15.00 meals = $450.00.) A tip of 10% equals $45.00. A tip of 20% equals $90.00. On a good day a shift at an I-Hop could be a $100.00 payday? $100.00 times five days a week equals $500.00. $500.00 times 52 weeks $26,000 a year.
I also try to look at the parking lot before I choose a restaurant. If it’s full of cars, chances are a lot of people like the place. If there are no cars, it’s an indication of a couple of negative factors. The location sucks. The service sucks, or the food sucks. Or all three suck!
Another factor to consider is which shift is the staff working? Breakfast, lunch, dinner or the midnight shift? It could make a difference.
I have no idea what it costs to build one of these beautiful buildings. I checked my cell phone and found the construction cost of an I-Hop restaurant is between one to three million dollars, depending on the size and location of the restaurant. Folks we are near Naples, Florida.
Let’s say, a couple of million on average. I-Hop was founded in 1958 and has 1,700 restaurants. The corporation that owns the I-Hop’s LOGO is Dine Brands Gogal, Inc.
It also owns Applebee’s, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shops. I have never heard of Fuzzy’s Taco Shops. I’m thinking, Fuzz on my Taco? I would have loved to be in the room when the great minds of the corporation came up with that name.
Ninety-nine percent (99%) of I-Hops are franchise owned. Which means the person or persons owning the restaurant are more than likely someone who lives close by. They are not owned by the corporation. So what on average does an I-Hop franchisee make a year?
A quick scan of my phone says on average about one and a half million dollars. ($1,500,000) The average income for a restaurant owner is $72,600. Expressed as a percentage, 3-5%.
Looking a little deeper, which fast food restaurants make the most money a year per store?
Chick-fil-A - $6.7 million.
Raising Canes - $5.4 million.
Shake Shack - $3.8 million.
Whataburger - $3.7 million.
McDonald’s - $3.6 million.
Good night, it seems to me that playing the stock market is an easier way to earn a return on investments without all the hassle of an I-Hop franchise. But, what do I know?
Let me enjoy my booth a little longer. I’m living in tall cotton here. I get to sit in a multi-million dollar building for an hour, and have someone in the kitchen fix my meal and a waiter brings it to my table. I will enjoy my meal, while being a thousand miles from home.
I understand I’ve gotta pay extra for the low lights, a table cloth, polished silverware and candles. But, I’m on my side of the room, away from the children in the booth on the other side of the room. Aren't road trips great?
Okay, it’s time for the last leg of today’s road trip. I will head north, from Naples up I-75 to a North Fort Myers exit. I’m going to stay with Tom Morookian, in a gated community called Magnolia Landing. Yes, the same community I lived in for five years.
MAGNOLIA LANDING - NORTH FORT MYERS
MAGNOLIA LANDING FRONT GATE
