A short spoken reflection by Donald Burns on the personal and family costs of devoting oneself to running a restaurant. Burns argues that restaurant owners often sacrifice presence with spouses and children — losing the present and undermining the point of building a legacy if family cannot share it.
Let's talk about the real cost of being married to your restaurant. Think that they don't feel it? Trust me, they feel it. Your spouse is carrying the weight alone at home. Your kids are growing up with a ghost of a parent. While you're out there kind of trying to build that future, you're losing the present with the people who actually matter. You're telling yourself you're doing this to give them a better life. But what good is a better life if you're not in it? What's the point of building a legacy if your family's not by your side to share it?
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
