They said the signs would kill my business. The business is still here. So are the signs.
Let me tell you about small business survival in 2025. My grandfather opened Pendergast’s Family Restaurant in 1974. Fifty years, three generations, same location. When I took over in 2008, we were doing $340,000 a year. Comfortable. Respected. Then I made a decision that changed everything: I decided to stop being quiet.
Revenue in 2024? $127,000. Down 63% from the peak. You know what I call that? Freedom.
The customers who left weren’t customers. They were people who wanted pancakes without principles. They wanted to sit in my booths, eat food my family has served for half a century, and pretend the country isn’t falling apart. I don’t serve that. I serve eggs, bacon, and the truth. If you can’t handle a “LET’S GO BRANDON” banner with your coffee, there’s a Denny’s four miles east. Most of them found it.
What Small Business Survival Actually Looks Like
The corporate consultants will tell you I’m doing everything wrong. “Alienating your customer base,” they’d say. “Destroying brand equity.” You know what I say? My grandfather didn’t build this place so I could bow to people who get upset about signs.
I have forty loyal customers now. Down from maybe two hundred regulars at the peak. But these forty? Best people you’ll ever meet. They come for breakfast, they stay for lunch, they tell me I’m a hero. One of them, Gary, drives twenty-two miles each way. That’s not a customer. That’s a patriot.
My wife Sheryl handles the books. She’s suggested, more than once, that maybe we could “tone down the signs a little.” I told her that’s exactly what they want. She made a face and went back to the books. She’s been quiet lately. I assume she’s processing.
The Yelp Problem
We’re at 2.1 stars. I don’t read them anymore, but Sheryl tells me. One hundred twenty-seven reviews, mostly from 2021 when the mask thing happened. “Hostile environment.” “Owner was aggressive.” “Felt like a political rally, not a restaurant.” I wear that 2.1 rating like a badge of honor. You know who else got bad reviews? This country’s founders. Probably.
Google reviews I had to disable. I got into it with someone in the comments. He said the meatloaf was “dry and the atmosphere was uncomfortable.” I explained, in detail, why he was wrong about the meatloaf and about America. Google took his side. They always do.
Looking Ahead
My son Tyler was supposed to take over someday. Third generation to fourth. He works at a Panera now, two towns over. Says he “needs space.” I think the schools got to him. His girlfriend won’t come to the restaurant. He asked me once to “please not do this in front of her.” I don’t know what “this” means. I’m just being myself.
For 2026, I’m adding a new sign. Something about the border. Haven’t decided on the wording yet, but it’ll be big. Sheryl asked if we could maybe use the sign budget for a new fryer. The fryer works fine. It’s temperamental, but it works. The sign is more important. The sign is the point.
They said the signs would kill my restaurant. Four years later, I’m still here. The restaurant is still here. Revenue is down, sure. Staff keeps quitting. Tyler won’t visit. Sheryl’s been sleeping in the guest room, but that’s unrelated.
The sign stays.
That’s what small business survival looks like. You’re welcome, America.
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